Page 59 of The Confidant
“ARCHIE!”Pastor Caldwell called again.
“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Scarlett whispered before standing on her tiptoes and giving me one last kiss. “Be safe walking home.”
“I will. Good night, Scarlett.”
“Good night.”
As she picked up Archie and carried him back toward her home, I slipped behind the bench and pressed my back against the fence.
That was close.
I drew in a deep breath, hoping it would help calm my racing heart as I watched Scarlett walk away through the moonlight.
And then, I couldn’t help but smile. I had finally taken a step forward with the girl of my dreams. We were no longer living in limbo.
Scarlett headed inside the house with her dad. When their front door closed, I quickly stepped out from my hiding place and dashed through the trees. I briefly paused under the big elm tree I used to climb as a kid, my gaze lifting to the giant cathedral hulking thirty yards away.
Even though the sight of that church used to be a place of comfort—a happy place I could come to each Sunday morning—instead of feeling any warmth, I felt nauseous and cold.
Along with a sense of dread and betrayal.
Because for seventeen and a half years, I’d been raised believing in and dedicating my life to a church build on a sandy foundation of lies.
Don’t think about that right now,I told myself, forcing my gaze the other way.That organization doesn’t need to ruin another night.
It had already taken so much.
So instead of dwelling on the past, I looked away from the shadows of the church and slipped through the gate, closing it and the past behind me.
Tonight, I would allow myself to be happy. Tonight, I would live in the bliss of kissing my best friend.
I’d find a way to talk to Scarlett about everything else some other time.
19
HUNTER
I slept well that night,and when the sun peeked through my windows the next morning, I found myself smiling. I rolled onto my side and reached for my phone, figuring I’d send Scarlett a “good morning” text.
Should I be daring and send a photo of me waking up with bed head and a smile on my face?
Or would she think that was weird?
Maybe I should put a shirt on first? That way she wouldn’t think I was trying to make this a sexy thing.
I mean, I wouldn’t mind having our relationship turn into something more serious like that eventually, but since we were still at the very beginning of figuring things out, I didn’t want to push anything or make her feel uncomfortable.
I grabbed a shirt from my dresser and lay back in bed to pretend like I’d just woken up. Except, when I reached for my phone on the nightstand, I found that in my love-drunk state last night, I’d forgotten to set it on my wireless charger and so it was completely dead.
Guess I’ll try that some other time.
I set my phone back down, this time making sure it was where it needed to be in order to get a full charge. Then I climbed out of my king-sized bed for the second time.
After taking a quick shower and giving my chest a spritz of the cologne Scarlett had given me last year, I headed down the hall to whip up a chai latte using the special house-made blend my mom bought by the gallon from the local coffee shop.
My parents should be heading out to church any minute, so I figured I could use the time they were out to work onThe Confidant’s next column.
I’d received a bunch of really great questions this week, so if time and inspiration permitted, I might try answering a few more than I usually did.
