Georgia

Chapter 15

Caroline

*Sorry again for acting like a fool.
Missing you, Boyer.
Goodnight.*

I wake up to that text from James. Ugh! Boys, I swear! One benefit to being single and pretty much completely unnoticed by the opposite sex for so long was I never had to deal with boy drama. Now here I am barely into my first relationship and I'm fighting with James over a dream! Thinking back to our argument last night, the first one we've ever had as friends or as a couple, I don't know how to respond to his text. It took putting 1200 miles between us before he finally said anything about that night at Zeeks.

"You decided to answer?! About time. Where have you been?" James asks in an annoyed voice.

"Sorry, my cell service has been kinda bad. What's up? How's Vail?" I try to sound ok even though his tone is worrying me.

"Fine. How's Tennessee? Find anymore country men to dream about?"

He didn't! "You're kidding, right? Did you really just say that? What is going on with you?"

"I don't know Caroline, I can't stop thinking about you and that guy Luke! Being so far away from you now just puts more dumb thoughts about it in my head."

"There's nothing to think about with me and him. There is no 'Me and Luke'. We hung out that day and I left. That's it."

"But that's not it and you know it!"

So I did say more than he let on. "James, whatever happened when I was with him that one day and whatever you heard me say in my sleep, it was nothing. That whole thing was over before it even started." I haven't heard from him at all, not even once I think to myself.

"But it's not. Why else would you apply to Georgia Southern?" James asks now in a quiet voice.

"If by some chance he was on my mind when I sent that in and yeah...ok he might've been but it was before you and I got together. You can't be mad about that." James doesn't say a word for a long time, his silence making me nervous. "I haven't even decided where I'm going yet, James. When I do though you should know me better than to think I'd move across the country for some guy I spent one day with."

"Yeah I know, I'm sorry. You're right."

"I usually am! It's kinda my thing, you know?"

I can almost hear the smile in his voice. "Really? I thought your thing was bad movie choices and clumsiness."

"Hey I'll have you know I spent some time on a boat yesterday and I didn't fall once!" I say proudly.

James is laughing now, "Who in their right mind would put you on a boat? I'm glad you're having a good time. It's kinda dull up here."

We talked for awhile longer, the rest of the conversation normal. I hope he got the Luke thing out of his head. I've tried too hard and it hurt too much to make myself stop thinking about Luke for James to be bringing him up again.

Laying here now reading James' text again I respond.

*Morning, J!
Hope you have a good day.
See you soon!*

I hit send and look out to the bright Tennessee morning. I really do love it out here. Maybe Vanderbilt can be added to my list of options next year. I'll have to check on that when I get home.

It's Thursday, the week has been fun I can't believe it's almost over. Michelle, me and the girls shopping downtown, fishing and riding ATV's up on Jackson's family farm with the guys, going out to dinner, hanging at their condo drinking and playing dumb card games. Jackson and his friends are a really good group of people. I'm gonna miss them. Tonight we're going out to a bar, a real honky-tonk Jackson said, The Stage on Broadway.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke

I'm not sure if my head or my liver can take another night out here in Nashville but it's well worth it. Hard to believe it's already Thursday. We've been out every night at a different bar, playing, rocking the crowd, singing, dancing. It's been the greatest experience of my life. I'm even more focused now on getting out here permanently next year.

I haven't heard much from Katie. Last time I saw her was that night we argued after the Sigma Chi party. She called the next morning, I picked up expecting an apology and all she wanted was to know if she'd left her sunglasses in my truck.

"They're not in here."

"Dang it! That's like the 3rd pair I've lost this month. So, um...when are you leaving for Nashville?"

"Probably an hour or two. You? When's your flight leave?"

"An hour."

"You want me to give you a ride to the airport?"

"No, Stacy is on her way to pick me up. We're gonna go to her place and leave from there. Thanks for offering though."

This doesn't feel right. I'm not the clingy gotta-be-together-every-second type of guy but wouldn't you think she'd wanna see me before we go our separate ways for a week? "Yeah, no problem. So I guess just give me a call when you get there or something."

She hesitates a little, "Yeah, you too."

We've talked twice since then for about 5 minutes and texted back and forth a few times but that's about it. I know I should be making a little more effort to talk to her but so should she. I've been getting texts from some of my fraternity brothers saying she's partying pretty damn hard. I can't be mad at that, it's spring break she deserves to have a good time. As long as she ain't doing anything too bad I don't see the harm in letting go a little. I know I have, mine has been too much celebratory drinking after we get done playing. Guess me and the guys still trying to wrap our minds around the fact that we're here.

She'll be going home tomorrow and I'll be back on Saturday, we'll figure out then what's going on and why things have gotten so weird with us. Maybe we just hit that 'seven year itch' thing relationships go thru. We knew each other for so long before we gave the relationship thing a shot it's like we started out years into it instead of it being new.

Carter comes into the room looking about as bad as I feel. I laugh.

He looks up, "I wouldn't laugh until you get a good look at yourself, man! This week might kill us."

"If it did I'd die happy!"

"You got that right!" He says giving me a high five.

"Tonight though, can you believe it? We're playing The Stage!" I say wanting to scream it out.

"Not bad for a couple good 'ol Georgia boys, huh?"

"Hell nah, buddy. Not bad at all."

We get the rest of the guys up and go grab some breakfast. Although I might be too excited and hungover to eat.