Love at First Sight

by Kelly Elliott

  “Chloe,” he whispered.

  Swallowing hard, I opened my mouth to tell him I loved him. That I wanted more than just a friendship, but the fire alarms went off, most likely a prank, but everyone panicked as teachers and administrators ushered us out of the ball room. Rip had a firm hold of my hand as we quickly made it out of the building. My one chance to tell Rip how I felt slipped right through my fingers.

  The rest of the night our entire class was locked in at Main Event where everyone spent the rest of the night acting like middle school kids. We played laser tag, climbed ropes, played video games, and avoided talking about our futures.

  I stood in the middle of the apartment I was sharing with Alyssa, a huge smile on my face.

  Alyssa walked in and dropped a bag.

  “That’s it. The last of my stuff.”

  She walked over to me and laced her arm in mine. “We are officially college students.”

  We both giggled like silly girls.

  “Finally! On our own,” I said.

  “Not yet you aren’t,” my daddy said from the doorway. I headed over to him, taking one of the bags he was carrying.

  “Okay, well, sort of on our own.”

  Alyssa’s parents walked in with my mom.

  “This place is so adorable. I’m glad we decided to rent you an apartment rather than have you stay in the dorms,” Darlene, Alyssa’s mother, said.

  “I agree. I like the security here, as well.” Alyssa’s father, Walter, added.

  My mother opened the refrigerator and sighed. “We need to go grocery shopping.”

  “Paxton, I think the girls can go on their own,” Daddy said.

  “They won’t know what to buy!” my mother argued.

  “Mom, Alyssa and I know what to buy. I know how to cook. I learned from the best.”

  She sighed, wiped a tear away, and leaned into my father. “I thought I was ready for this day. It appears I’m not.”

  “Don’t cry, Mom!” I said, making my way over to her. “It’s going to be fine. I’ve got Alyssa with me, and Rip and Mike aren’t that far away.”

  Rip and Mike had moved into off-campus housing in an apartment they shared with two other guys. All of them played sports. I already knew Mike would most likely be here all the time with Alyssa.

  “What are your plans for the rest of the day?” my father asked.

  Shrugging, I replied, “Probably go to the grocery store and then go visit Rip and Mike.”

  Darlene and Walter came out of Alyssa’s bedroom.

  With a sad smile, Darlene said, “Well, it looks like the girls have everything. This is your new home for the next four years, girls. Enjoy it.”

  Alyssa hugged her father as I looked around our little apartment. Our parents had bought us basic furniture since it came unfurnished, and now it was time to make it our own.

  “I see a trip to Hobby Lobby in our future!” I said as I gazed at the empty walls.

  “I see someone sitting down and looking at her budget. You’re not on an open-ended account, ya know.”

  With a grin, I hugged my father. “I know, Daddy. Thank you for everything and thank you for taking us to lunch.”

  My father kissed the top of my head and hugged me tighter. “I love you, Chloe Cat.”

  “I love you, too, Daddy.”

  Then it was my mother’s turn.

  “I’m going to miss you so much. The house won’t be the same.” Tears started forming in both of our eyes. I needed to get the focus off of me, stat.

  “You’ll make sure Patches is okay?” I asked.

  She pushed a stray piece of hair behind my ear. “Of course I will. Gage and Patches will both miss you so much.”

  I wiped my tears away. “I’m going to miss them, too. I’ll miss everyone.”

  My parents wrapped me up into another hug.

  “Okay, we better do this before it keeps getting harder,” Walter said as everyone made their way outside.

  Alyssa hugged her folks once more, as did I. We stood there and watched as they drove off. When they turned the corner and were out of sight, I wiped the tears off of my cheeks.

  “And suddenly I don’t want to be on my own anymore,” Alyssa whispered next to me. Turning, I pulled her in for a hug.

  “Come on, let’s start unpacking things.”

  After we both unpacked our clothes, we met in the kitchen to start putting all the food-related items away.

