Chapter 10

I sat in the truck, nervously tapping my fingers on the steering wheel as I waited for Carly to come out of the diner. 

Maybe she forgot?

Maybe I got the date wrong?

Was I late?

Was I too early?

A million questions were going through my mind right now... 

A million doubts were appearing everywhere. 

But they all went away as soon as I saw Carly walk out of the diner. She was wearing a little white sundress and pink flats, with her backpack from school still on her back. 

She saw my truck and a smile spread across her face. 

“Hello beautiful.” I smiled, reaching over to open up the door for her. 

“Hey.” She grinned. “Sorry I’m late I had to change out of what I wore to school.” 

“No worries.” I said with a smile, taking her bag for her and stuffing it in the small space behind the seats. 

“So where are we going?” She asked sweetly. 

“We are going on a good old Texas date.” I told her with a smile. 

Carly raised her eyebrows. 

“A Texas date? What’s that?” She laughed, an excited look in her eye. 

“You, Miss Michigan, will just have to wait and see.” I said as I pulled out of the parking lot.

“Ooh I love surprises.” Carly laughed, her eyes on my while I drove. “I like your shirt.” 

“Thanks.” I said. “It feels really weird to not be sweating my ass off in this.” 

I was wearing khakis and a button up shirt, it was light pink. But whenever I wore this much stuff in Texas, I’d be sweating buckets before I even turned on the car. 

“Michigan is too cold.” I laughed. 

“You crazy? It’s warm for this time of year. And considering the winter we had last year...” Carly shook her head, amused. 

“Well it’s warm enough to be outside, I guess.” I told her as I pulled into the parking lot of one of those nature park thingies. 

“What are we doing here?” Carly laughed, getting out of the car. 

“We, my friend, are going on a picnic.” I said happily, pulling the picnic basket out of the bed of my truck. 

Carly raised her eyebrows. 

“An actual picnic? Like in the movies?” She asked excitedly, her eyes widening. 

I nodded. “Like in the movies.” I laughed, locking the car behind me as we started walking down the path. “Brian and I came and looked for a good spot to eat. And there’s one right by this cute little stream. It’s all grassy and really pretty.” 

“You made your brother come out here with you?” Carly laughed, amused. 

“Well obviously. He’s the one who’s got a girlfriend. He knows how to impress girls.” I replied with a shrug. “I knew I had to do this right.” 

Carly just grinned. 

“Well already this date is amazing.” She told me, walking close to me. 

I smiled down at her. 

“Well then I hope it gets better.” I smiled, nudging her shoulder. 

Once we got to the mini meadow, Carly was too busy picking wildflowers while I laid out the blanket and set out the food. 

“You hungry or what?” I laughed, raising my eyebrows as she came back with a huge bouquet of wildflowers. 

“One for you.” She smiled, sticking it behind my ear as she sat down. 

“Is purple my color?” I teased, pretending to fuss with my hair. 

Carly giggled, setting the bunch of purple and white flowers next to her as she looked down at the food. 

She raised her eyebrows. 

“Peanut butter and jelly?” Carly laughed. “I thought you could cook.” 

“I can. But I figured simple is better.” I replied with a shrug. “Besides, I’m not exactly going to bring a microwave to heat up the food once it got cold in this freezing environment.” I teased. 

“Looks delicious.” Carly smiled as she took a bite of the sandwich. 

“And?” 

“And tastes delicious too.” She giggled, nodding her head. 

“I really like your dress by the way.” I told her with a smile. 

“Aw thank you.” Carly smiled, covering her mouth as she chewed. 

We ate in silence for a bit, and it only made me like her even more. 

A girl who’s all modest and shit and doesn’t eat when you’re around just so they seem skinny or whatever, they annoy me. Carly ate her entire peanut butter and jelly sandwich and half of mine, plus some chips, and a great deal of the apple juice that I’d brought. 

“Full?” I laughed as she laid on her back with a sigh, her hands resting on her stomach. 

