“I guess.”I shrugged.
“Any chance you might think of getting with her for real?”Levi added.
“We saw how you looked at her.It’s not like the entire thing is fake,” Dylan said, meeting my eyes.
He was right.The entire thing wasn’t fake, and I’d meant what I’d said to her last night if she were mine, if I could only have another chance at her, she’d be treated like gold and I’d never let her go.
“Nah, she’s not ready for anything.She’s just gotten out of a relationship.She made the message quite clear to me last night.”
“That means nothing.The least you could do is try,” Dylan added.
“Yeah, man, give it a shot.”
“I don’t know.’
“Did she come right out and say no?”
“Well, no, but?—”
“But what?”Clay questioned.“Are you going to sit back and watch her get away a second time?”
“Yeah, tell us now, do you want her or not?”Dylan added.
“God, I haven’t a clue,” I replied.“Did you immediately know you wanted Aurora?”
“Oh, here we go,” Knox muttered.
“Did I know if I wanted her?Considering I lost my appetite for every other woman on the planet after we’d shared that one night together, you’re damn right.There was never a question in my mind, and when I got her back, I was damn well relentless.She was going to be mine, and I would not stop until I had her.”
I thought about what he said, then to when I’d seen Emma again for the first time again, and then back to last night.I still couldn’t forget that kiss and how sweet she’d tasted.
“Yeah, man, even though Lorelai and I started out rocky, god I can’t even imagine where I’d be had I let her walk,” Knox added.
I nodded, thinking about every one of her letters.I’d read them all after I’d found them in my father’s closet.I thought about her words, telling me about the tears she’d cried when I never responded, and then her words telling me that she’d decided it was time to move on.I’d read those letters often, frequently pulling them out when I was feeling sad or lonely, especially after my mother had passed.Her letters, her words, had gotten me through that difficult time, because next to my mother, Emma had been the closest woman to me.
“Okay, well, I have no clue on how to go about winning her back.”I sighed.
“Well, we could always get Lorelai, Aurora, and Peyton…” Knox began.
“No, no way, no women.This stays between us.”
“No worries, we are at your side, man.We will help you!”
“Yeah, we will open up a new chat and you can dump all your issues into it.The advice will be stellar.”
“Yeah, I’m sure.I’ve seen all the advice you guys share,” I said, chuckling.
“Let’s eat.I’m starved,” Lucas said, focusing on his menu.
“Yeah, food first, plan next,” Knox said.“I can’t think on an empty stomach.”
“Well, we also need to go over the game plan for the next week, so fuel up.”Clay chuckled.
“Which game plan?The game’s game plan or Colton’s game plan?”Levi questioned.
“Both!”Dylan said, raising his glass and clinking it against mine.
As everyone looked at their menus, I took a quick moment to look around the table.I’d never really thought about it before, but these guys all brought me into the group without a second thought.They’d treated me like family from the start, when no one else had.I’d truly found my home here with them.Now I just needed to focus on getting the other part of home I wanted.
