Imperfect Love Story

by Rachael Brownell

  Not that I have a choice in the matter

  At least right now, he’s in the dark about her. He can be mad at me for leaving without any explanation. He may still even be hurt by it. Why compound that pain?

  “What’s going on in your head right now?” Addy asks, pulling me to a stop once we reach the edge of the park.

  “Just thinking,” I reply, staring at the picnic table that only hours earlier, she sat at with Jones.

  “About?”

  “The same thing I’ve been thinking about since I left Denver. What I’m going to say when I see him. Wondering how he’s going to react to seeing me. Is he still angry? Will he even talk to me? Did I break him?”

  It’s the most honest I’ve been with her since she arrived this afternoon. It’s the most honest I’ve been with myself too.

  “There’s only one way to find out and you know that. Listen, Chloe, I’ve never been very good at telling you what you want to hear, but I’m great at telling you what you need to hear.”

  I laugh, but it’s true. Sometimes I wish she would find a balance between the two.

  “He probably going to be pissed, you already know that. You can stop wondering. In fact, he may walk away from you before you even have a chance to say much. I know that if you were in his shoes, you would walk away. That’s what you do, and from everything you’ve told me about him, he sounds like the kind of guy that likes to avoid confrontation if at all possible.

  “Assuming he doesn’t, you’re going to have to start with the big-ticket items, mainly Lola. If nothing else, it’ll keep him from running. Work your way backwards. Once he figures out that you weren’t given a choice in the matter, that your parents forced you to leave and why, I think he’ll understand. He may still be angry and maybe he won’t forgive you, but at least you’ll know one way or another. This has been sitting on your shoulders, weighing you down for years. It’s time it ends.”

  “So what do you suggest?” I ask, looking up and down the deserted street before stepping off the curb, Addy hot on my heels.

  “Let’s make a plan. One that you can stick to. One that starts with you talking to Wyatt and ends with you smiling again. I miss your smile. I’m pretty sure I only see it when Lola is around.”

  “I think we can do that.”

  “Over a bottle of wine?” she asks, pointing at the Tavern.

  “Yes, but not here,” I reply, my heart stopping in my chest when the door opens.

  A man in a business suit steps onto the sidewalk, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Why I assume it’s going to be Wyatt is beyond me. I know he’s going to show up when I least expect it. There will be no way for me to prepare. That’s why I have to approach him.

  Addy’s been saying it all afternoon. I should have come over here earlier, asked to speak with him. Jones hinted at the fact he was here, that he was his boss. I could have taken advantage of that. I should have.

  If I had, I wouldn’t be frozen in place, staring at his gorgeous hazel eyes right now.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. I look forward to Sunday,” he says, his eyes never leaving mine as he speaks.

  The Mayor is none the wiser as Wyatt looks past him, over his shoulder, to where I’m standing. He returns his thanks and heads up the sidewalk, away from where we are. Wyatt remains standing where he is, staring at me.

  He looks the same as he always has: tall, strong, and lean. Sexy as hell. My palms are beginning to sweat just thinking about how his touch used to affect me.

  One thing has changed, though. The enthusiastic smile, his lopsided grin, and his dimple have vanished. I’ve never seen this expression on his face before. I would say he’s surprised, but it’s more than that. He’s holding something back. It’s not anger like I would assume, but I can’t put my finger on it.

  It’s almost as if he’s guarded. Not just with his emotions but with his expression.

  Unsure of what to do when Addy nudges me, I break eye contact and look to her for support. Her eyes convey the message I was anticipating from her. The same message I was hoping I wouldn’t see.

  I need to talk to him.

  My luck must be changing, though. When I turn back around, Wyatt is gone, the door to the bar slamming closed.

  He ran.

  As unprepared as I was to see him, he was just as unprepared to see me. Did Jones not mention that I was in town?

  “Come on,” Addy urges, taking me by the arm and leading me to the car. “Let’s grab that bottle of wine.”

  14

  Graduating

  WYATT

  Now that the Mayor and I are on the same page, I feel better about Sunday. I didn’t want the festival to be about me. It should be about the town, about how far we’ve come in the last few years. We’ve made Fairview a place people want to visit. A destination, not a tiny blip on the map.

  Sure, I helped start the movement. It wasn’t what I set out to do, but it happened. It was about working through my anger, my pain, but it turned into so much more after a while. When I saw people starting to follow my lead, it became a mission.

  If Fairview was going to be my home, it was going to be the best place it could be.

  After the bar was finished, I set my sights on bigger adventures. The B&B was my primary goal, somewhere for people to stay when they visited. But why would they come here? What could draw them to town?

  Whatever it was, it had to be big. It had to be different.

  There was a world of possibilities, but nothing seemed to feel right.

  So while I worked to get the B&B built and up and running, I thought it over. The day it came to me, I knew it was the right move. It would breathe new life into the town and showcase our history at the same time. It was going to be a huge undertaking, but now that it’s finally finished and ready to be unveiled, I’m fearful that the town won’t see things the way I did four years ago.

  The Mayor put all my uncertainty at ease.