  “So, are you really finally going to tell Rip how you feel? Now that you are both at college, and the whole telling him at prom didn’t work out,” Alyssa said, leaning against the counter, eating an apple her mother had left.

  Letting out a long breath, I nodded. “Yes. As scared as I am, I know it’s time.”

  She smiled. “He likes you, too, ya know. Mike tells me all the time how frustrated he gets with Rip because he won’t tell you.”

  A bout of nerves hit me. “What if he really does only want to be friends?”

  “Then it’s his loss, but I don’t think that is the case. Maybe now that we’re not around our parents and everyone from Oak Springs, he’ll finally take the chance.”

  Alyssa was right.

  “Come on. I told Mike they needed to treat us to dinner!”

  Two hours later, Rip and I were in the living room of the guys’ apartment. Mike and Alyssa were in his room watching a movie on their own.

  “Want something else to drink?” Rip asked, getting up and heading into the kitchen.

  “No, but I do want to talk to you about something.”

  “Okay. I’m all yours.”

  I smiled; if he only knew.

  He stared at me as I fought to keep my breathing under control.

  “I want more.”

  He drew his brows in and asked, “More of what?”

  “You. Us. More than friendship.”

  My heart raced as he stood there, staring at me like I had magically grown two heads in the last thirty seconds.

  “I want us to date and see where this goes. You have to know I feel more than just friendship toward you. I love you, Rip. I’ve loved you since the first day I saw you in kindergarten.”

  He continued to stare at me. Something that looked like conflict flickered in his eyes.

  I could now hear my own heart beating in my ears. With each passing moment, the longer he stood there staring at me, the more I regretted my decision to tell him how I really felt. Maybe Mike had been wrong. Maybe Rip didn’t actually like me more than just as best friends.

  But what about all the signs he gave me? I was so confused suddenly.

  “Rip, will you please at least say something?”

  After drawing in a deep breath, he walked up to me. He cupped my face in his hands, and I felt my entire body warm with his touch.

  Kiss me. Please kiss me.

  He leaned down as I lifted up on my toes. Our eyes were locked, and I was positive Mike and Alyssa could probably hear my heart beating. It pounded in my chest.

  Rip was within inches of kissing me. His hot breath danced over my lips. Then he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine.

  Just like he always did before it seemed like he was going to kiss me.

  I clutched onto his arms, trying not to let my legs go out from under me.

  “Chloe Cat, you have no idea how much I treasure you.”

  Smiling, I squeezed his arms.

  “I want to kiss you, and I want to tell you that everything will be okay between us, but what if it isn’t? What if we lose what we have and can never go back to that place again?”

  My eyes burned while I fought to hold back my tears.

  He was rejecting me.

  “I never want to lose you as a friend. You mean the world to me, and I love you, too. I just can’t risk losing you like that.”

  Dropping my hands to my sides, I stepped away from him. His eyes looked as if he was also holding back tears.

  “I see. So you’re not in love with me enou
gh to be with me, but you love me enough to keep me by your side all the time? Want to explain why you kept me so close all through high school?”

  “Chloe.”

  “No, Rip, there were so many times I looked into your eyes and it felt like I was looking into my own soul. I thought you wanted to be with me.”

  He raked his fingers through his hair but said nothing. His silence was my worst enemy.

  I laughed, causing him to jerk his head to look at me. I’d taken a gamble and lost. What else could I do but laugh because the only other option was to cry, and I’d already given Rip every other part of my heart, so why not my dignity, too.

  Turning away from him, I threw my hands up in the air. “I can’t believe this. I had it all wrong.”

  “Chloe, no, you didn’t have it wrong. It’s just…”

  I faced him again. “You want me all to yourself and no other man can have me. Not even you. Is that it, Rip? God forbid you take a chance.”

  He looked at the ground.

  “I’m going to ask you once more, and if your answer is still no, I will never bring this up again.”

