by W.J. May
***
Later that week, Natalie sat in her bedroom browsing through all of her high school yearbooks. They brought back so many memories, some good and some bad, thanks to Tony. She opened up her yearbook from her sophomore year and turned to the seniors. Her hand wavered for a second and then she thumbed through the pages until she found Ryan’s picture.
He looked almost the same except his face had matured. When she came across a full length picture of him she saw how his body had definitely filled out even more. She figured he had to be at least twenty or twenty-one; maybe twenty since he wasn’t drinking that night at the bar. However, they didn’t card anyone that night so she couldn’t be certain. She continued to flip through the pages until she came to Jennifer Shaw.
Jen, or that’s what everyone called her, was voted the ‘most’ everything. She was a gorgeous blonde-haired, blue-eyed girl with curves in all the right places. Natalie couldn’t compete with Jen. How was Ryan even interested in her?
Skimming through the book, she saw Ryan and Jen were in most of the pictures. Natalie wondered what she did to him that caused him so much pain. Besides leaving him when he got hurt, there had to be something more to the story. Natalie remembered seeing Jen constantly flirt with all the guys at school so her guess was easy. Jen had cheated on him. Just like Tony had cheated on her. It gave her a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.
Natalie got up and walked to the mirror hanging on her closet door. She stared at herself, combing through her long dark hair with her fingers. Her straight and limp hair clung to her head. She twirled the ends around her fingers. She liked the way Lise fixed her hair the other day and thought that maybe she should start curling her hair more often.
She removed her glasses and stared at herself. She liked the way she looked without them and Ryan had even made a comment too. Maybe she would wear her contacts instead of her glasses. She leaned forward to study her face. She was grateful she had a good complexion, hence the reason why she never bothered to wear much makeup. She didn’t need to. However, she also liked the way Lise did her makeup. It made her pale blue eyes stand out and it did make her feel pretty.
She straightened out her old UT t-shirt and cotton shorts. She couldn’t remember the last time she bought something new. Maybe she would go shopping and buy some new clothes, a curling iron, and new makeup. She had some money saved up and her mom did ask her earlier if she wanted to go shopping tomorrow. Shopping with her mom would be fun since her mom loved to buy clothes and accessorize. She didn’t take after her mom or her Aunt Sharon and her mom’s opinion would be helpful.
She gathered up her yearbooks and put them back on the bookshelf. Even though it was only 9:00 p.m., she wanted to catch up on her sleep. Going to summer school and working would be tough and she needed to start fresh. She flipped off the bedroom light and the second she crawled into bed, her cell phone chimed. Before she could get to the phone on her dresser, it chimed again. She saw that she had two messages; one from Lise and the other one from Ryan.
Instantly her heart began to race. Why did she get so excited and nervous every time she heard from him? She decided to read Lise’s message first:
Guess what? Ryan went home today. Call him.
Natalie shook her head. Why was Lise so persistent?
She texted back:
I’ll think about it.
She waited for a second and then went to Ryan’s message:
Just wanted to say hi.
She texted back:
Hey, how’s it going?
Immediately he responded:
Good. I’m actually home. I had to come help my brother w/the ranch.
She anxiously typed back:
Really?
He replied:
Yes. Would you like to come over tomorrow?
Her heart beat wildly. She wanted to see him but didn’t want to seem desperate. She hesitated and then texted the following:
I don’t think I can. I’m going shopping tomorrow with my mom.
A minute later he responded:
How about a horse ride on Saturday?
A horse ride? She hadn’t ridden a horse in several years. In middle school, she rode all the time. More than likely, it would be at his ranch which meant his family would be there and that made her feel more relaxed.
She replied:
Let me think about it. Won’t it be hot?
He texted back:
Not if you get here around 10.
He had a point and she wanted to see him. Then her head warned her again. The more she thought about it, she could hear her grandmother’s voice from the other day. “Have faith. God will send the right guy.” What if Ryan was that right guy? She had to take that leap of faith if she was ever going to find love again.
She sighed, praying she was making the right decision. She texted him:
Okay, see you at 10.
