“You’re going to find your forever Katie, and barely even remember Matt.” She slowly turned her head to face me. A soft smile spread across her face as she looked back at me.
“Thank you, Len.” I beamed back at her.
“It’s what best friends are for. I’m pretty sure it’s one of the requirements of having that title that I bring you up when you feel like you’re crashing.” She laughed at my comment before she pulled me into a hug. Suddenly, she pulled back.
“Oh my gosh, that reminds me. How did this weekend go?”
I couldn’t fight my smile as I thought about the time I got to spend with West. It wasn’t much, but that didn’t really matter. I had still enjoyed every minute of it. “It was incredible,” I gushed. Katie smiled widely back at me.
“And did you take my advice?” A warm blush rose to my cheeks as flashes of my failed attempt to seduce West came to mind.
“Um, not exactly.” She raised a brow in question. “It just wasn’t the right time.” She frowned, but didn’t bother to argue with me further.
“So, come on,” she urged.
“What?” She rolled her eyes as she looked back at me.
“Tell me what you did do with him? What did y’all talk about?” I vaguely described my day with West, making sure not to slip up at all about who I was really with. She smiled the entire time, and occasionally would ask me questions. She was curious about what he was like when he wasn’t hamming it up for the crowd and of course she was curious if he really was that good looking in person. We laughed together, and by the time we said goodbye, it was pretty obvious that the last thing on her mind was Matt and their bad breakup.
Eighteen
There were only five weeks left before I would officially be a high school graduate. On the one hand, it seemed like a lifetime away still, and on the other it seemed like I’d blink and it would all be over.
Prom had already come and gone the week before. Katie and I had decided to go together since neither one of us had guys around to take us. It ended up actually being a lot of fun. We danced and laughed more than I think I have in a long time, and then we both spent the night at her house. I’m not even sure what time we finally ended up falling asleep, but I know it was well into the early morning hours. Still, I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I figured it would be one of the last times we would get to hang out before we left for our separate lives. Or, so I thought.
The next few weeks went by in a blur. West and I talked on the phone every night, just like he had promised. Though, not all of our conversations were thrilling. With both of us in school and working, it was hard to get each other on the phone. Even when we managed to do that, it didn’t take long before one or sometimes both of us passed out with the phone by our ear.
Still, we were making it work. Just a few months were the only thing that separated us from getting to be together more frequently, I was counting down the days.
The night before graduation, I was sitting in my nook, reading when my phone pinged from my desk. I walked over and smiled when I saw West’s name on the screen.
West: Good luck tomorrow, beautiful. Wish I could be there.
I sent back a reply.
Me: Thank you. I wish you could be too.
West: Why are you still awake? It’s past midnight.
Me: Can’t sleep. My mind won’t shut off.
West: I’m sorry. :( Anything I can do?
Me: Just talk to me for a minute?
Our minute ended up lasting until two in the morning. By the time I managed to actually fall asleep, I only had four more hours until it would be time to get up. I wasn’t sure how I was going to make it through the whole ceremony the following day.
I was in the middle of getting dressed when my mom knocked on my door. “Come in,” I called out as I turned back to look at my reflection. I saw her step into my room and my eyes immediately went to the stunning bouquet of flowers she was carrying. I turned back around to face her.
“Oh my gosh. Mom. Those are gorgeous.” I walked over to take them from her and I couldn’t erase my smile. “It must have cost you a fortune. You shouldn’t have.”
“I didn’t,” she said simply. I looked over at her and saw the smug smile on her lips.
“Then…?”
“Read the card.” I sat the bouquet down on my desk and picked up the little card that was attached. I opened it with both brows raised in curiosity. When I saw the familiar messy handwriting, I thought I might cry.
Lennon-
I’m so proud of you. I wish I could see you when you walk across that stage. I bet you’re the most stunning graduate they’ve ever had. I miss you.
-West
I looked over at mom with panic all over my face. While West hadn’t actually said anything too bad in the card, I knew she was smart enough to figure out something was going on. She raised one brow as she looked back at me.
“Uh…” I began, but I had no clue what to say. I didn’t want to lie to her.
“How long?” She asked with a hint of a smile on her face. That’s when I knew it was okay. She wasn’t going to tell me to end it. She wasn’t going to yell at me for keeping it from her. She was just going to listen while I told her about the boy that had completely stole my heart.
By the time I caught her up to everything, she was smiling just as widely as I was. She walked over and gave me a hug.
“I didn’t want you to be unhappy, Len,” she said. “I’ve always liked Weston, you know that. I think he’s a terrific young man, and I know he cares a lot about you.” When I gave her a perplexed look, she clarified. “You two aren’t exactly as secret as you think. Cynthia and I have expected something for years now.”
“Mrs. Blake knows?” Mom just smiled as she looked back at me.
