Page 5 of Forever, Always
5
MEGAN
My feet pound against the pavement as I run around my neighborhood. People tend to think cheerleaders don’t need to be in shape to stand on the sidelines and wave pom-poms. Those people are wrong.
The amount of endurance it takes to shake your arms, throw jumps, and execute lifts for two straight hours is the equivalent of running, like, three miles.
Okay, I made up that number, but the point still stands, you have to be in incredible shape to be a good cheerleader. As captain, I have to be in the best shape if I want the rest of the girls to follow my lead.
Hence, running in the middle of the summer heatwave. I so wish I was swimming in Lucy’s pool right now instead of running the five miles I planned. Not only am I running to stay in shape this summer, but I’m also trying to burn off the anxiety I have coursing through me.
I’m going on my first date with Todd tonight. For some reason, I am exceptionally nervous about it. Even more nervous than when I went bowling with the girls, which doesn’t make any sense. Not only have I known Todd much longer than those other guys, but I’ve also wanted this day to happen forever. Despite all of that, the butterflies have been flying since seven this morning. Instead of clearing my head like I thought it would, this run has allowed me to ruminate on my date even more.
Why would he suddenly ask me out? Did seeing me at the bowling alley with Daniel bother him? He’s never shown even a hint of attraction for me, so I don’t understand why it would make him jealous.
Unless he’s been great at hiding his feelings. The guy has to be made of steel to have hidden them from me for so long. He did say he never had the courage to ask before, which, I guess, could make a little sense.
He was so cute at the lake. I could tell he was nervous as he stuttered through his words. And the winking. God, the winking just about did me in. I was barely able to hold myself back from grabbing his sexy face and kissing the crap out of him. I’m a little sad I didn’t. His expression would’ve been priceless. Maybe I can still do it tonight. It took him years to ask me out; I will not allow him to wait years to kiss me.
A pain pinches in my side, forcing me to slow down so I can breathe through it. Side stitches are the freaking worst. I didn’t quite make it five miles like I’d hoped, but two miles is plenty to keep me in shape. Obviously, I’m still thinking about Todd, so my plan didn’t work out anyway.
I turn around to head home, mostly walking the rest of the way. Hopefully, once I get some water, my side will stop aching.
Stepping through the front door, I immediately head into the kitchen. Mom’s making lunch at the white marble island, so after grabbing a bottle of water, I sit at one of the silver barstools across from her.
“How was your run?”
“Fine, I only went two miles. I got this horrible side stitch and had to turn around.”
“Those are the worst. Two miles is still good, though,” she says with a smile. My mom’s blonde hair is all poofed out around her head, and her blue eyes are bright like mine. She’s been a stay-at-home mom since I was born. She’s also become my best friend as I’ve gotten older.
It’s going to be hard to leave when I go to college.
“Where’s Gabe?” I ask about my little brother. He’s ten going on thirty. I swear he acts more mature than I do.
“He’s at a friend’s house for the day.”
“I have a date with Todd,” I blurt out.
“Montgomery? Your friend?” she asks, confusion lining her face. I don’t blame her since I never told her how I felt about Todd or even hinted at wanting to date him.
“Yeah. I’ve actually liked him for a while.”
“Well, that’s great, honey. I’m happy for you. Just, you know, be careful. You’re not on birth control or anything, so I don’t want you to make a mistake.”
“Oh, my God, Mom!” My face flames as her words filter through.
“You’ve never dated anyone before! I just want to make sure you know to be safe.” She shrugs her shoulders like this is a normal conversation we’re having instead of it being about sex.
“I have no words,” I say through my fingers as I press my hands to my face.
“I’ll put some condoms in your purse to be safe.”
“And…I’m out,” I say, making a quick escape from the kitchen. I don’t even want to eat anymore. I can’t believe she’d come right out and say that stuff. I mean, I may have secret fantasies about Todd, but it’s not like I’m going to jump him without some serious thought first.
And now, my nerves are in overdrive again. Walking into my room, I flop down face-first onto my fluffy, white comforter. I still can’t believe I, Megan Thompson, am going on a date with Todd Montgomery.
What if we don’t like each other after this? What if we ruin our years-long friendship because we go on a date? What if we date for a few months and then decide to break up? He could seriously break my heart in an instant. I’m not sure I’d be able to survive.
On the other hand, we could be the perfect match for each other. After so many years of friendship, it would be silly to believe we’d stop liking each other all of a sudden. I also could never live with the what-ifs of not dating him. The idea of having the chance to see what we could be and squandering it out of fear is idiotic. I’ve never been one to run away from something because I’m scared. I refuse to be any different with Todd.
Even though he’s not picking me up for another few hours, I go through my clothes to pick out the right outfit. Mom’s knock on my door pulls me from my contemplation.
“I thought you might still be hungry.” She wiggles the plate in her hand, holding it out for me to grab.
“Thanks,” I say with a smile.
“As much as you don’t want to have this conversation with me, we probably should. I’d like to have you start birth control if you’re ready to start dating. You’ve never shown any interest in boys before, otherwise, I would’ve had you start a long time ago.”
