Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32807 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 164(@200wpm)___ 131(@250wpm)___ 109(@300wpm)
“True, but it wasn’t them I wanted.”
“You’re trying to tell me you wanted ... me?” Katie asked.
He could lie and tell her he was joking around, but why would he do that? Why would he lie? There was no point in lying or hiding from the facts. He wanted Katie more than anything.
“Yeah, I am,” he said.
She didn’t say anything at first. He had surprised her. “I have no idea what to say. That’s why you bumped into me?”
“I tried on several occasions to talk to you.” He chuckled. “You know what the crazy thing is? I even told Adam.”
“You told Adam that you ... wanted me?” This made her frown.
“Well, not exactly. Back then, you were this girl. I told him there was this girl I wanted to talk to—that I liked and was crazy about—but I couldn’t talk to her. He said that no girl is hard to talk to. Of course, when he learned it wasn’t one of the cheerleaders, he laughed at me and said I was being stupid. If it wasn’t a cheerleader I was worried about, most girls would be ecstatic to have a guy like me wanting to talk to them.”
“You were talking about me?”
“Yeah, and I didn’t know at the time that you and him were dating.”
“Adam was amazing,” she said.
He nodded. “That he was, but it didn’t matter, whenever I saw you, I was still an asshole, still just bumped into you or shoved your books to the floor. I never talked to you, or ... you know, told you I liked you.”
“Wow, I’m a little ... I really don’t have a clue what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything.” He laughed. “I’m just letting you know how I felt, you know. Just letting it out there.”
“Thank you.” She reached across the table and placed her hand on top of his. “I feel really bad, because through high school, I really didn’t feel anything for you.” She winced. “You were an asshole.” She cringed. “I’m so sorry.”
He laughed. “Please, that is all water under the bridge, and honestly, I do not blame you at all. I was an asshole, and I accept that.” He winked at her. “Besides, I’m talking to you now, right? I finally got you on that date I always wanted.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I guess you did.”
“And I can tell you now that you looked amazing at prom.”
This made her look up. “What?”
“At prom. I saw you. You looked amazing. So beautiful, and you blew me away.”
“I was with Adam,” she said.
“I know. He was the luckiest guy in the world.”
Her smile, even now, lifted his whole heart and filled his world. He picked up his soda and took a drink. He had never intended to ever tell her about his feelings. That was all supposed to remain a secret, but the moment he started to talk, he couldn’t stop himself.
They finished their sodas in the beer garden, and rather than return to the bar, they made their way back to his truck.
“Isn’t this the truck you used to drive around in during high school?” she asked.
“It sure is. You recognize it?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“It’s my dad’s. I need to get a car of my own.”
“Why?”
“So I’m not always riding in my dad’s truck.”
“I don’t know, I think this is kind of cool.”
He helped her inside and rounded the car, loving the fact she thought his truck was cool.
Get over yourself. You’re a thirty-five-year-old man. Stop it.
Climbing behind the wheel, he pulled out of the bar. “Are you hungry?”
“Yeah, I am.”
“Let’s go and grab a couple of burgers.”
There was a small drive-thru just out of town that tended to be open through the night and early morning. They tended to the night shift customers, and anyone who had a craving for a juicy, grease-laden burger. Which happened to be him and Katie right now.
It was still warm out, so grabbing their burgers from the drive-thru, they moved to the trunk of the truck, and he lowered the back.
Hawk couldn’t believe that seventeen years later, he actually had Katie on a date, eating burgers out of the back of his truck. They looked up at the stars, and there was not much conversation, just pointing out the constellations. It was fun. Strangely calming. After they finished their food, they watched the sky for a while, but then it was time to take her home. He didn’t want to, but he had no choice. It was the adult, responsible thing to do. He parked outside her house and walked her to the front door. She already had a key in hand.
“I had a great time tonight, Hawk. Thank you.”
He was going to turn around and just leave her, nod his head, play it cool. But after over seventeen years of wanting, that wasn’t going to cut it, so he put his hand on her waist, leaned in close, and finally kissed her.