One True Love

Chapter 13

Walking Scotty to the door, thoughts ran through my head. It was getting extremely late and as much as I yearned to fall asleep in his arms every night, I knew we couldn't do that, at least not yet. No, he would have to go back to his apartment and I would stay here. That's how it had to be, although the past few days had been amazing.

Closing the door behind me, I could still feel the touch of his lips on mine as he had kissed me bye. Leaning my head against the door, it wasn't until this moment that I realized exactly how tired I was. It was after midnight and I had a nine 0' clock English class. Like I had said before, Fall break couldn't come soon enough. Intending to spend every minute of it lounging in bed, I used this as a sense of motivation to keep me going until that time.

Once I laid down, it seemed as if I couldn't shut off my brain. It was currently in over-drive between midterms and wedding details. Luckily, the wedding was still a year away, but mid terms were next week.

Still, every time I tried to think of mid terms, my mind shifted to the wedding. What other girls would I ask to stand by my side? Of course there would be Ashley, Scotty's sister but who else? Scotty had so many friends and I wondered if he would want them all to be in it. Could I round up the equal amount of girls? Who would be his best man? What colors would look good on the beach? For a Fall wedding? Would our parents do the food or would we have to hire a caterer? So many decisions, and it seemed like so little time. Feeling frustrated, I tossed over on my side, forcing my eyes closed and telling myself I wouldn't open them again.

***

Waking up to the sound of my alarm the next morning, I felt as if I had just fallen asleep. Seven-thirty just came to early, that's all there was to it.

Throwing the covers off of me, I made my way towards the shower. It was the beginning of October now, and that time of year where weather in North Carolina was so very unpredictable. It could be cool in the morning, but hot in the afternoons and then cold again at night. Never knowing what to wear in these months before the weather turned to freezing, I decided upon jeans, a t shirt, and UNC hoodie. If I got too hot, I could always ditch the hoodie.

Wrapping my hair in a high bun, I applied some make-up and made my way into the kitchen area where I slipped on my tennis shoes. Yes, today I looked like an average college student. No cute clothes, no fixing my hair, but that was okay because I wasn't trying to impress anyone. Besides, I already had the one man that every girl wish she had.

Smiling, I grabbed my keys and bag off the table making my way towards my car. Once I found a parking space close to my English class, I got out and began making my way to the building. The wind was blowing strongly this morning and I was thankful I had went with the hoodie. Making my way into my English class, I found my usual seat in the back and opened my binder to begin on the work our professor had written on the board.

After what seemed like hours, the class was finally over and I gathered my things making my way into the hallway. Checking my phone, I noticed I had one message from Scotty...."We need to talk."

Four words, one message. Those four words could make any normal girl go crazy. They usually never meant anything good, and it almost always resulted in something bad. Feeling a nervous tension sweep over me, I tried to remain calm. Scotty loved me, he would never hurt me. What was this about?

Trying to remain calm, I nervously typed...."I'm out of class, what's up? Are you okay?"

Within seconds, I received a message...."I'm fine. Meet me at Bo's, we will go from there."

Why was he being so short? Why wasn't he telling me that he loved me? Why did I feel this pit in my stomach? Was I over-reacting? Was this all in my head? Was I crazy?

Getting outside, I leaned against one of the columns supporting the building. Closing my eyes, I ran my fingers along the top of my head, flattening it down while rubbing under my eyes. After a few minutes and when I felt I had gained my composure, I texted him back...."I'll be there in ten minutes."

***

Pulling up at Bo's, I saw Scotty sitting in his truck across the parking lot. Shifting my car in to park, I turned off the engine and unbuckled my seat belt. Taking a deep breath and exhaling, I opened my car door and began making my way over to him.

Once at his truck, I walked up to his driver side window where I saw him looking down at his phone, not even noticing that I was there. Quietly tapping on the window, he turned towards me and gave me a half smile before rolling his window down.

Motioning with his head, he said..."Come on, get in on the passenger side. I've already got our lunch."

Trying my best to smile, I walked around and got in on the passenger side. Closing the door behind me, I buckled my seat belt and turned towards him, obviously my face giving off the expression of confusion.

He smiled that half smile once more and reached for my hand while focusing on the road ahead of us. What was going on here? In all the years I had known him and especially in the last five months, I had never seen him act like this and I wasn't sure I liked it. Looking out the windshield, I tried my best not to make eye contact with him, although that wasn't so easy. Feeling knots in my stomach, I tried my best to remain calm. Obviously sensing my nervous tension, he squeezed my hand tightly and rubbed his thumb against my palm. It was in this moment that I knew everything was okay, but I still didn't know what was going on.

***

Making a left hand turn, we turned slowly into the park. Still looking out the windshield and still having not said more than two words to Scotty, I noticed some smaller children swinging on the swings at the edge of the park. Off to the side, I spotted two women in their mid 20's running on the track and further out, I saw a young boy throwing a frisbee with his dog. It surprised me that the park was full of so much life on an October day, especially during the week, although it was turning out to be a gorgeous day.

Parking under a big oak tree, Scotty shifted his truck into park and shut the engine off. Looking towards me, he rubbed my hand once more, and leaned against the back of the seat. Having had enough of this, I had to say something.

"Okay McCreery, you've drug this out for too long and you're making me go crazy over here. Please tell me what this about, please,.." I said, with an urging tone in my voice.

***

Smiling, he thought to himself that patience had never been a virtue of hers and he knew that she was becoming impatient. Still, he wasn't sure how she would react to what he was about to say or show her and a feeling of fear engulfed his body.

Looking towards her, again he squeezed her hand....."Gabi, I want you to know that I love you and I always will. No matter what happens, no matter what anyone says, you have my heart and I want you to know that. Do you know that?"

Not feeling the knots subside in her stomach, she quietly said, "Yes Scotty, I know that. What is this about? You're scaring me. Last night we were talking about wedding details and now you're acting like this. Are you getting cold feet? Are you having second thoughts?"

He laughed and moved towards her, gently kissing her lips before pulling away....."Baby, you have no reason to be scared and as far as me getting cold feet, that's the last thing you need on your mind. Like I told you at the beach the night we started dating, I've always loved you. You're stuck with me Gabs, get use to it."

Winking at her, he smiled his first real smile since they had been in the truck before taking a deep sigh and reaching in his door and pulling something out.

Glancing back towards her, he sighed once more, shrugged his shoulders and said...."Here, you need to see this,..." and he handed her a crumpled up magazine.

Unfolding the magazine, she looked down at the front cover. It was the October edition of People magazine. Off to the side, she read where Princess Kate was spotted with a baby bump, 475 great holiday looks that were sure to get you in the spirit, and the recent controversy between Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore. None of that mattered though, because it was what was right in the center of the cover that caught her attention. Yes, she couldn't pry her eyes away as she placed her hand over her mouth in a state of shock.