39. Caleb
Caleb
C asey gets out of her car, and I walk over to meet her. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her in for a kiss. She smiles up at me when I pull back.
“This feels a little like high school,” she comments.
“Those were some good days.”
I take her hand and lead her to the stadium. This place is pretty rundown, and we could honestly use a new one. Hollis doesn’t want to foot the bill, although sports is the only thing this town has going for it.
“Caleb? What’s this?” she asks, spotting my set-up.
“We’re having a picnic. Have you eaten already?”
She shakes her head, sitting on the blanket. “I don’t know what to say. I don’t know that I’ve ever met the romantic side of you.”
“You know I’m not into big gestures.”
“Not romantic ones.”
I sit down beside her, opening the basket of food. We have chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, and pecan pie for dessert.
“Did you make this?”
Laughing, I reply, “I’ve changed a lot but still didn’t learn to cook.”
“Well, it’s delicious,” she comments after taking a bite out of the sandwich.
I fiddle with my phone a moment and then set it down between us, letting YouTube play the old video of our high school championship game. One of the team moms always recorded the games and recently started uploading the videos to YouTube.
“Is this so you can prove to me who won the game?”
I grin over at her. “You’re damn right. Because we won.”
“We’ll see.”
She opens the container of fruit and I go ahead and open the pecan pie. We sit there together, watching the football game and reminiscing about that night.
“Oh my gosh! Do you remember Brady flashing the other teams’ cheerleaders right before halftime?” Casey asks, laughing.
“I thought Coach was going to kick him out of the game, but he was laughing so fucking hard, he couldn’t do it!”
She collapses back on the ground, still laughing. I put my food down and lie beside her. Her laughter slowly abates as she gazes up at the stars.
“What in the hell are we doing?” she murmurs. “I mean, seriously. What are we doing?”
I grasp her hand between us. “We aren’t giving up.”
“But should we?” she asks, rolling over to face me. “What if nothing changes?”
Turning onto my side, I look right into her eyes.
“Everything has already changed, Case. Everything except for one thing. I love you. I have always fucking loved you. We’ve been through a lot of shit together, some things other couples never have to face.
It broke us. I won’t lie about that. But the fact that we still refuse to let go tells me we can face anything together. ”
She gives a subtle nod. “Remember that time we made out on the fifty yard line for hours? Just kissing and holding each other?”
“I do.”
With that, she leans in and presses her lips to mine. Just like the old days. Only better. So much better.