  He’s excited about the announcement. The city council is thrilled with the prospect of a huge growth in tourism for Fairview.

  I’m grateful for their backing and hope Sunday is not only a day to celebrate the independence of our country, but a day to celebrate the future of Fairview.

  As I walk the Mayor out, there’s a feeling of pride surging through my veins. I’ve done what I set out to accomplish. In less than a month, people will come to visit the history of our little town, of the entire state. They’ll be able to see what it was really like in the old west.

  Thinking about the setup, I’m impressed with what we were able to accomplish. As you walk down the dirt road that runs through Old Fairview, people will be able to visit a general store, saloon, bank, sheriff’s office, hotel, and so much more. It all looks authentic with hitching posts and troughs in front of every stop for the horses.

  “I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done, Wyatt. This is sure to breathe new life into our tiny town and make it a tourist destination.” The Mayor’s words are exactly what I needed to hear.

  Holding the door open for him, I follow him out and when I turn to face him, she’s there. Our eyes meet and her steps falter, bringing her to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. The happiness I felt only seconds earlier disappearing as I attempt to reserve my features.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Mayor. I look forward to Sunday,” I say, unable to force myself to look away from Chloe.

  As the Mayor walks past me, I beg my legs to cooperate. I need them to carry me away from here, to take the three steps back into the bar where I can hide from her in my office for a little while longer. I’m not ready to talk to her. I’m not ready to rehash that day or the five years since then.

  It’s too much. Too painful. The entire situation had weighed on me for far longer than I care to admit.

  Looking at her is all I can handle right now, and even that’s becoming painful. She’s even more beautiful than I remember. Her hair, falling softly around her face, the breeze blowing a
few strands around. I want to tuck it back behind her ears so it doesn’t impede the view of her eyes. Vibrant and blue, the color of the pond just before night begins to cast its shadow on the water.

  It’s her lips that pull me in. Soft and full, just like I remember. They’re slightly parted, her surprise evident. What I wouldn’t give to pull her into me and kiss those lips one more time. Even if just to finally say goodbye.

  She had that same look on her face that first night. The one that haunts my memories every time I close my eyes and dream of her. It’s always that night, no matter how hard I try to forget about it.

  “What are we doing? I thought we were going to meet up with Jones and some friends tonight,” Chloe asks as she makes the final turn down the dirt road.

  “I changed my mind,” I reply, not giving her surprise away. “I thought we could spend some time together, just the two of us tonight.”

  “The whole point of tonight was to celebrate. We’re finally free. No more high school, or homework, or tests. We can spend all day, every day together. At least until the fall.”

  “Exactly.”

  “What does that even mean? Are you agreeing with me? Because if so, I should turn the car around and head back into town. Jones was telling me about a party happening tonight. The party I thought we were meeting him at.”

  “It means, we’re going to celebrate all that, but we’re going to do it alone. There will be plenty of time to hang out with friends and go to parties over the summer. Tonight,” I say as she pulls the car to a stop in front of the fence, “is just for us. For you.”

  She gives me an inquisitive look but before she can ask me anything else, I jump out of the car and start running for the pond. When I look back, she’s hot on my heels, pumping her arms as she runs to catch up with me.

  “Wait up,” she hollers, her voice echoing across the meadow and bouncing off the tree line in front of me.

  I can’t wait for her. If I do, I won’t be there to see her face when she first sees the surprise I’ve been working on all week. Between exams and work, it’s taken me longer than it should have, but it’s finally finished. I hope she likes it.

  As the trees break and the water comes into view, I slow down and turn to wait for Chloe. I hear her footsteps before I see her. She’s panting, having sprinted almost a quarter of a mile to catch up to me. When she comes to a stop in front of me, she bends over and rests her hands on her knees while she attempts to catch her breath.

  “I’m. Going. To. Kill. You,” she says, each word enunciated between deep breaths.

  “No, you won’t. Because you love me,” I reply, stepping aside so that when she looks up, her gift is the first thing she sees.

  “Don’t be so su—”

  Her lips are slightly parted in awe. I’m not sure if it’s my handwork or the large red ribbon that took me all day to wrap around it. Either way, it’s obvious she likes her gift the moment a smile breaks out across her face.

  “Wyatt,” she whispers. “It’s gorgeous.”

  “I was hoping you would like it. I figure if we want to spend any time here this summer, we need something a little more comfortable than the hard earth to sit on.”

  Jumping into my arms, Chloe presses her lips to mine, mumbling a thank you as she begins devouring my lips. Pulling her closer, I stumble over to the bench hoping the stain is dry as I sit down with her in my lap.

  Moving her legs to straddle me, she presses against me, and that’s all it takes to get my engine running. My body responds immediately, my hands gripping her hips and holding her against me.

  When she attempts to grind against me, I let out a growl and pull her away, her loss leaving my lips cold.

  “What did I do? I’m sorry,” she quickly says, scrambling off my lap and standing in front of me.