“Oh yes.” She nodded. “That was really good.” 

I laughed, laying down next to her. 

“The sky is so pretty.” She commented. “Gosh that sounds cliche doesn’t it?” She giggled. 

“Nah it’s true. It’s pretty here. Not as pretty as Texas though.” I grinned. 

Carly just playfully rolled her eyes. 

“It’s the exact same sky, genius.” Carly giggled, nudging my arm. 

“Still, it’s the truth.” I said, turning my head to look at her. 

She sighed, turning to face me as well. 

“So. What brought the oh so famous quarterback to Michigan?” Carly asked curiously. “I mean your grandma didn’t really go into detail when she said her grandchildren were coming to stay.” 

“My brother and I lived with my dad, he’s in the army, and he’d occasionally have to travel somewhere on a mission or whatever, but very rarely overseas. He hasn’t been there since we were like 10, and our grandma just came to stay with us instead. Uh, but last Sunday, Brian and I got home for our run, and dad was sitting at the table with our coach. Dad was going to the middle east, and Brian and I were being shipped off to live with grandma for who knows how long.” I sighed. “Completely ruining any chance of our school to be state champions again.” 

“What about your mom?” Carly asked softly. 

I just formed a soft smile, not particularly wanting to talk about it. 

“She passed away when I was 8.” I mumbled, watching a cloud float by. 

“What happened?” Carly asked, her eyes on my face. 

I bit my lip, unsure if I really should explain it. 

“Brian and I were goofing off in the back seat, doing shit we weren’t supposed to do. Mom was yelling at us, didn’t keep her eyes on the road for a second, and she was gone.” I said softly. “It’s not something I particularly like to talk about though.” 

Carly frowned. 

“I’m sorry.” She said softly. “I never knew my parents but I know how it feels not to have a mom.” 

I sighed, turning my head to face her. 

“So. Carly-” I stopped. “I don’t even know your last name.” I suddenly realized. 

“Van Porter.” She replied with a smile. 

“Ooh fancy aren’t we?” I teased. “Anyways, Carly Van Porter. What’s something that nobody knows about you.” 

“That I’m in a foster home.” She replied instantly. “I only told you because I figured you already knew, considering Lorraine is basically like a mom to me.” 

I nodded. 

“What’s something nobody knows about you?” Carly asked curiously. 

“I really really really want to go to UT.” I laughed. 

Carly just raised her eyebrows. 

“A generic football statement regarding college? You can do better than that, Jason Charleston.” 

I smirked. “Honestly? Probably that I’m absolutely terrified of spiders.” I admitted with a shrug. 

“No way!” Carly giggled. 

“Hey it’s not funny! I honestly can’t stand those things!” I laughed, shaking my head. 

“Lame.” She teased. 

“What’s your biggest fear?” I asked, raising my eyebrows. 

Carly thought for a minute. 

“Having kids.” She replied. 

I raised my eyebrows even more. 

“That’s a pretty uncommon one.” I replied, scanning her face. 

“Well I mean yea obviously I want kids. I love kids. But my mom died giving birth to me, and it practically killed my dad. It just... Scares me.” She shrugged, her eyes meeting mine. 

I was about to lean closer and close the space between our lips, but my ringtone interrupted the almost moment. 

“Sorry.” I muttered, reaching into my back pocket. 

“No worries.” Carly said sweetly as I answered. 

“‘Hello?” I answered. 

“You busy?” A girl’s voice asked. 

I hung up immediately. 

I was not having a conversation with her right now. 

Hell no. 

“Wrong number.” I shrugged, tossing my phone aside as my eyes met Carly’s again. 

“So tell me about your best friend.” Carly said, her eyes looking right into mine. 

“Brian.” I shrugged. “One hundred percent.” 

“No not him. He’s obligated to be your best friend. You guys have the same DNA. Tell me about your best friend. Like back in Texas. The guy you call for a midnight adventure, or to hook up with a girl or something I dunno.” Carly said, a smile crossing her face. 

