I loved it.
We’d come here often to just talk and hang out.
The sun was setting, and it was a beautiful summer evening. There wasn’t a cloud in sight. The sky was calm with soft colors of orange and red for miles and miles, with no end in sight. The gentle lull of the air and the smell of wilderness from the forests below were all around us, seeping into our senses.
We couldn’t have asked for a more picturesque day.
Once we were done eating and I sobered up, I leaned my head on Leo’s shoulder, trying not to think about the fact that this would be the last time we’d be sitting here for who knows how long.
A sudden sadness crept over me.
Can I do this? Really leave my family and him behind?
I thought about Bill’s story with his wife, how she only lasted four months and came running back to everything and everyone she knew.
Especially, her best friend.
And we got married a year later…
Leo nudged my head with his shoulder. “What are you thinking about over there?”
“Tomorrow.”
He stayed silent for longer than I would have liked before he said, “Yeah, I’ve been thinking about tomorrow a lot today too.”
I swallowed hard, hearing him admit what I already knew. Leo and I had a connection I couldn’t explain or understand. It had always been that way between us. This unspoken bond, where words weren’t needed to know how we were feeling.
He was my person.
I was his.
Why do I suddenly want him to ask me to stay? Would I? If he asked me to not leave him… would I stay for him?
My mind ran rampant with question after question I never started thinking about until this very second.
As if he knew what I needed at that moment, Leo placed his arm around my body, pulling me into the nook of his arm. I felt him inhale a deep, steady breath as he hugged me closer to him, kissing the top of my head.
We stayed like that for the rest of the time we were there, in complete silence, watching the world revolve around us like we were the only two people in it. The bright colors of the sky started giving way to nightfall, blending brilliantly in deep oranges to fire reds.
Sunsets in Tennessee were always a sight to behold.
“You ready?”
Giving in to the emotions I couldn’t seem to control, I snapped, “What a loaded question, Leo. If you’re asking me if I’m ready to go to your next stop, then I’d reply that I’m ready when you are. If you’re asking me if I’m ready to leave tomorrow, to move away from you and my parents, my home here… then my response would be, I’m not so sure anymore. Was this your plan today?” I pulled away to look into his eyes. “Make me doubt my decision?”
“You sound upset.”
“I’m not. I’m just wondering.”
He thought about it for a second. “My plan wasn’t to make you doubt, it was to remind you.”
“Of what?”
“Of all the things we’ve accomplished together, and all of the future things we will do again someday. Today was supposed to be a day to remember our past, our memories, the years of friendship we’ve had, but—” he grinned “—your ass still found a way to make it a first one for us despite what I wanted.”
Smirking, I shook my head. Only Leo could turn this serious conversation between us into a lighter one.
Sweeping the hair away from my face, he placed it behind my ear. “It doesn’t matter if you’re here or there, Mila, you’re still going to be my best friend.”
“Promise?”
“What are you so worried about? I’m not the one that’s leaving.”
I opened my mouth to answer him, however God had other plans for us that evening. The sound that no one ever wanted to hear hastily invaded our peaceful atmosphere.
Whoop. Whoop.
“Oh shit!” I instantly stood, watching with a horrified expression as a cop car approached. “They’ve come for us!”
And not just any police vehicle, it was a sheriff’s SUV.
“Oh no, Leo! We’re going to jail!” I scowled at him, fisting my hands at my sides. “I told you! I told you it was a bad idea to break into the lake and now we’re going to get locked up! I’ll tell you right now, I’m way too pretty for prison! Do you see how cute I am?”
“Oh, I see how cute you are. Especially, right now.”
I ignored his compliment, too concerned with what was about to happen to us.
“Leo! I’ll be someone’s fiddle! Me! Mila Love Lawrence will be someone’s property as soon as I step into the yard.”
He laughed so hard his head fell back.
“Why are you laughing at me?” I argued, stomping my foot. “Have you taken a good look at yourself in the mirror recently? Do you see how handsome you are? You’ll—” I stabbed my finger into his chest to get my point across “—be someone’s bitch too. You’ll be fresh meat for the ring leader, he will have you shanking people in the big yard and doing all his care packages in no time. Yelling at you to make his mud and suck his… oh man.” I grabbed onto my stomach. “My belly cannot handle this again.”