“She suspects. I don’t think she’ll be surprised in the slightest when I tell her.”
“Mom you can’t.”
“Why?”
“Because we don’t want anyone to know. Not yet.” She motioned toward the bouquet sitting on my desk.
“He’s not exactly hiding this thing between you two.”
“Please Mom, not yet.” She frowned, but finally nodded her head.
Graduation went off without a hitch. I managed to stay awake the whole time. Afterward, we all went out to eat to celebrate. Katie and I talked almost nonstop about what the next step was for the both of us. I hadn’t heard from the girls yet, but I was remaining optimistic. Katie was too, and she assured me that the second they called, we were going to go shopping to buy everything we might need and a few things we didn’t for our lives as college freshmen.
Sure enough, about a week after graduation, I was sitting in my room when my phone started ringing. The girls had come to the unanimous decision that they wanted me as their fourth roommate. After quite a few ‘are you serious, we ended our chat. The first person I called was West.
“Hey, what are you doing?” He asked in a cheery tone when he answered.
“I got the house!” I said excitedly.
“Are you serious?” He asked which brought an immediate grin to my face. “Len, that’s fantastic!”
“I have to call your sister so we can go shopping, but I wanted to tell you first.”
“I’m so happy for you. Now, that means you’re one step closer to being closer to me.”
“I know. I can’t wait.”
“Me neither.”
“Okay, well I’ll let you go. I know you’re probably busy.”
“I’ll call you tonight,” he promised. “Bye Len.”
“Bye.” As soon as I hung up, I dialed Katie’s number. After a bit of excited squealing on both of our ends, she told me she was headed my way.
We spent the next three hours shopping for our new places. I got a new desk, bed, and dresser set while Katie got an entire new wardrobe. When I looked at her with one brow raised, she assured me it was necessary to reinvent one’s self while in college. I just laughed as I walke
d away to look for a new bedding set.
The rest of the summer was much faster than I thought it would be. I spent a majority of it packing up my room and getting some last minute things together before leaving Leering behind.
West and I still tried to talk as much as possible, but the last week or so, he had started back up with football practices. The coach kept him out late into the evening and had him up early every morning. It was harder than ever for us to talk, and sometimes we only ever got the other’s machine. Still, I was committed to trying, and I knew he was too. It was obvious every time we did talk how much we missed one another. The distance was hard, but I just kept reminding myself that in a few more weeks, it would all be over. We would only be an hour and a half apart.
Two weeks before we were set to leave for college, Katie came up with a plan to head back to the cabin we had gone to right before our sophomore year. She wanted the two of us to get there Thursday night, and then we would spend all day Friday shopping and prepping for a massive party Saturday night, our ‘Going Away Bash’ as Katie had taken to calling it.
It was going to be epic, and I knew that I wanted West there with me. I called him about a week before the party. I expected to get his machine again, but when his voice came through, it took me a second to realize it was the real deal.
“West?” I asked.
“Yeah, it’s me Len.”
“I thought you had practice.”
“Coach let us out a little early. I was actually just about to head out with the guys for a bit.”
“Oh, well I’ll make this quick then. Next week, Katie and I are throwing a going away party up at the cabin. She’s invited like every single person we know.” I laughed at my little joke, but he remained silent. “Um, anyway, I know high school parties aren’t exactly your thing anymore, but I was hoping maybe you could come up.”
“I wish I could Len,” he said, and I could hear the disappointment in his tone. It matched how I was feeling exactly. “Coach is making cuts in another couple of weeks. If I skip any practices, then I won’t play this season.”
My throat felt tight, and I knew I was close to crying. It had been months since I’d last seen him. I missed him like crazy and as much as I loved our phone calls, they just weren’t the same as seeing him.
“I miss you,” I whispered.
“I miss you too Len. Believe me, it’s killing me not to see you. If this weren’t so important, you have to believe me that I would be there in a heartbeat.”
“I understand,” I replied sadly.
“Len, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I feel awful.” I could tell he really did too. Football came first though. It was his dream, and I couldn’t, wouldn’t ask him to give that up for me.
“Don’t. It’s just some dumb party anyway. Besides, I’ll see you soon.”
“Yeah,” he said. I didn’t have anything else to say, and I felt like I was on the verge of tears. The last thing I wanted was for him to hear me cry.
“Hey, I actually have to go. Have fun with the guys tonight.”
“Len, we can talk about this.” I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me.
“No, don’t be silly. I’m fine.” My voice shook as I said it, and I prayed he didn’t hear. I did understand. It sucked, but I got it. I didn’t want to make him feel bad for going after the things he wanted in life. Not many people got the chance to live out their dreams.
“I’m really sorry.”
“I’m fine. Have fun.”
“Night Lennon. I miss you.”
“I miss you too. Goodnight West.” Then I hung up just as the first tears started to roll down my cheek.