  “Chloe, don’t do this to me. You sprung this shit on me our first fucking day in College Station.”

  I stared at him. I’d waited all through high school for this day. I deserved an answer and wouldn’t leave until I had one.

  “Do you want something more than friendship, Rip?”

  When he didn’t answer me, I walked over to the sofa and picked up my purse.

  “Chloe. Chloe!”

  I opened the door and headed down the steps. I soon heard Alyssa behind me.

  “Give me your keys. I’m driving,” Alyssa said.

  “Chloe, stop for one damn minute and talk to me,” Rip called out.

  Handing her my keys, I covered my mouth to keep my sobs from rushing out. Once I was safely in the car and she had pulled away, I let myself cry.

  Alyssa reached for my hand and squeezed it. “At least it’s over now. You have his answer and now you can move on, Chloe.”

  I stared out the window and nodded as I wiped away my tears. “Yeah, but will it ever be over?”

  Chloe - Present Day

  EASTON GAZED UP at me, waiting for my answer. My mind swirled with memories of me and Rip. High school dances, fishing trips, memories of laughing with my best friend. The man I had always imagined would be down on his knee asking me to marry him was now back in Oak Springs, living his life. Without me.

  That dreaded day came back in an instant. The day I told Rip how I really felt. After he rejected me, I pushed it out of my mind and pretended nothing had ever happened. Rip tried for almost three months to talk to me about it, but he eventually gave up and went along with the charade. He pretended it hadn’t happened either. Soon he started dating, which forced me to start dating. He had moved on, so I needed to move on, too. Keeping up the farce that was the Rip and Chloe show.

  And now here I was, with Easton asking to marry me. I had two options. I could either say no, and keep dreaming of a life with Rip that would never happen. Or I could move forward and marry Easton.

  My heart screamed for me to say no. My head was also in agreement. So when I heard my answer, I felt the room spin. “Yes,” I whispered, as more tears fell. They didn’t feel like happy tears, though. It didn’t feel how I had imagined it would. Excitement and joy. Immediate plans for the future. This felt like me trying to run away from the past. I loved Easton, but was I in love with him? My heart and head knew the answer, but my mouth apparently overrode those feelings.

  Easton stood and spun me around while we both laughed. When he put me back down, he placed a beautiful solitaire diamond on my finger.

  “You just made me the happiest man on Earth, Chloe.”

  Framing my face in his hands, he said, “I could feel you pulling away from me. I knew what I had to do to bring you back to me.” He bent to kiss me.

  “Excuse me? You only asked me to marry you because you felt me pulling away?”

  Easton laughed nervously. “Of course not, Chloe. You know what I meant.”

  Did I? It was then everything else ran through my mind. The things I should have been thinking of before I just rushed and said I would marry him. Instead of thinking of Rip and his rejection, I had more important things to think about.

  He’s moving to Houston. I’m moving back to Oak Springs. How in the world is this going to work?

  “Listen, I know you’re heading back to Oak Springs tomorrow morning but let me go with you so I can be there when you tell your folks. They’re going to be so surprised!”

  Smiling, I nodded. My parents had met Easton a few times. I wasn’t sure how they felt about him. My mother was pleasant; my father acted like he was a bug that needed to be stepped on and then scraped off the bottom of his boot. Of course, once I had started dating, everyone kept reminding me how they always thought Rip and I would end up together. Even my own parents.

  Yeah. So did I, but that didn’t work out as planned.

  I couldn’t keep my thoughts together. “They would love that. I know they’re planning a big party for me tomorrow night. A welcome home sort of thing.”

  Easton’s expression lit up. “That’s perfect, it can be our first party as fiancés. Heck, it can even be our engagement party.”

  I chewed on my lip. Now would probably be a good time to bring up the fact that we were going to be living almost five hours apart from each other.

  “Are you all packed and out of your apartment?” Easton asked.

