Chapter Seven
Sisters
I carried the final moving box inside and set it on the kitchen floor. Wiping the dust from my hands, I looked around and smiled. “This is a really great place, Michelle.”
“It’s so small,” she complained.
I refrained from rolling my eyes. It was my only day off this week, and I was helping my sister finish moving and unpacked, so she could stop sleeping on Mom and Dad’s couch. Yet, all she could seem to do was complain. I knew firsthand how hard it was to live alone, how long and lonely the nights could be, but this situation was a hundred times better than the one she was leaving behind.
“Yes, it might be small, but it’s all yours. You don’t have to share anything with anyone,” I said as cheerfully as possible, hoping it might make her feel better.
Michelle flopped down on the couch, which was placed haphazardly in the middle of the living room, and sighed heavily. “Yeah, it will be nice not to be constantly picking up after that bum and tripping over his stupid shoes. I swear he owns more pairs than I do.”
I laughed, happy to see Michelle’s mood pick up so easily. I sat beside her, surveying the dozens of boxes littered throughout the apartment. It was going to take forever to unpack everything. She’d asked me to cook for her and bake my special chocolate chip walnut cookies, I was afraid we’d never find the proper utensils or ingredients in time.
“We should probably start with the kitchen first if you expect me to cook for you.”
Nodding, Michelle said, “Yeah…or we could just order in, save both of us headaches.”
“Oh, that would be wonderful.” I concurred before resting my head on the back of the couch and momentarily closing my eyes.
I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. After Lucas dropped me off, he called and we spend a few hours on the phone. Once we did finally hang up, I couldn’t stop smiling or thinking about him, about that kiss. Even now I could feel his lips on mine, feel his arms around me, holding me. I sighed dreamily.
“What’s got you floating around on cloud nine?” The sharp voice of my sister said, cutting the air.
I lifted my head and looked at my sister, knowing she was going to freak out as soon as I told her. She was always on my case to start dating again, but I’d never really had any interest – until. “I had a date with Lucas last night.”
Her eyes widened and she sat up straighter, turning toward me and crossing her legs beneath her. “The sexy bull rider from the hospital you told me about?”
I nodded. “Yup, that’s him. Lucas Hudson. Even his name is sexy, don’t you think?”
Michelle laughed. “Uh, yeah! So, tell me all about it, and don’t leave out a single detail.”
For the next half an hour, I detailed my date to her, telling her everything. When it came to the part of the date when he kissed me, I glossed over it. It wasn’t because I didn’t trust her with the information, I did, but for the time being, I wanted to keep it kind of private, something special between just me and Lucas. I should’ve known she wouldn’t let it slide though.
“Whoa. He kissed you? And you let him?”
“Of course I let him.” I gave her an odd look, annoyed with the fact she had this misconception I was some sort of prude when it came to men and physical contact. Granted, that’s how I’d lived for the past several months, but what she didn’t know was just how much I’d missed the touch of a man, the companionship that came with being in a relationship.
She laughed. “Sorry, no reason to get defensive. So, how was it? Are you going to see him again?”
“It was the single best kiss of my entire life,” I said, letting the memory of it consume me once again. God, what I wouldn’t give to have him here right now kissing me.
“Aw, Becca.” Michelle said as she leaned forward and hugged me. It was nice to know that no matter what life threw at her, how low she was in life at the moment, she could put all that aside and be happy for me. And I could do the same for her. “That’s great.” She smiled. “So, when’s your next date?”
My heart raced at the mere mention of seeing him again. “Well, he’s performing with the rodeo next weekend and asked me to come watch. He said I could bring you along if you wanted to go.”
“Hell yeah, I do!” She laughed. “I need to meet the man who brought my sister out of her self-imposed solitude and put that rosy glow back in her cheeks.”
As much as I loved her, Michelle could be so dramatic at times.
“He said he wanted to see me again, but we haven’t actually made another date.” I continued.
I frowned at that realization. It’s not like he’d be around forever so why hadn’t he made plans with me? I couldn’t read too much into it. Maybe he wanted to see if I would follow through on my promise to watch him ride. Or maybe he’d only been being nice after our kiss, unsure what else to say, so he blurted that out in the heat of the moment. Guys did things like that all the time, didn’t they? Say they’d call or that they should go out again, but then disappear off the face of the earth?
Lucas wasn’t like that. I had to believe that. He was too much of a gentleman. I’m sure he was just busy with the rodeo and other responsibilities. He did grow up in Covanta after all. He was probably visiting with his family and friends. I couldn’t fault him for that. Family had always been the most important thing to me, and it was high on my list of attractive attributes.