  “Nothing,” I reply, reaching for her and pulling her back to me. She sits back on my lap but instead rests her back against my chest and looks out at the water, allowing me to wrap my arms around her and hold her close. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I was just getting excited, and I didn’t want you to think I was pressuring you. That’s all.”

  “Pressuring me? Really?”

  “You know what I mean. I’m sure you felt him, but it was more than that. My mind was starting to wander, to wonder, and I didn’t want you to think—”

  “What? That you wanted to make love to me?”

  “Chloe.”

  “No, Wyatt. I hope you want to make love to me. Wanna know why?” Jumping off my lap for the second time in less than a minute, she turns to face me and waits for me to answer. When I don’t, she takes that as her cue to continue. “I want to be with you. I have for a while now, but I was scared to say something. I keep waiting for it to magically happen, for the moment to be perfect. That moment is here. We’re alone, together, in our favorite place. The stars are out, the lake is glistening in the moonlight. What could be more perfect than this?”

  With Chloe, every moment is perfect. Her love is perfect. Our relationship, as imperfect as it may be when you look at it, feels perfect.

  She’s right. This is our moment. Our perfectly imperfect moment. Because if I had seen this coming, if I had thought this was a possibility, I would have been better prepared.

  “I love you, you know that. Not because you want to be with me, or the fact that I know how big of a deal that is for you, but because of who you are. You’re my perfect match. You make me want to be a better person, to dream a little bigger and aim a little higher.”

  “I love you, too,” she replies, walking back toward the tree line.

  “Where are you going?” I holler after her when I realize that she’s not stopping.

  “You’ll see. I’ll be right back.”

  When she finally makes her way back to me, she’s holding a lantern in one hand and two large objects in the other.

  “What’s all that?”

  “Camp,” she replies, tossing everything at my feet. “Can you set up a tent?”

  Looking to Chloe, I see the devious gleam in her eyes. She was prepared for this moment. That’s my girl, always the planner. Ready to make any situation better at the drop of a hat.

  “And if I say yes?” I ask, reaching for the bag that holds the tent.

  “Then you’re going to get lucky tonight, Mr. Beech. Very, very lucky.”

  Damn, I love this girl.

  Reaching for my wallet as we settle in the tent, I pull out the one condom I put in there months ago. There was a night where I thought it might happen. Things were hot and heavy, but we were interrupted. I’m so glad it didn’t happen that night. This is going to be so much better.

  As the memories of that night begin to fade away, the anger seeps back in. She gave me a piece of her that I can never give back. A piece that I don’t want because it must not have meant that much to her after all.

  Not if she left me for someone else.

  Someone who knocked her up a few months later.

  Someone who bought her a giant ring that she accepted.

  Looking toward her hand, I notice the absence of the rock I saw her wearing in Denver. Either he wised up and left her or she broke his heart and moved on. It doesn’t matter either way. The facts still remain.

  Unable to look at her any longer, I step back inside the bar and flip the sign to closed. I need to get out of here. I need a moment to breathe, somewhere I know she won’t be lurking around the corner.

  15

  Three

  I stare out the window in a daze as Addy drives us back to my parents’ house. The look on Wyatt’s face is all I can focus on. At first, he was just as shocked to see me as I was to see him. He recovered much quicker than I did before disappearing back into the bar.

  Anger. Plain and simple.

  He has every right to be angry with me, to hold onto that anger until he’s ready to let it go. That doesn’t mean it didn’t shock me to see it firsthand, that it didn’t hurt when his eyes met mine and I fel
t his anger.

  I can still feel it.

  Dinner is over by the time we arrive, my parents giving me grief for missing it the second we walk through the door. Either they didn’t notice or didn’t care that I was distraught. There was no point in attempting to hide it. This is all their fault to begin with.

  Lola and my parents are watching a movie in the family room when Addy joins me on the back porch, two wine glasses in one hand and a bottle of white wine in the other.

  “So what’s the plan now?” Addy asks, pouring each of us a glass, barely stopping short of the brim.

  “I don’t know. I know where to find him I guess. I mean, I could go over there in the morning and just tell him everything, but I’m not sure I want to do that. I’m not sure he’ll listen to me. Judging by the look on his face a few hours ago, he’s as unprepared for this as I am.”

  Sipping my wine, I wait for Addy to bestow her wisdom upon me. She’s always been good at giving advice that’s been worth its weight in gold. I haven’t always listened, but I’ve learned now I should have.

  Since meeting her, I’ve tried to move on from Wyatt exactly three times.

  The first time, she told me he was only after sex. I thought, if that was the case, fine. I knew he wasn’t going to get anywhere with me anytime soon. Lola was barely a year old at the time, and I wasn’t ready to jump into bed with anyone yet.

  He lasted a few weeks before he realized that I wasn’t going to put out.

  The guy after him seemed genuine. We dated for two months and things were going good. It was getting to a point where I thought maybe I would be comfortable introducing him to Lola. Addy warned me that the second I mentioned I had a kid he would run. Well, to his credit, he didn’t run right away. He stayed for dinner and sat through two hours of cartoons before leaving. I didn’t hear from him again after that night, though.