Chapter 20
twenty
Fletcher
Ihad a lot of fun tonight.” Casey turns to me as we reach her car.
“Me too.” I smile. “It was nice to get out of my crazy house for a few hours.”
“I can’t believe I never knew you were one of fourteen kids. Like, that had to have been your fun fact in school during the first week.”
“Technically, I think Bode came into the picture too late for me to say I was one of fourteen kids during the first week of school.”
“Oh, yeah, makes sense. Being one of thirteen kids is much more reasonable,” she teases. “But really, I wish we had hung out more in high school. I guess we just ran with different crowds.”
“Maybe. Hockey pretty much consumed my life in high school, and in a lot of ways, it still does, so you wouldn’t have seen me at too many high school parties.”
“Is that why you’re not seeing anyone?” I don’t miss the way she takes a step toward me. “Hockey?”
“I don’t know.” I wet my lips. “I think that’s an easy excuse when the guys bug me about it. And they know I don’t do meaningless hookups, so it’s easier to say I just need to focus on hockey. Hopefully, I’ll find a pro team as a free agent and be able to do this as a career.”
“No meaningless hookups, huh?” She smirks, her eyes focusing directly on mine. “What does that make tonight?”
“Well, we haven’t done anything, so—”
“And if I kissed you right now, what would tonight be then?”
“Well, I’ve kissed girls before, ones I’m not dating. I mean the, well, you know, the other thing is, um.” I scratch the back of my neck.
I don’t know why I’m nervous. There’s no reason for me to be anxious. Even if this is a date, I’ve been on dates before. I’ve kissed girls at parties. Why should this be any different?
“You’re cute, you know that, Fletch?” I gulp as she takes another step toward me, her chest brushing against mine as she pushes up on her tiptoes.
“Would it be okay if I kissed you? If not, I understand.” She drops back down, her heels hitting the ground.
“If I read into tonight and this is just two people from high school catching up, I’ll understand. ”
“I, uh—”
“You don’t have to let me down easy, Fletcher. I’m a big girl.” She pats my chest, a teasing smile on her face, and I don’t know what comes over me. I don’t know if it’s because tonight has actually been really fun when I thought it was going to be a really weird hangout with just the two of us.
Or if I’m trying to prove to myself that Tate and I are in the past… even though there technically never was a Tate and me.
But I kiss her.
I kiss her long and hard and savor every second of it.
I pull back, studying Casey’s face, even though I know a kiss is exactly what she was searching for. Her eyebrows rise as she bites her bottom lip.
“That was even better than I thought it would be.”
“Really?” I cup her head between my hands, my thumb grazing over her cheek. “Because I think I can do better.”
“Hmm, I don’t think I believe you.” She challenges.
Her arms wrap around my neck as I lean down, pulling her face toward me, and kiss her again. Her fingers twist in the hair at the nape of my neck as I pull her closer to me, turning our bodies so she’s pressed up against her car.
Her lips are soft against mine, and even though it’s fucking cold outside, every part of my body is on fire, and when her lips slightly part, I take the opportunity to deepen the kiss.
My hands leave her face and travel to her waist, brushing against the sliver of bare skin her jacket is leaving exposed.
I slowly break away from the kiss, giving her one last gentle peck as I do.
“That,” her breathing is ragged, and her cheeks are flushed, and I don’t think it’s from the cold weather, “was better.”
I laugh, my chest rising and falling at a rapid pace. I can’t remember the last time I kissed someone like that. I guess kissing feels different when you expect to see them again after. When you expect this to become more than just a party kiss.
“So, what now?” It’s a stupid question. I don’t want her to think I expect us to go to the courthouse and get married, and the question makes it seem like just that.
“I mean, we live in different states, so I don’t know if we want to start this off as a long-distance thing. If that’s even what you mean.” She steps back, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. “I’m not expecting you to be my boyfriend or anything after one kiss.”
“Right, I know, sorry, I just—”
“I get it.” She chuckles.
“We, um, my hockey team, we have this tournament type thing, um, The Great Lakes Invitation, it’s in Michigan, I know it’s a drive, but…”
“Are you asking me to come to one of your games?” Her eyes light up ever so slightly.
“Kind of. Just the last game of the invitation. It’s really the only game that I’ll have some time available after to hang out and focus on something other than hockey.”
She licks her lips, trying to hide her smile, “I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
I’m sorry, you went on a date with a girl?” Becca’s eyes widen, her jaw falling open slightly.
“Could you maybe not scream? Most of my family is asleep.”
Even though that’s true, the chances of them hearing us talking are slim to none. I’m hiding in the only finished room in the basement, which is the office.
“Fletcher Reed, you’re an idiot.”
“Why?”
“If you hadn’t missed your moment with Tate before, you sure as hell have now.”
“Why?”
“Is that the only word in your vocabulary now? You kiss a girl and suddenly can’t speak anymore.”
“I didn’t call you to criticize me.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s exactly why you called me.”
“It wasn’t even supposed to be a date,” I argue. “Tate was supposed to come, and then she dropped out last minute and—”
“Oh my god,” she groans. “You have no idea why she backed out.”
“She told me she wasn’t feeling well.”
“Hey, Fletcher, why did Tate leave the Halloween party?”
“Because I ditched her.”
“And what were you doing when you ditched her?”
“Talking to you.”
“Okay… and?”
“And what?”
“She didn’t just leave the party because you ditched her, Fletcher. She left because you ditched her for a girl. She didn’t want to give you the opportunity to do that again. She’s not actually sick. She’s jealous.”
“Jealous?” I scoff.
“Are she and Casey friends?” She shifts closer to the screen as if she’s studying my reaction.
“Not really.”
“And how did she react when you initially brought up hanging out with Casey?”
“She wasn’t thrilled, but then she agreed.”
“And then canceled.”
“You think she did that because she’s jealous of Casey?”
“You once told me that during your first relationship, you basically cut Tate out of your life. I’m not saying she’s jealous because she’s in love with you, which is still a very real possibility. I think she’s worried about losing you.”
“I was a kid during that relationship. We’ve both dated since, and it was different.”
“Was it? Or did you convince yourself it was?”
“I don’t know.”
“Tate’s seen firsthand how she gets put on a back burner for a girl, Fletcher. Whether you realize you’re doing it or not, it obviously bothers her.”
“So, how do I fix it? Should I tell Casey not to come to Michigan?”
“You invited her to Michigan?!” Her jaw drops.
“I wanted to see her again, and we leave in the morning, so I wasn’t going to be able to see her again before we headed back.”
“You can’t uninvite Casey; that will just make everything worse. Just talk to Tate, okay. It may be too late for something to happen between the two of you romantically, but it’s not too late to make sure you don’t lose your friendship as well.”
“Okay. We’ll be stuck in the car tomorrow on the way back to campus, so I’ll talk to her then.”
“Good. Now, I’ve got to go to bed. Typically, when a guy texts me at one in the morning, it’s a little more exciting than this.”
“Sorry.” I chuckle. “Thanks for picking up. Wait, why are you up?”
“Logan had a date with Marcus tonight, if that’s even what they’re calling it, so he had to debrief me when he got back.”
“Fair. Thanks again. I’ll see you in the New Year.”
“Goodnight, Fletch.”
“Goodnight.”