Cherishing You (14 page)

“Don’t worry, I got it. See you then, bye.”
Finally.
I hang up and charge after Andi, who squeals as she realizes I’m coming at her. I jump on the couch, pulling her down on top of me. I bring her head to mine and place a hard, passionate kiss on her lips. Damn, I can’t get enough of her taste!

We finally have to break our kiss for air. She lays her head on my chest and I wrap my arms around her, holding her tight as we both catch our breath. After a few moments, she looks up at me.

“So, who were you talking to? And what’s going on later?”

Uh-oh.
I quickly think back to make sure I hadn’t let any details out while I was on the phone.

“Uh, I was just talking to Ron and letting him know that I wasn’t coming in today, that we’re going to do some errands and we would catch up with him later. He said that was fine and to swing by and get your car since we aren’t going to be open tomorrow.”

“Dad’s closing the shop on Saturdays now? Since when?”

“Well, he’s open every other Saturday. He says life’s too short to be cooped up working our life away every day. We usually go fishing, or he does something with your mom. I think it’s been good for them; they seem to be happier than they were before.”

“Hmm . . . Well, I’m glad they’re doing that; I just didn’t know about it. But I was thinking I should pick up my car today anyway. I should be leaving tomorrow, but I’ve decided to wait until Sunday so I have one more day with you.”

She offers me a bittersweet smile. My heart catches a little at the thought of her leaving so soon, but I push it aside. I want to enjoy every last second I can with her; I’ll have plenty of time to drown in misery when she leaves. Placing a soft kiss on her lips, I squeeze her tight. I don’t want to let her go, but I know she needs to eat so I ask if she’s ready to get some food.

“I’ll go anywhere with you, Ethan.”

Oh, this girl!

“I like the sound of that. Okay, let’s go.” We stand and walk hand in hand to the door. I open it, letting her go out ahead of me before I lock up and we head towards my truck.

“Oh, I guess I should take Mom’s car back to her so I can pick mine up later.”

“How about we take it to the shop and she can ride in with your dad, or we can take it to her later. This way, we can get something for breakfast. I know you’re hungry, you didn’t eat much at dinner last night.”

“You worry too much, but that’s fine with me. I’ll meet you at the shop.” She starts to walk to Bev’s car.

“Whoa, wait a minute, Andi.” Easily catching up to her, I grab her and turn her around, giving her a hard kiss. “I’ll see you in a few minutes, sweetheart. Be careful.” I give her another quick kiss and let go of her.

“Okay, see you soon,” she says, a big smile on her face. She goes around to the driver’s side of the car, gives me a wave, and climbs in. She puts her seat belt on before pulling out of my driveway.
Good girl.
Hey, I want her to be safe. I quickly run back to my truck and jump in, pulling out of the driveway and quickly catching up to her. I follow her back to the shop.

I’m glad I thought of this plan instead of her going home; I didn’t want to chance taking her to the farmhouse and Andi catching on to anything. The party plans are sure to be in full swing, and I agree with Ron and Bev wanting to surprise her. I’m sure she’ll be excited.

After we graduated, she told her family to cancel her graduation party. Apparently, she was angry about our fight and didn’t feel up to entertaining anyone. Also, according to Ron, if I wasn’t there then she didn’t want anyone there.

Of course, that was one more thing to add to my guilt list, but this party will make up for it. I struggled with the idea when they first told me about it. Before we made up, I didn’t think I’d be there, but I still wanted to get her something. I was just thinking about sending it with Ron, but now that things have changed, I wouldn’t be anywhere else. I want to be there for her every step of every day; I don’t know how I’m going to handle her leaving again.

I’ve decided it won’t be long before I get to see her again though, I just have to figure out how I’m going to do it. I’ve already picked up her gift for tonight; I just hope she likes it. With the way things have turned out for us, it’s a good indication she will. I have a locket that I’ve been holding on to for quite a long time. I also bought her a gift card to buy plane tickets so she can come home more often. I figured she’d like to visit her parents, and flying back and forth will allow her more time to spend with them and still get back to work easily.

And of course, now that we’re together, it’ll make it easier for her to come home to me—a win-win solution.

She parks her mom’s car and locks it up after grabbing her purse, coming over to my truck. I’m already out and holding the passenger-side door open for her. I lift her into the seat and get her buckled up. She flashes me that million-watt smile of hers, which makes my heart skip a beat every time. I shut her door, jog back around, and jump in my seat, starting up the truck. I’m not really sure where we’re going, but I don’t care as long as she’s beside me.

“So, did you have any place particular in mind to eat?”

“Uh, no, I haven’t really thought about it. Is there some place you want to go?”

“Hmm . . . I think I know a place you may not have been to yet.” With the decision made, I head out. We aren’t very far from this little restaurant I found a while back; they’d just opened apparently and weren’t too busy. I hope they can hang on to the business until they get good and advertised. It would be a shame to let this place go to waste; the food is amazing.

I’m also hoping Andi still has a taste for the fast lane. I inadvertently found this restaurant when I went to the racetrack up the street from it and the races had rained out about midway through the night. Since I hadn’t eaten, and I suddenly had time on my hands, a couple of the other racers and I decided to grab a bite to eat before heading home. That night was the first time I’d been to the track since Andi and I had gone right before graduation, before everything went to shit with us. A big smile crosses my face as I think about that night; it was actually the last fun time we had before graduation itself. That is, until now. I would say last night was definitely one of my top ten favorites so far.