“Dane Avalon.” I replied, a smile crossing my face as well. “Our dads played ball in high school together. We’ve been like brothers since before we were born.” 

“What’s he like?” Carly asked. 

I laughed, shaking my head. “Boy that’s a story. Dane is probably one of the strangest guys I know. He always manages to play a perfect game. He never misses a block. He’s one of the biggest reasons that our teams gone to states three times in a row. He blocks, I have free range to throw, Brian’s always open. The three of us work well together.” 

“No, not what he’s like in football. What’s he like as a person? Everything’s not about football.” Carly laughed. 

“Fine fine.” I replied. “Dane Avalon is the life of every single party thrown in Allison. No matter what time of day, what day of the week, who’s there, he drinks twice his body weight and manages to get with multiple girls. This summer, it’s disgusting don’t get me wrong, but he slept with the entire cheer team except for one.” 

Carly grimaced. 

“That’s awful.” 

“I know. But that’s Dane.” I laughed, shrugging. “But honestly don’t think of it like that. He’s really a great guy once you get to know him.” 

Carly just nodded. “I’ll take your word for it.” She laughed. 

“What about you? Who’s your best friend?” I asked, resting my head on my arm. 

“Amy. The redhead from Saturday night. I’ve known her since I moved here, and we just clicked instantly. After a week of knowing her she was already better than half of the people I’d lived with in foster homes.” Carly said with a smile. “She’s always super busy with volleyball and stuff, so we don’t get to hang out much during the high school season.” 

“Do you play any sports?” I asked curiously. 

“I used to play volleyball, but then it got in the way of my job. So now I just play soccer.” She replied. 

“You play soccer?” I raised my eyebrows. “But when do you practice? You’re always at work or grandma’s.” 

“Mondays and Wednesdays, and games are on weekends.” She replied with a shrug. 

“I’ll come to one sometime.” I said happily. “If you’ll come to the football game tomorrow.” 

Carly looked doubtful. 

“But it’s football...” She whined. 

I raised my eyebrows. 

“Exactly! It’s football!” I laughed. “Carly, trust me, if you ever come to Texas with me, you’ll be going to a football game or two.” 

Carly grinned. 

“So the offer still stands?” 

“Absolutely.” I nodded. 

“Awesome.” 

“Awesome.” I agreed, her eyes lighting up slightly. 

Gosh she was beautiful. 

~*~*~

“How was the date?” Brian asked as I walked into the room. 

“Fine.” I shrugged, the smile still on my face. 

“And?” 

“And what?” I raised my eyebrows, pulling off my shirt. 

“On a scale of Audrey to Hannah...” Brian raised his eyebrows. 

“Not accessible. We didn’t hook up.” I shook my head, kicking off my pants. 

“Seriously? You at least kiss her?” Brian asked. 

I shook my head again. 

“What the hell man.” Brian laughed. “You’re Jason Charleston right? The guy who hasn’t gone a week without a girl?” 

I rolled my eyes, pulling a pair of sweatpants up my legs. 

“We had a great time. We talked a lot about random shit, and then I dropped her off at home. She kissed my cheek before running into the busy house. So I left.” I shrugged before walking across the hall to the bathroom. 

“It’s 11! You left at like 6! What the hell did you talk about for 5 hours!” Brian called after me. 

“None of your business!” I called back, putting toothpaste on my toothbrush before putting it in my mouth. “But you’ll never guess who called me!” 

“Who?” Brian asked as I walked back into the room. 

“Katie.” I said through the toothpaste. 

Brian’s eyes widened. 

“No.” He gasped. “What did she say!” 

“She asked me if I was busy and I hung up!” I replied with a shrug. “I wasn’t about to get into it with her while on a date.” 

“Do you think she was going to apologize?” Brian asked eagerly. 

I shook my head. “Hell no. She’ll go to her grave with that.” I shrugged. “But like I care. I’m done with Texas girls and their shit.”