“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.