Nineteen
The night before the party at the cabin, I was missing West more than usual. I hated that he wouldn’t be there with me, but I understood. Still, I was dying to talk to him. It took the usual couple of rings before I heard the click and then his signature deep voice would come through, making my whole insides warm and tingly.
“Hello beautiful,” he said, causing my face to break into a wide grin.
“Hi.”
“Are you ready for tomorrow?” He asked.
“I wish you could be here,” I whispered as I lay back on my pillow and stared up at the ceiling. I was in the same room I’d had the last time we were here, but for some reason it seemed different this time around. Maybe because I was older. Maybe because the last time I had no clue West liked me and now we were in this secret relationship.
“I know Len, I do too.” A beat paused between his words. “I miss you.”
“I miss you too.” It was inevitable that at some point in our conversation, we hit this stage. “Maybe I can come see you before classes start. I mean you’re only going to be an hour and a half away now.”
“Yeah,” he said, but something in his tone seemed off. He didn’t sound nearly as enthusiastic about that idea as I expected him to be.
“Is everything okay?” I asked.
“Yeah, just tired.” I frowned. I wanted to believe him, but he was almost always tired when we spoke and he still made a point to at least try and sound happy.
“How is practice going?”
“Fine, Coach has been really making us work for it though.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. There were some guys on the team last year that didn’t really do much, and that hindered us making it all the way. Hopefully this year we can weed out some of the bad players.”
I wasn’t really sure what to say to that, so I simply agreed with him. The conversation came to another lull, and I wasn’t sure how to make it progress. Apparently, neither did West.
“Hey, I’m sorry, but I’m pretty beat.” I nodded my head despite the fact that he couldn’t see me.
“Yeah, of course, I understand.”
“Alright, sorry Len. I’ll try and call you tomorrow.”
“Okay, goodnight.”
“Night.” Then our call disconnected. I tried not to over think it. He had said he was tired and I knew between his job and getting ready for tryouts that would take place; he had to be stretched thin. I wasn’t going to take it personally that our chat had been much shorter than any one before it. I sat my phone down on my nightstand and told myself that things would be better once I was closer. Then we would be able to make more time for one another. Things would get better for us. I was sure of it.
The following night, I was standing next to some guy that I recognized from around school, but couldn’t for the life of me remember his name. He was prattling on and on about the difference between an ivy league education, which apparently he would be getting, and just a regular degree, which I would be getting. I smiled politely while I tried to think up a good excuse for getting away. I was three seconds away from telling him that it was that time of the month when I caught a glimpse of a familiar grin coming toward me.
I blinked a few times before my smile stretched slowly across my face. The guy was still talking away, but I was no longer even pretending to pay attention to him. My focus was solely on West as he strode across the room and came to a stop in front of me. That perfect dimpled smile was on full display as he looked down at me.
“Surprise,” he said, grinning even wider. I didn’t think about it, I just reacted. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him into a tight hug. His hands found my hips before eventually he wrapped them around me too. When we pulled apart, I noticed Mr. Ivy League had vanished.
“What are you doing here?” I asked the shock evident.
“I wanted to surprise you. You don’t know how hard it was not to tell you I was coming up last night.” Well, I guess that explained why he had been acting so strange. Instant relief washed over me.
“I can’t believe you’re really here. I missed you.” He was still smiling as he looked down at me.
“I missed you too.” He reached up and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear, the way he so ofte
n did. “You want to go for a walk?” I nodded my head. He took my hand in his despite the fact that anyone could see, and then we walked outside together. The air felt thick and ahead in the distance, I saw a flash of lightning. West must have seen it too, because he led me underneath the awning in the back of the house.
A rumble of thunder echoed close by as we stepped into the dark space. West dropped my hand while he went in search of the light switch. After a few seconds, the area was bathed in a warm light. I expected him to come back to me, but he just walked along the edge looking anywhere that wasn’t in my direction. His silence was unsettling.
“Penny for your thoughts,” I said, hoping that would be enough to bring him back. He glanced over at me, and his expression made me nervous. It was obvious there was something on his mind that I wasn’t going to like.
“I’ve been thinking,” he began and my heart started to race. He moved closer to me just as another flash of lightning illuminated the sky. The light in our small space flickered and I wondered how much longer we would be able to see one another. “I care a lot about you Lennon. I hope you know that.”
I swallowed hard before I nodded my head. “I do.”
“I’ve enjoyed the time that I’ve spent with you.” The thunder rumbled loudly and it sounded like it was right above us. I shook from the sound. “I just think…” he paused and my breathing kicked up a notch. The light flickered again. “I think maybe it would be good for us to take a break.”
Another rumble came just as it felt like my feet were swept out from under me. I couldn’t make sense of what he said. “Why?” I choked out.
Soaked Page 14