We drive out of town and hit the highway. I have one hand on the steering wheel and the other lying on the seat, Andi’s fingers laced together with mine. I’m amazed at how such a strong girl has such soft hands. Even though I use gloves when I work on cars, my hands look so much harder than hers, full of scars and calluses. I never really thought about them before. Oh well, I don’t think Andi minds much; she knows the line of work I’m in, and she’s been known to turn a few wrenches herself. Not to mention, her dad owns the shop and has worked on cars since he was a kid.

We continue our drive in a comfortable silence. I can’t remember the last time I enjoyed having someone in my truck. Come to think of it, I haven’t really ever had anyone ride with me, besides one of my friends, and I don’t really hang with any of them too often.

Andi has always been my best friend though. It doesn’t matter that we didn’t talk for four years; it just means we have much more to catch up on. Besides, after all these years, I feel like I can finally be me around her. No more hiding how I feel about her, beating myself up with worry about telling her. She wants me just as much as I want her, and I’m so glad to have it out in the open.

I see our exit coming up, so I ask if she knows where we are yet.

“Well, I know there are a couple shops off this exit, and of course the race track, but I haven’t seen or heard anything about it in years. As far as I know, they didn’t put any restaurants up here, did they?”

“Actually, they did. I came across it one night after the races were cancelled. Me and my buddies were hungry and decided to grab some food. We saw this new place and decided to check it out. It’s small, but they have the potential to be great. I really hope it takes off. It’s family-owned, and they’re all really nice people. Needless to say, I’ve come back a few times. I think you’ll like it.”

“Sounds like I will. Plus, I’m starving.”

“I imagine you are. I’m hungry myself.” I easily find the place; who could miss the gigantic hand-painted oval sign with a smiling face saying, “Come on in and cool off with a big ol’ glass of sweet tea.” Cheesy, yet the southern charm tells you it’s probably good home-cooking.

I pull in and park, bringing her hand to my lips before planting a gentle kiss on the top. She gives me a big smile, and I feel my heart tug a little more. Man, have I missed her smile. I know I’m going to be lost when she leaves, but it’ll help knowing she’s mine now and all this separation won’t be permanent. I hope not, anyway.

I reluctantly let go of her hand and climb out of the truck, zipping around to pull her door open before she has the chance. Taking her hand, I help her down. Without even thinking about it, I pull her tight to my chest and place a long, slow kiss on her lips. She doesn’t hesitate, wrapping her hands around my neck and holding me in place.

As much as I don’t want to, I need to let go and take her in to eat; I can’t have my girl starving. I pull back and give her a quick squeeze.

“Come on, baby, let’s get you filled back up.” I place my hand on the small of her back and we go to the front door. I reach ahead and open the door for her, my hand still on her back as I guide her towards a booth in the back. This way, we can still talk without a lot of people. I might be a little selfish, but our time is limited and I want as much of her as she’s willing to give.

We’re sitting across from each other in a booth by the windows, where we can still see my truck—not that I’m paying it much attention anyway. A waitress comes bouncing over to us.

“Hi, y’all, and welcome to the Country Kitchen. We have soup beans and cornbread with fried potatoes for our special today. What can I get for you?” She stares at me the entire time, hardly acknowledging Andi at all. I’m not really happy that this girl has the nerve to disrespect her like that.

“Uh, my girlfriend and I would like to see the menu, please. It’s her first time here, and I told her how good the food is. So I’d appreciate it if we could look at them so she can see what she might like. Thank you.”

She gives a little huff and starts to walk away to get the menus.

“Hey, it’s okay, Ethan. I can tell she aggravated you, but she probably can’t help herself. I mean, if I hadn’t known you for forever, I would’ve been staring at you too. You’re hot!”

She makes me blush a little. I know girls have found me good-looking or whatever—it comes with being fit, I guess—but I never paid any attention to them. I’ve only ever had eyes for one girl, and now she’s mine.

“I don’t care if she thinks I’m ‘hot,’” I say, using air quotes. “I won’t stand by and let anyone disrespect you.”

Andi lets out a little giggle. “You’re so sweet, you know that?” She leans across the table and I meet her in the middle for a quick kiss.

I chill out knowing the waitress probably didn’t mean any harm. She comes back with the menus and takes back off quickly. I just chuckle a little and hand Andi a menu. I tell her a few of my picks and we are ready to order. The little waitress comes back with a smile on her face; this time, she asks us both if we’re ready and is careful not to stare at me. I didn’t mean to scare her, and I kind of feel bad. We place our orders, and Andi excuses herself to go to restroom.

Hmm, I wonder why Ethan got so uptight about the waitress.
I have to admit she was rubbing me the wrong way a little bit, but it’s not the first time I’ve played second fiddle to a girl batting her eyelashes at him, trying to get his attention. I learned to deal with it a long time ago. This time is different though; this time, he’s really mine, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t feel maybe a tad bigger pang of jealousy than I should have.

I know I don’t have anything to worry about when it comes to Ethan though; he’s as loyal as they come. I still can’t believe he called me his girlfriend. When he said that to the waitress, my heart did a little flip. The thought pastes a smile on my lips that I’m sure will probably never come off.