Page 46 of Keep My Heart
‘You coming?’ she asks, turning back.
‘Yeah.’ I force my mind off the dirty thoughts it’s having and follow her inside the house.
I need to stop looking at Lyndsay that way, and stop thinking this dating thing we’re doing is real. It feels real, but it’s not. I’m going back to New York on Monday, and in a week she’ll be going back to LA. We might continue to talk, but I doubt I’ll ever see her again, and if I do, she’ll probably be with someone else. I just hope it’s not another guy like Chris.
Chapter 11
Nick
It’s like stepping back in time. Lyndsay’s house hasn’t changed in 15 years, not even a little. The stuffed bear Lyndsay had as a kid is still sitting on a tiny chair next to the fireplace. The green and white Packers quilt her mom made is still draped over the couch, next to the brown leather chair Lyndsay’s dad always sat in. He died when she was 14. We weren’t really friends back then, but I knew her from school. Her family had been to the orchard that day. It was a Saturday and the place was packed. I was driving the tractor, taking people to the fields to pick apples. I remember seeing Lyndsay, wondering how it was possible she got prettier every time I saw her. I knew I didn’t have a chance with her, but that didn’t stop me from imagining what it’d be like to be with her, take her out, kiss her.
She was so happy that day at the orchard, laughing at her dad’s lame jokes. He was one of those guys who told really bad dad jokes, but Lyndsay laughed at them even if nobody else did. She loved her dad. She was devastated when he passed. It happenedthat night. He was in the bathroom and collapsed from a heart attack.
‘Coffee’s almost ready,’ Patty says, coming into the living room. ‘Lyndsay, when’s the last time Nick was over? Do you remember?’
‘May of our senior year,’ I say. ‘Right before we graduated.’
I remember because it’s the day Chris proposed to Lyndsay, and the day I gave up any dreams that she’d ever be mine. I always knew it was a long shot, but I held out hope, my naïve teenage self thinking anything was possible. But that day, when he gave her the ring, my hope fizzled out. She was Chris’ girl and always would be. He didn’t really propose to her that day. He gave her a promise ring and told her he’d marry her someday, but to Lyndsay, it was as good as a proposal. She and her friends even went out and bought bridal magazines.
‘You have a good memory,’ Lyndsay says, walking over to me. ‘But I bet you don’t know the day.’
‘The tenth. I only remember that because it was Jason’s birthday and I couldn’t stay long because I had to be home for his party.’
‘That’s right,’ Lyndsay says, nodding like she’s remembering it. ‘You saved up your money and got him that baseball card he wanted.’
‘You remember that?’ My brows rise. ‘I didn’t think you were listening when I was telling you.’
‘Of course I was listening. Why did you think I wasn’t?’
‘You were staring at your hand, at the ring.’
She looks down. ‘Oh. Yeah.’
‘Sorry. I shouldn’t have brought it up.’
‘No, it’s true.’ She looks up. ‘I was staring at the ring, but I still heard what you said. I remember you telling me how you gaveup buying that part for your car so you could afford to get Jason that baseball card.’
‘It all worked out. My dad ended up loaning me money for the part.’
‘Your father’s a good man,’ Patty says.
‘So is his son,’ Lyndsay says, gazing up at me.
Something beeps from the kitchen. ‘That’s the coffee,’ Patty says. ‘Come into the kitchen. I put out some zucchini bread.’
‘Mom, we just ate,’ Lyndsay says as we follow her mom to the kitchen table.
‘I know, but I have to at least offer Nick some. He’s our guest.’
‘I’d love some,’ I say, sitting down next to Lyndsay. I’m still full from breakfast, but I could find room for a piece of zucchini bread. It’s not often I get homemade baked goods. My mom stuffs me full of them when I’m here in town, but back in New York, breakfast is usually dark coffee and a protein bar on my way into the office.
‘So how long are you here for?’ Patty asks as she serves me a piece of zucchini bread on a small white plate with a scalloped edge. I smile, feeling like I’m back in high school, sitting here at the kitchen table tutoring Lyndsay, her mom serving me cookies on these same tiny plates.
‘I’m leaving on Monday,’ I tell her.
‘Oh, that’s a shame.’ Patty goes to get the coffee. ‘It’s too bad you can’t stick around for the reunion.’
‘Reunions aren’t really my thing,’ I say with a laugh. ‘I’m trying to forget high school, not return to it.’
