Georgia

Chapter 20

Caroline

I can't believe the sun is starting to rise. We've been sitting here in the grass looking out at the river talking for hours. Luke is laid out, his hands behind his head looking up at the sky. I'm wrapped in his jacket sitting beside him. I'm leaving in a few hours but there won't be any quiet escapes this time, no unseen notes in the dust. We talked about staying in contact. It came up on the way to breakfast after our conversation about James and Katie.

"His name is James. We've been together for a little while but I've known him my whole life. Like really my entire life, our mom's became friends in the hospital the day we were born."

"From best friend to boyfriend. He probably knows you better than anyone, right?"

"Yeah, sometimes it's like he knows me better than I know myself."

"Is that a good thing or bad?"

"I guess both. Some days it's nice to not have to say much and have the other person just know what's going on and other times it feels too familiar like there's no newness, no surprise. If that makes sense. It is good that he's used to my craziness though. I know this probably comes as a huge shock but I can be a tad bit difficult sometimes, a little anxious, kind of a worrier, you know?"

He makes a big fake surprised face, "You? Difficult? I can't even imagine."

"Yeah whatever!" I say sticking my tongue out at him. "If you think the little you've seen is bad you should be happy you're not stuck with me everyday."

"I wouldn't mind that." He mumbles quietly.

Me either I think to myself. What would that even be like? To be with Luke. Would it be just a string of nights like the two we've had? Staying up all night talking and laughing, dancing under the stars in half built Georgia treehouses? Would that heart pounding feeling I get when he touches me go away eventually? I think back to that night falling asleep with his arms around me, that wouldn't be a bad way to go to sleep every night.

As much as I don't want to ask about his girlfriend I kinda have to I guess. How much is this gonna suck? I'm guessing about as much as it did for him hearing about James. "So what about you? Have you been with your girlfriend long?"

"It's been a few months now that we've been together but we've dated off and on since we were like 14. Her name's Katie."

"Does she go to Georgia Southern?"

"She does, yeah she transferred over this year. That's kinda why we decided to give the relationship thing a chance. She lived over 3 hours away when we met and then she went out of state for college so we've never been living in the same place until now."

"That's...uh..that's...nice." Good way to hide your disappointment there Caroline. I think a change of subject would probably be a good idea. "So I don't know too much about the whole southern gentleman thing but I'm gonna assume that keeping a lady out till the early morning hours and not offering her breakfast is kinda frowned upon."

He sits up smiling at me and says, "You know I don't think a lady would be out till the early morning hours."

I let my jaw drop, holding my hand to my chest, "You sir are...probably right." I say nodding my head. "But I'm still hungry either way."

We're walking to a cafe just around the corner when my phone buzzes. I take it out and see that it's Michelle, I push ignore I'll be back at the hotel soon I'll talk to her then.

"So do I get an actual goodbye this time or you gonna just sneak off again?" Luke asks.

"Already thinking about saying our goodbyes? You sick of me already, country boy?"