“Wanna go with me?I know it’s not for a while, but—”
“I’d love to!”I cut him off.He reaches over to squeeze my hand, a small, satisfied smile rolling out over his face.
“Okay, and Gabriella?”
She’s a pain in the butt, and it feels weird to know she took my place, so to speak, but we had some good times.We were friends.
He blows out a big reserve of air, taking his hand back to scrub his face.“Gabby’s a nice girl but is also so much work.”
“Did you just call her Gabby?”
“Yep.I told her if I’m going to call her more than one time a day, and she doesn’t want to be called babe, I’m shortening her name.”
I don’t know why hearing him consider calling Gabriella “babe” feels like a rock in my stomach, but it does.Heavy and sharp, indigestible.
“Haven’t seen much of Kim, and Jan hasn’t responded after my text this morning,” he continues.
“What was your text?”
“She wanted to send Gabby here to fix our ‘PR stunt’ last night.Her words not mine.I said no.”
“Oh.”
“I also told her I’m done playing her game and if that means I lose, I lose.”
“Wait!What!Levi!What about everything you worked for?What about the plan?”I reach over with intentions of squeezing his arm, but my hand looks like a child’s over his bicep.
“Plans change and I’m no one’s monkey.I’ll figure it out, I always do.”
“You will,” I affirm.“Well, that’s great.Where are we off to now?”Signs of Nashville approaching pepper the road, so I know we’re getting closer to the city.
“Tim and your sister said they wanted to meet for dinner at a new bowling alley...but I wanted to ask you before confirming.”
Dang, I totally forgot about my sister.“Has she been with him all day?”
Levi glances over.“Yeah, I think so.But, Tate, you don’t have to worry.Tim’s a good guy.One of my best friends.”
“I’m not worried.It’s just that...Callie tends to be whimsical.She loves love more than anyone I know and is always blindsided when it ends.”
Levi's eyes grow wide.“Love?It hasn’t even been twenty-four hours.”
“I know, I know.She’s a love-at-first-sight, serendipitous type.Convinced that God has this one person made just for her...”I look out the window at the rolling pastures.The sky growls overhead.There was talk of snow, and I was hopeful, but nothing yet.
“What do you believe?”he asks, glancing over.His face is no longer carefree.There’s a heaviness.Undetectable to most.
“About what?”
He tilts his head to his shoulder, eyes still on the road.“About love...and God?”
“I guess I believe in both.Just not in the way she does.I don’t think good things just happen or you fall into your purpose.You have to be the one taking the next indicated steps, no matter how uncomfortable, foreign, or scary that might be.”
“Hmm, so...”He presses a palm over his mouth for a minute.“You believe in God.”He looks at me.Waiting for an answer.
“Of course.Don’t you?”
Everything about his face is pinched.The longer he doesn’t answer the more air escapes from the cab.
“No, Tate.I don’t.”
