“Noah?” Her voice comes out as a whisper.
“Yeah?”
“Thanks for tonight. It’s really nice being able to talk to you and have you to lean on.” A cold hand finds mine under the blanket.
“Nice to see you’re still an ice cube,” I tease, turning on my side to face her.
She follows suit. “And nice to see that you’re still a walking furnace.”
I blink until my eyes adjust to the darkness, making out the lines of her face. “Somebody has to keep you warm.”
Her eyes twinkle. “I could’ve frozen to death for the last seven years though, Noah.”
Sadness fills my chest. “I’m sorry, Auddie.”
She lets out a small laugh, running her thumb across the back of my hand. “Don’t be. Things happen for a reason.” I want to ask her what she means by that, but her hand finds my cheek and I can barely focus on anything else. “We can’t go back, we can only move forward. There’s a reasonwe’re both here now. Maybe we weren’t really ready seven years ago and it would’ve ruined everything.”
“That’s a good way to look at things,” I reply half-heartedly.
She yawns one more time before insisting, “How about that bedtime story you promised me, hm?”
I work up the courage to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear and she leans into my touch, smiles filling both of our faces. “Sure. Once upon a time there was a goat princess named Auddie and a goat herder named Noah.”
She pokes my face. “Wait, are you implying I’m a goat and you’re a person? If this is a romantic story, maybe don’t go that route.”
I chuckle. “Fair point. Okay. Once upon a time there was a princess named Auddie and a knight named Noah, better?”
Her eyes flutter shut and a smile fills her face. “Much better.”
I start to tell her a story about the great adventure the knight takes to rescue the princess and before I know it, Audrey is fast asleep.
I lay with her for a while longer, admiring how cute she looks while she’s sleeping. It takes all my power not to wrap my arms around her and sleep beside her.
Eventually, I decide to move to the couch to watch a movie. My mind is reeling from how easy it felt to be with her tonight. When Connor comes home, I welcome thedistraction, but when he tells me his “date” was beer and wings night with some of our teammates, I laugh loudly. “We might have to call you Cupid Connor.”
Saying goodbye to her all over again hurts, and I think back to how she must have felt when I left for college all those years ago.
I lean against the car and fall into the memory while Connor and Audrey say goodbye to each other on the sidewalk.
Connor left a minute ago, but I convinced him I forgot my phone charger and needed to find it—really I wanted to get the final goodbye.
I want to have my last moment with her.
Audrey forces her hands into the pockets of her cut-off shorts, blinking back tears.
“You’re not going to forget me when you’re famous and shit, are you?” She tries to sound confident but her voice cracks, giving her away.
I laugh, trying to suppress my own emotions. “I promise not to forget the ‘little people’ once I’m the best in the league.”
Audrey rolls her eyes, but anxiety fills her voice. “You better not.”
“So, with Connor and I gone, who will you annoy?” I ask, leaning against my car, trying to stall as much as possible.
She looks down at her feet. “I could find a new person to occupy my time with.” I won’t be able to keep an eye on her anymore and I suddenly get nervous. She kicks a rock. “I’m kidding, no one will ever fill your void. I mean, Connor and you both. It’s not like I’ll miss you or anything though …”
Her voice breaks and I know she’s lying.
She’s a bad liar.
