I went into the kitchen to grab some napkins and plates and before sitting down to eat. I handed Harper the phone and picked up the box.

“What’s the phone for?” Her face confused.

“So you can order you two some pizza. This bitch is mine and I’m not sharing.” And with that, I took a big bite out of a slice.

I was fast asleep with music suddenly started playing next to my head. Why the hell was Barbie Girl playing on my phone? I looked at my clock and picked up my phone. It was one in the morning. My screen said it was Kyler calling. Rolling over on my back and answered. “Did you change my ringtone before you left?”

He started laughing hysterically on the other end. “Oh man, I forgot about that. Some funny shit right there!”

“Yeah real funny.” I grunted into the phone. “Why are you calling me? Did you forget what time it was?” If he was drunk dialing me, I was throwing him out.

“I’m calling because I just got home from Harper and Em’s house.”

Now wide awake, he had my full attention. I turned on the bedside light and sat up against the headboard. “How is she? Does she look okay?” Not that I wanted my best friend checking her out but I needed to know how she was.

“Well that’s what I’m calling about, man. I think you need to fly out here as soon as you can.”

Now he had me concerned. “Quit being a fucking girl and beating around the bush. What’s going on?”

“Listen, I really don’t think it’s something that I should tell you over the phone, plus she begged me to not say anything. Just do yourself a favor and get on the next flight out here. She needs you right now whether she wants to admit it or not.”

“Does this have anything to do with why she’s been avoiding me?” I got out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans that were lying on the floor. I grabbed a suitcase out of the closet and threw random shit in it. I felt nervous. Was she sick? Had she spiraled back to the same place she’d been in after I’d left her?

“Yeah, it is. Look man, I’m not going to tell you anything else. I’m sorry for being so tight lipped, but I don’t want to betray her, and I really enjoy my nipples. Just come and see her for yourself.” He was really trying to be a good friend but was clearly torn in his loyalty. I wasn’t even going to ask about his nipples.

“I’m packing right now.” I went into the bathroom to grab my toiletry bag. “I’ll see you in a few hours.”

“Do you need me to pick you up at the airport?”

“Nah. I’ll get a rental.”

We hung up and I finished packing my bag. I didn’t know what the hell was going on but I guessed I was about to find out. Emilyn had been putting me off for a couple of months now and I would finally get a chance to talk to her. Well, that’s if she let me talk to her. Would I even give her the opportunity to walk away? It’s not like she was with her husband anymore. I could understand her needing time to get passed something like a divorce, but Kyler said she needed me, even if she didn’t know it yet. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

So many different scenarios ran through my head as I made my way to the airport; ranging from the sublime to the ridiculous. What Emilyn obviously hadn’t realized was, no matter what was going on, I was here for her. Nothing could make me walk away again. I was hers. And it was time that I started to show her that.

Emilyn was all I could think about on the flight back home. She’d always been a very quiet girl. Sitting there on the plane I let my mind wander back to our first kiss...

School had just gotten out and Emilyn had gone to watch Harper practice on the softball field. She was so beautiful leaning up against the chain-linked fence, both of her arms resting on top and her chin on her forearm. That long blonde hair that I loved touching—even when she didn’t know I was touching it—was blowing slightly in the wind. She looked like an angel; an angel that didn’t even know the effect she had on me. I thought of this girl every waking minute of the day. Em had become my whole world and we’d only been together for a month.

She must have heard me approach because she turned her head a bit and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. The corner of her mouth tipped up before she turned back to watch Harper. I came up behind her and wrapped my arms around her small waist. She was so small. I loved that about her. She dropped her arms down to rest on top of mine and she leaned into me. She let out a soft, contented sigh and she looked up at me grinning. Her dazzling white smile always blew me away. I’d never let anything hurt this girl.

“Well hello there my beautiful Tiny Girl. Want to go for a walk with me?”

“Where do you have in mind?” Her voice was playful.

I tapped the tip of her nose with my finger. “I just thinking of going around the campus, not too far.”

“Sure!” She turned in my arms and I grasped her hand, lacing my fingers through hers. We walked past the bleachers and over to the football field. I loved being on this patch of green. Kyler and I ruled this field during games. We were both very good and I never felt more comfortable than when I was out here running with a ball. But being out there with Em was a different feeling. I was nervous and unsure. I knew why I’d asked her to come out here with me and I wouldn’t let myself chicken out. I knew I sounded like a chick feeling that way, but this girl made me feel like things I’d never felt before. I think I knew it the moment I first laid eyes on her. I walked her to the fifty yard line and pulled her to a stop.

She looked up at me with her innocent sparkling blue eyes, questioning why we weren’t walking anymore. I kissed the top of her head and just looked at her. She giggled at me. “What’s going on Finn, I thought we were going for a walk?”

“God you’re beautiful. Do you even know how beautiful you are?” Shit I’d turned into a sap.

Her cheeks turned a light pink and she looked down—always the shy girl. I put my finger under her chin and tilted her face up to mine. “Take the compliment Em. I don’t lie. I’ve never seen anyone as beautiful as you. I have a confession. I brought you out here for a reason.”

“Okay, what’s going on?”

I wasn’t sure how to say what I wanted to say to her without sounding like I’d lost my testicles. I’d never said anything like this to a girl before, and I didn’t want to scare her away. I cupped her face in both of my hands, forcing her to look at me.

“I know we haven’t been together very long Em, but I’ve never felt like this before. You make me… feel things that are new to me and I don’t really know how to tell you about it without just coming out with it.” My pulse was racing.

She put her hands up on my chest, and I had no doubt she could feel my heart pounding. I loved this Tiny Girl with every fiber in my body and I needed to tell her. It was one of the reasons I’d brought her out here, to this spot. This spot is where we met with the other team, where we tossed a coin and decided who got the ball. It felt metaphoric, like I was the one tossing a coin and she could either take the ball and run with it, or she could hand the ball back and tell me to fuck off. It was now or never.

“I love you Em. Like really love you! At least I think that’s what I’m feeling.” She was giving nothing away in her face, so I had no idea if what I’d just said meant anything to her. I needed to tell her everything. “I’ve never felt this way about a girl. And I think I’ve known I loved you even from the first time I saw you. It’s just… different with you Em. The way you look at me with those bright blue eyes, the way your hair falls over your shoulder and I just want to run my fingers through it, the way you laugh draws me to you. You’re so innocent and sweet to everyone around you. I love that about you. I love that you’ve asked me to wait to have sex—how we’ve gone this entire time and you haven’t even let me kiss you. It’s all just… different! Every girl that I’ve ever gone out with expected me to be with them. They were all fake Em, all of them. But you’re so real with everything you do. I need you to know how I am feeling about you. I’m not saying all of this to pressure you into….” She put her small hand up to cover my mouth.