  “Yes, I didn’t have much to pack up. Alyssa and I sold all the furniture since we’re both moving home with our parents for the time being. Alyssa is hoping to get a nursing job close to Oak Springs. She and Mike are planning a wedding for next spring, so I’m sure I’ll be busy helping her with that.”

  He looked down at me with love in his eyes. “And when would you like to get married, Chloe?”

  Panic seized my chest and nearly took my breath. “We have plenty of time to decide on that.”

  “My mother will want to know a date fairly quickly.”

  I nodded. “Oh, okay.”

  “Let’s tell your folks first, then I’ll call mine. I already told them I was heading back to Oak Springs with you for a few days.”

  “Perfect, okay. That’s great.” I was babbling like a fool.

  Oh God, what have I done?

  “Come on, let’s eat. Our food is getting cold.”

  Easton talked the entire meal. About his new job, about finally being out of school. He even asked me a few things about what type of wedding I wanted.

  My head was spinning. Excitement and pure panic sat in the pit of my stomach. Why was I all of a sudden feeling so conflicted? Was Easton just assuming I was going to move to Houston? Surely, he remembered my long-term plans to take over the ranch from my family. It’s why I went home every summer to learn the ropes over break.

  “Easton, I think with the excitement of you asking me to marry you and me being caught up in the moment, we forgot to talk about a few things that are pretty major.”

  “I know,” he stated, reaching for my hand and playing with the ring. “You want to be in Oak Springs, and I need to be in Houston.”

  It wasn’t lost on me how he stated I wanted to be in Oak Springs, like that was optional, and he needed to be in Houston.

  “Well, it’s not only that I want to be there, my life is there. The ranch, my family. My job.”

  “Rip.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Easton, we’ve had this conversation a million times. Rip and I are only friends. And I have hardly spoken to him since he moved back to Oaks Springs.”

  “Yeah, besides the daily texts the two of you send back and forth,” he reminded me as he dropped back into his seat. “I know the whole story. Best friends since kindergarten, he’s like a brother to you. All I’m saying is the way he looks at you like he wants you, and the way he looks at me like he’s ready to kill me, says he thinks your
relationship is very different than the way you see it.”

  I scoffed. “Trust me, he doesn’t. I already told you, there is nothing between us and there never will be.”

  “I still don’t like the way he looks at you.”

  Sighing, I placed my fork down and let out a frustrated sigh. “Are we really going to talk about Rip when we have a much bigger item to discuss? You assume I’m going to be the one to move.”

  “Chloe, what in the hell am I going to do in Oak Springs? I have a degree in petroleum engineering. I’ve already been offered a job.”

  “I already have a job, as well.”

  He laughed. “Working on your family’s ranch?”

  Folding my arms across my chest, I glared at him. “You mean one day running my family’s ranch. Are you degrading the business my family is in?”

  “No. Chloe, you know I’m not doing that. I’m just saying you’re going to work for your family. I’m going to work for a top oil and gas company and I’ll be starting out at $140,000 a year. What am I going to do in Oak Springs for that kind of money? Work on the ranch?” He let out a sarcastic laugh.

  My chin wobbled, and I looked away.

  “Jesus, I’m sorry. The last thing I want to do is fight.”

  I swallowed hard. This was going to be a battle I knew I would not be able to win. Facing Easton again, I took in a deep breath and let it out. A part of me knew I had rushed into answering him. I should have asked for time to think about it. Let the idea of leaving my family and moving so far away sink in.

  “I’m not asking you to move to Oak Springs. What I am asking is for you to be patient with me. I don’t want to move to Houston until after we’re married. I’d like to at least be home with my family for a while. My mother and Alyssa can help me plan the wedding.”

  “It will be hard not seeing you, but I’m more than happy to let you have that. I’m guessing you’ll want to get married in Oak Springs. I’m perfectly fine with that, too.”

  A sharp pain hit the middle of my chest. “No,” I quickly said. “I think we should do it halfway between Houston and Oak Springs.”