“I wish I knew. It’s like I know what I want to be when I grow up and then find a whole different path. I guess that’s what freshman year of college is all about. They make us take basic classes in the hopes that by our sophomore year, we can start working towards something.”
“What do you want to be this week?” I asked.
She shook her head and laughed again.
“How are you liking having just one girlfriend?” Kim asked.
“It feels … I don’t know … normal, I guess. It feels like what I should be doing.”
“But …?”
“No buts. I’m happy with how this is working out. It’s easy with Brook. I’m lucky to have her,” I admitted.
“I’m happy for you,” Kim said, and then Jim walked up and asked her to dance.
As the two of them walked away, I sat back and took the night in. I was happy. I was surrounded by friends and a woman who loved me. What more could I ask for?
◊◊◊
Since no one was throwing an after-party, everyone decided to meet at the lake. I had mixed feelings because it was where the best and worst days of my life had occurred. My best friend drowned there, and my son was conceived there. I would prefer to have called it a night because my side was hurting me, but Brook wanted to go. What does a guy do when he wants one thing, and his girlfriend wants another? Need I spell it out?
The party was BYOB, and since I had a security guy who was over 21, we went to the liquor store. The girls wanted wine coolers. Dare told Brook he wanted to try beer, so I had Chuck get him a 40-ouncer. To my mind, that was better than getting the boy a six-pack and me wanting to have a beer later. I bought a couple of cases of soda, two Styrofoam coolers, and a bag of ice.
On the way to the park, Dare rode shotgun while Brook and I claimed the middle row. His date with my girlfriend was over once the dance ended. When we pulled in, we found we were the first ones there. Dare and I claimed a picnic table while the girls left to change their clothes. This might be an example of how they were smarter than the boys.
“Did you have a good time?” I asked.
“Yes, but you should have been Homecoming King.”
OMG! Dare was talking to me. Of course, that didn’t mean there was anything near eye contact.
“Sorry about that. You were the one who wanted to take the Homecoming Queen. It comes with the job.”
I doubt he believed me, but that was all I was getting out of him. Brook was the first one back, and she sat next to me and gave me a kiss.
“Dare said he had a good time,” I shared.
Brook’s eyes got big, and she looked around me to see Dare.
“I thought that was our secret,” she said to tease him.
Yep. Dare was done talking. The poor boy turned about five shades of red before we both laughed. The other girls came back about the time everyone else began to arrive. Someone had an old-style boom box. Soon we had a real party going.
It seemed the girls weren’t done dancing. I smiled when Tim asked Brook to dance, and Tami came and sat with me. I hadn’t gotten a chance to talk to her at Homecoming.
“Tim tells me you had some trouble in LA.”
I caught her up on everything that was going on. I realized that I hadn’t shared this with her, and the realization caused me to pause for a moment. It hadn’t struck me how much everything had changed between us until just then. Tami had always been the first person I wanted to talk to about the significant happenings in my life. In three short years, she had gone from my everything/best friend to … what?
I looked out to where everyone was dancing, saw Brook doing a sexy shimmy, and smiled. Had I really moved on? The simple answer was yes, for now. I didn’t want to admit that Brook and I might not be forever, but I’d come to realize that so much would change once we graduated high school. What had brought that home to me was my talk with Kim earlier tonight. She missed high school but was now focused on her future.
I looked up to the heavens, and it was a perfect night. The moon was reflecting off the lake, and all the stars twinkled through the trees. I was surrounded by friends who were having a good time. Why was I suddenly sad?
“What are you thinking?” Tami asked as she snuggled up next to me, and I put my arm around her.
“I’m just trying to take all this in. I have a funny feeling that somehow this is the beginning of the end.”
“That’s a weird thing to say.”
“Not really. Think about it. This time next year, I’ll be in New Zealand filming my
“Deep thoughts. What brought this on?” Tami asked.
I looked at her sideways, and our eyes locked.
“Us,” I admitted.
“I didn’t think you noticed,” she said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
“You’re right, I hadn’t,” I admitted. “I’m not sure I like it.”
“It’s okay … for now. You deserve a chance to be happy, and I think we need time apart. It won’t be forever. We both know that.”
“Do we?” I asked.