“He wants to have kids, you know,” I said, standing and preparing to start unpacking.
“He told you that?” My sister responded.
“Yeah.” I laughed. “We talked about so much last night, Michelle. He loves the rodeo and clearly doesn’t want to give that up yet, but he was very clear about his desire to someday settle down and start a family.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever met a man, let alone been on a first date with one, who openly talked about the future and a family like that. He sounds like a keeper, Becca.”
I paused with a stack of bowls in my hands. A keeper. I sighed. Yeah, he was definitely a keeper, long term boyfriend and husband material. I’d known that after talking to him in the hospital that night.
“Too bad he’s leaving in a few weeks to go back on the road,” I said, sadness clouding my voice, as I made my way into the kitchen to put the bowls in the cabinet.
Michelle followed me into the room, leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed. “How long before he leaves?”
“A couple of weeks.” I shrugged, not wanting to think about that inevitable day.
“So that gives you a few weeks to change his mind.” Michelle smiled triumphantly as if she’d just figured out a big, first world problem.
A short laugh escaped me. “Yeah, right. I have no intention of trying to convince him to stay. The rodeo is his life, his dream, his career. I can’t be that selfish, Michelle.”
“No, maybe not, but you can get him to fall in love with you…if he isn’t already.” She winked and pushed off the frame, walking toward me. “I know firsthand how hard and sucky long distance relationships can be, but if you two really like each other, there’s no reason this can’t work. Like you said, he’s not going to be with the rodeo forever.”
“No, he’s not,” I shook my head, conceding to that point. “But how do I know he won’t meet someone else in the next town he stops in? Or that he doesn’t already have several girlfriends scattered across the country?”
Michelle sighed. “Do you really believe that?” When I didn’t answer, she said, “I didn’t think so.”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged. “I’m probably getting way ahead of myself here. It was just one date. For all I know, it meant nothing to him.”
“Well, for what it’s worth, I think you need to keep an open mind about this. Don’t let something like his job sway you.” My sister summarized with a level headed approach that was normally only reserved for me.
The tone of her voice made my stomach twist. She sounded way too much like
our Mom, and I would’ve told her that, if I knew it wouldn’t start a big disagreement. Michelle hated it when people pointed out how similar she was to our mother. It was the quickest and easiest way to offend her, which isn’t something I wanted to do, but the truth of it smacked me in the face.
We spent the next several hours unpacking and organizing, working in comfortable silence most of the time, and when we did talk, it was about where things were going to go and decorating ideas for the apartment. As the day progressed, I could see Michelle’s excitement building. This was the first time she’d ever been on her own and not living with parents or a boyfriend. I remembered how scared I was when I first moved out on my own. Thankfully, I had the support of Michelle, and I was determined to return the favor. I wanted her to succeed.
“I say we grab some food,” Michelle said, glancing at her cell phone to check the time. “It’s almost five.”
“Sounds good. I’m starving. Do you just want to have a pizza delivered, or do you want to go somewhere and get something?” I asked.
“Pizza is fine. I’m not leaving the house looking like this.” She held her arms out to her sides and looked down at her ratty, dust covered clothes.
I suppressed a smile. “Okay, I’ll order it. Want our usual? Extra cheese, sausage and peppers?”
“Yes, and be sure to get some garlic knots, too!”
I laughed. I’d skipped having garlic bread last night because I didn’t want to have bad breath should Lucas have kissed me. It was a good call on my part, but tonight I didn’t have to worry about that, so I planned to order double. Garlic knots from the local pizza shop were among my favorite. In fact, I liked them so much, I found a recipe to make them myself.
Retrieving my cell phone from my purse, I swiped my thumb across the screen and was pleasantly surprised to find a voicemail and three text messages – all from Lucas. Actually, giddy was probably a better word. I was giddy. I read the text messages first.
Thinking of you.
Wish I was with you right now instead of with a group of sweaty dudes. That one made me laugh out loud.
I miss you, Rebecca.
Then I played the voicemail, which I guessed – correctly – was from him. “Hey, Rebecca. Just taking a quick break and thought I’d give you a call since you haven’t responded to a single one of my texts. Or maybe you’re just trying to tell me something.” He chuckled. “I really do want to see you again. Give me a call so we can make another date.”
I sighed, clutching the phone to my chest as if that would somehow bring me closer to him. Then I typed back a quick text response: helping my sister move and get settled. Will call later this evening. I miss you, too. As I pressed send, I couldn’t remember a time when I’d felt so happy, and I wanted this feeling to last forever.