Millie comes around the counter to pull me into her arms. “Oh, Cal. I’m so sorry. This is supposed to be the happiest time of your life and you look miserable.” She doesn’t mean to, but her words just make me cry harder. I can’t help it. The floodgates have opened and if I’m already a mess, might as well tell her everything about today.
Stepping out of my best friend’s arms, I look up at her. I’d always been taller than Millie until our senior year of college when she shot up four inches to her now five-eight frame. I never saw her as fat, but she did and those four inches really changed her body. She’s a bombshell and there’s not a soul around that doesn’t notice her when she walks into a room. All dark hair and contrasting light eyes—she’s beautiful.
“There’s more.” She raises her eyebrows. Taking a deep breath, I try to will myself not to cry. “This morning, when I went to pick up my granddad for lunch—” I pause trying to still my racing heart. “Beau was there.”
“What?” Millie practically screams.
“Trust me I know. Apparently, Granddad’s been in contact with him for years. God, Mill. When I pulled up, he was behind me. The noise of him closing the screen door of Granddad’s house scared me and when I turned. Ugh,” I groan thinking about the grown man Beau has turned into. “Millie, his shirt was off. He was sweaty and those big, football man muscles were all bulging and glistening. Girl, I’m telling you, if I thought he was sexy before he had nothing on the body he has now. His chest was big and broad. Each ab muscles defined and shiny with the thin sheen of sweat. And he had more than eight. There were so many abs, they disappeared into his jeans.”
“Oh, Callie,” Millie coos, and I bury my head in my hands.
“Millie, I feel like I’m going crazy here. And Mason always has more important things to do at work. He never seems interested in any business decisions his dad is making, unless it gets him out of the house at night. It’s maddening,” I say, trying to wipe my eyes.
“Callie, I know you’re marrying the guy, but have you ever questioned that?” Millie asks in a gentle voice.
“Questioned what?”
“Why he’s always gone so much? You don’t think he might be, ya know. I mean you two aren’t sleeping together while sleeping together. Do you think he might be; I don’t know any other way to say it. Do you think he’s cheating on you?”
Fire burns in my chest and my hands clench at my sides. “Mason may be a lot of things, but he’s not a cheater. And if you think that lowly of him, then you should probably find yourself out of my house, right now.” Anger spreads throughout my body like it’s a living breathing thing.
“Okay, okay, Callie. I was just asking. I’m sorry. I’m sure you’re right and he’s just trying to get more involved in the family business. That’s got to be what it is,” Millie saying trying to defuse the bomb that just erupted between us.
“I’m sorry for yelling at you. I just can’t believe that’s where you’d go with Mason’s absences.” As I say the words, I remember the last boyfriend Millie had had been cheating on her for five months before she found out. “Oh, Mill, I’m sorry. I completely forgot about James. I promise, Mason isn’t James. You’re far better off without him anyway.” I pull my best friend into a hug and she lets me.
Millie stands and grabs the wine that I stranded on the counter to begin pouring generous glasses. Taking one in her hand and handing me the other, she pulls me toward the living room.
“Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to drink and watch mind-numbing TV and forget anything to do with Mason, Beau, Deacon, James, and all men. We’re going to fall asleep in a bundle of pillows like we used to back at your house after Friday night football games.”
“Girl, I need a slumber party in my life so badly.”
For the rest of the night Millie and I veg out and drink way too much wine, but it’s the most fun I’ve had in years.
“I’ve missed this,” I say, as the wine sets in and we huddle under a blanket watching The Office.
“Me, too. We need to do this more often. I know you’re getting married soon, but we need to find time to do things together. Go out—even go on a girls’ weekend or something.”
“Yes!” I groan at how good that would be. “Let’s do that cruise we’ve always talked about.”
“Girl, you’re about to be a married woman, you can’t be going on a cruise without your man.”
“After the countless weekends he’s left me here while he worked, I deserve this vacation.”
For the next two hours we research and end up booking a six-day, seven night-long girls’ vacation on a cruise to Nassau. It doesn’t leave until the beginning of summer when school’s out. It’ll give Mason and I plenty of time for wedded bliss before Millie and I are supposed to leave for a week. Could it be the wine that helped me press confirm—possibly? But as I snuggle in bed, with Millie beside me, I can’t bring myself to be upset.
“What’s up with you tonight? Why the long face?” I ask, pulling Callie into my arm. We’re celebrating our year anniversary on her granddaddy’s farm. I packed a picnic and we have a blanket set out to watch the stars overhead. It’s beautiful, but I can sense Callie’s apprehension and I’m not sure why. Football workouts are about to start, but we already made it through one season, why would this be any different?
She snuggles her head into my chest. Her back to my front, as she sits between my legs facing Mobile Bay. The water lapping at the banks brings a calming presence to the night. She doesn’t answer, simply shrugs and refuses to meet my eyes.
“Hey, Buttercup,” I coo, turning her in my arms to face me, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “What’s wrong? You’ve always been able to talk to me.”
Her stare falters and she looks down at her fingers against my chest. “That phone call yesterday.” She pauses and takes a deep breath. “It just makes things real, ya know. Like, next year you’re going to go off to college with all these new experiences and I’ll be that frumpy high schooler you left behind on the farm.”
“Oh, Callie. You silly, silly girl.” Lifting both hands to cradle her cheeks, I bring her close to place a soft kiss against her lips then rest my forehead to hers. “You could never be ‘just the girl from the farm’. I love you. I’ve loved you for much longer than I should have, and way deeper than I ever thought possible.”
A tear slips past her closed eyes, and it damn near breaks me. I wish she’d talked to me about that recruiters call when it happened instead of letting it fester and ruin our evening. Not that it’s ruined, but I hate that she caused herself turmoil over our future. Because she is my future. I’d never go to Tennessee for school, no matter how good their school is. My future is here—it’s with Callie.
“I love you, too,” she says barely above a whisper.
“Good, because I told Tennessee no. I said there was no way I could go anywhere but Auburn. The school that the love of my life will be attending is where I’ll be going.”