“Yeah, I know.” I sigh. “If you could make an appointment, I’d appreciate it, Mom.” I may not want to talk about sex with her, but I should also be smart about this. If things go well tonight, there’s a pretty good chance it’ll happen one day.
She lets go of a breath and smiles like she was worried I would fight with her about it. I mean, I’m eighteen, I probably should’ve been on it already. I’ve just never needed it before now.
“Okay, I’ll go make the appointment. Thanks, sis. I love you.”
“Love you, too, Mom.” I take a bite of my sandwich after she leaves, then I go back to trying to pick out an outfit. I’m not sure what we’ll be doing, so I should probably go with shorts instead of a dress. Plus, if we take his bike, a dress would be indecent.
After a lot of deliberation, I go with cutoff shorts and a flowy, pink blouse that shows a little bit of cleavage. With just a few minutes before he should get here, I run down the stairs to stand in the entryway. Watching through the decorative windows around the door, I see his red motorbike pull into the driveway.
I yell goodbye to Mom since I’m not sure where she is at the moment, then step outside. Todd is standing next to his bike, and I stop in my tracks. His wavy, dark hair is pushed off his forehead like he styled it with gel or something. His typical khaki cargo shorts hang loose around his hips while his blue button-down shirt is tight across his chest.
He looks gorgeous.
I somehow manage to get my feet to work and walk toward him.
“Hey, there,” Todd says when I get closer.
“Hi.”
“You look beautiful.” His gaze drags down my body, making a shiver move through me.
“Thank you. You look great, too,” I squeak out. Why can’t I be smoother? I sound like a prepubescent boy.
“You ready to go?”
“Yep! Are we taking your bike?” I know I can’t hide the enthusiasm in my voice.
“I was kind of hoping we could take your car. My bike isn’t going to work for where we’re going.”
Confused, I dig in my purse to find my keys while I try to hide my disappointment. When I find them, Todd stretches his hand out, silently asking me to hand them over. “Where are we going?” I ask, trying to think of places he wouldn’t be able to drive his bike.
“You’ll see.” He turns and walks to my Pontiac, leaving his bike on the road. He opens the passenger door with a wink, making a blush steal over my cheeks. I love seeing this relaxed side of him.
Butterflies are still fluttering around in my stomach as I watch him get into the driver’s seat. When he closes the door, his cologne floats across the small space. He smells so delicious; I want to pull him towards me and shove my nose in his neck. That would be weird, though, so I focus on figuring out where we’re going instead.
Todd makes turn after turn, but despite having grown up in Sonoma, I have no idea where we are. With only trees as landmarks, I only know we’re a few minutes outside of town.
We’re quiet as Todd maneuvers us around another bank of trees. I’m starting to wonder how much longer we’re going to be driving when the road opens up into a field. There’s a small cliff off to my right, and the clearing is surrounded by trees. It’s beautiful out here.
“Todd, this is so cool. How did you find this place?”
“Sometimes, when I’m bored or need a minute alone, I like to explore on my bike. One day, I was driving around, looking for a place to chill, and stumbled upon this field. Now, I come here when I want some quiet time.”
I turn to look at him in surprise. Not only did he string together several long sentences, but he also told me something about himself I never knew.
“You’re going to be full of surprises, aren’t you?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.
“Probably.” He grins. I’m pretty sure I just got electrocuted by his smile. Everything in me is tingling, raising goose bumps along my arms. What is it about him that causes such an intense reaction in my body?
I quickly open my door to get out of the car so I don’t do something stupid like climb onto his lap. Todd follows, grabbing my hand and leading me over to the cliff edge. Below the cliff is the lake, stretching out as far as I can see. It’s awe-inspiring.
The peacefulness of being in the middle of nowhere surrounds us like a cozy hug. The air is perfectly warm as the sun goes down while the sounds of nature surround us. I’ve never felt happier than I do right now.
I turn around, realizing Todd is no longer standing by me. Instead, he’s standing next to a beautiful picnic setup I didn’t notice in my haste to see the lake. There’s a large blanket on the ground with a cooler and picnic basket anchoring the bottom corners. Pillows are piled up at the top, creating a cozy pallet I want to jump into.
“How did you do all this?” I ask in astonishment. Even in my wildest dreams, I wouldn’t have been able to come up with something so perfect.
“Cooper helped me haul the stuff out here in his truck. I thought it would be a good place to get to know each other without all of the eyes in town.” Todd looks at me for a minute, a touch of embarrassment pinking up his cheeks. “Is it okay?” he asks, squeezing the back of his neck, his bicep popping out as he moves.
Dang… I knew he had muscles, I just never noticed how big they are.
I clear my throat, attempting to shift my focus to his question. “It’s wonderful. I can’t believe you’d do all of this for me.” I walk over to the blanket, sitting down on a pillow. Todd follows, sitting next to me.
“You’re special and deserve the world.”
I’m pretty sure I just swooned. My body relaxed, and a cheesy grin took over my face.
I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to get here. At the same time, I know I wouldn’t have been ready for a guy like Todd. I would’ve messed it up big time, ruining any chance of us making this work.
Now that we’re finally here, I hope nothing gets in the way of us staying together.
