When I get to the parking lot, my girl is lying on the top of my truck. She’s wearing those sassy little cut-offs with her hair in braids, a plaid shirt and cowboy boots. And she’s the farthest thing from a cowgirl. But she is sexy as hell. I have to stop and stare at her for a minute, just to get the full effect. That girl right there is mine and she’s waiting for me. I smile and cock my head.
“Whatcha doing, Jojo?” I feign innocence as I step up to her. She winks at me as she slides off my truck and into my arms.
“You know the only thing you’re missing is a hat.”
Her eyes raise and a cute little grin appears. She’s up to something. Josie leans forward and nuzzles my neck making me thankful that I took a shower after practice.
“I have dinner for you.”
Yes, my girl knows what I like to eat. “Are your parents’ home?”
Josie leans back and slaps me across the chest causing me to laugh. “What?”
“Really, Liam, is that all you think about?”
“Since I popped your cherry, yes. I’m a guy and I have a hot fucking girlfriend who I happen to love and thoroughly enjoy being with, and she also happens to be standing here in a pair of shorts that are tempting me. They’re so short and I can easily slide my fingers up your legs to where I know you want me. Forgive me if my mind is in the gutter.”
Josie kisses me hard, running her hands through my still damp hair. “I made you dinner,” she tells me again, pulling away too soon. She rests her forehead against mine briefly. “There’s a picnic basket in the back, I thought we could go to the Cliffs and watch the sunset.”
“I’d like that.” She doesn’t know how much her doing this means to me. I kiss her once before throwing my football gear into the back of my truck. I open the door and let her slide in first before following her.
I rest my hand on her leg as we drive out of the school parking lot. For October, it’s still warm, an Indian summer they call it. I don’t care what the name is I love it. The weather allows me to roll the windows down and feel the wind in my hair, well what I have for hair. I love the fact that Josie doesn’t say anything about the wind messing up her hair. I feel her move closer, her hand resting on my leg and her head resting on my shoulder. I don’t know what she’s thinking, but for me, I’m thinking I don’t want this to ever end. I want to stay where we are and not have to grow up and move away from each other, but staying here doesn’t provide a future for us. I have to take one for the Westbury/Preston team, her and I, and do what I need to do to support her.
We pull into the Cliffs. They’
re not really a part of anything but a roadside destination created years ago. They were dubbed “the Cliffs” because of their high elevation. That scares some people, but I think they’re worth it. If you walk down the well-worn path you’ll find some open spaces that look out of the river where you can watch the sunrise or sunset on any given day.
Aside from two other cars, the place is deserted. Just the way I like it. It means Josie and I can be alone with no one bothering me about the upcoming football game or what college I’m going to choose. It means we can sit here and have some peace and quiet. Although quiet is the last thing I want.
I take her hand in mine and pick up the picnic basket from the back of my truck. Josie made sure we’d be prepared and has a blanket in her other hand. I pull her close and kiss her before guiding her down the path. She takes the lead and finds a spot for us, spreading out the blanket and taking the basket from my hand.
I walk to the edge of the cliff and look out over the rocky slope that feeds into a vast river. The water is flowing after the rainfall we had. We swim here every now and again, but most of the time we prefer Katelyn’s pool. The girls really don’t like the river anyway. They’re afraid they’re going to catch something.
Josie’s arms come around my waist. I lean into her and tighten my hands on her arms, holding her in place. She’s my peace. My calm. I just need her in my life to make everything okay.
“We should eat,” she says, whispering into my back. I nod and let go of her hands, but grab one to hold while we walk back to the blanket. It dawns on me that in four years I can be hearing those words from her all the time and yesterday that seemed like a long time, but tonight, it seems like tomorrow. I know I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her.
We sit down and eat chicken and pasta. I know her mom made it for us and she’s a damn good cook. Mr. Preston always jokes that’s why he keeps her around and that Josie better learn how to cook if she plans to keep me happy.
Once we’re done she crawls in between my legs and rests her head on my shoulder. I hold her in my arms as we watch the sunset, casting the perfect glow over the river. I could sit like this every day and not have a care in the world. Unfortunately, it will be back to reality for me as soon as I get home. The pile of college letters will be sitting there and Sterling will be looking at his calendar to schedule visits. None of which I want to go on. I want to sit here and hold my girl and watch this sunset over and over again because right now it’s my favorite time of the day.
Chapter 8
My father’s office light is on when I pull into our driveway. I was hoping that he wouldn’t be here when I came home. The last thing I want to do is talk to him. We have nothing civil to say to each other and we definitely don’t agree on my college career path. He wants me to play in the SEC and I want to do anything but. The schools in the SEC are fantastic, but it’s the fact that it’s what Sterling wants that makes me want to avoid every single recruiter that comes knocking, just to spite him.
I carry my football gear into the house through the garage and leave it by the basement door for my mom to wash. Drunk or not, she’s a master at getting out the grass stains. The kitchen is dark and empty with everything from dinner – if they even had dinner – put away. My mom wasn’t waiting for me to come home at all and if she was, I have no doubt that Sterling told her that I would not be eating since I didn’t go home after practice.
I have rules that I break often. My father doesn’t think I need a social life unless he approves of who it’s with. I can date any of the socialites from the country club or any of his business partners’ daughters, but he won’t acknowledge that I’m in love with Josie Preston. She’s not good enough for me and she doesn’t deserve to be on the arm of a Westbury.
Imagine being fifteen and asking a girl out for the first time only to have your father tell you she’s trash. I don’t know if it was that moment that I knew I hated my father or not. What I did know was that it didn’t matter what he said about Josie, I was going to be with her.
The television is on in the family room and I can hear ice dropping into a glass. I could stop in there and say hi to my mom, but by now she’s had so much vodka that she’s in a haze. And what’s the point? It’s not like she’s going to ask how my day was. But I want to talk to her. I want her to ask. I want her to care. I don’t think it’s too much to want at least one parent to give a shit about you, is it?
Standing in the foyer, I need to make a decision before it’s too late. I can climb the stairs to my room or I can go in and try to communicate with my mom. I step toward the family room only to be halted by the clearing of his throat. I stalled too long. I should’ve dropped my gear off and high-tailed my ass upstairs as soon as I got home. He usually doesn’t bother me if I’m in my room, but out here I’m fair game.
“Where have you been?”
“Out,” I say, knowing this answer will not suffice and only piss him off more. I turn around to face my father. He’s still dressed in his three-piece business suit with his tie barely loosened. Sterling Westbury stands at six feet two, one inch taller than me. He was also the starting quarterback in high school. He was awarded a full-ride to Auburn, but was red-shirted by the coach his freshman year and tore up his ACL the next day. My dad never started a college game and the one he played in ruined his career. I’ve heard the story many times growing and when you are six and seven, you want to be like your father. But then you start having dreams of your own and most parents let you run with those, except I’m his dream. Everything he didn’t accomplish is now on my shoulders.