Page 9 of How We Loved

Fuck that. I don’t waste time when I see something I want.

My eyes pop out of my head as I read his words. Last night, he was blunt, but this is straight-up shocking. I’ve been hanging around guys my entire life, and I’ve never heard them talk like this to a girl.

I like it.

I like your style. What do you have in mind?

There’s a corn maze at Lawler Ranch here in Springstown. How about I come pick you up and see how lost we can get together?

Um … how about I meet you there?

Fair enough. See you at noon. I’ll buy you lunch at the pumpkin patch, and then we’ll walk through.

See you then.

I toss down my phone with a jolt of excitement before grabbing Ming for a big hug.

“I have a date. An actual date!” I squeal, then laugh when Ming just looks at me like I’m crazy.

I want to share my joy with someone, but I know that Ben—the first person I normally call about anything exciting in my life—is definitely not who I should tell that I have a date, so I call Natalie.

“Hey, Maya,” Natalie answers.

“Guess what …” I sing-song, making her laugh.

I’d like to say this is not my normal personality, but that would be wrong. I’m always super bubbly, and I love putting a smile on people’s faces any way I can. Life’s too short to not live that way. Unfortunately, I know that fact all too well.

“What?” she asks.

“I have a date today with that guy from last night!”

My cheeks are starting to hurt because I’m smiling so big.

“Yay! That’s exciting. Where are you guys going?”

“I’m going to go meet him at the pumpkin patch in Springstown so we can do the corn maze together.”

“Um … are you sure you should go alone? Do you want Dalton and me to go with you?”

“I’m meeting him there at noon, so I’m not too worried about it. I’m sure there will be a ton of people and families around. I think if he were a serial killer, he wouldn’t have picked such a family filled area to do anything bad.”

She laughs. “Okay, good point. If you end up staying later, don’t hesitate to give us a call, and we’ll meet you out there.”

“I will.”

“And you know I’ll want all the details at Ben’s on Sunday!”

I giggle at the thought. For years, I’ve spent my Sundays lazily hanging out in Ben’s barn with the guys. I’ve heard all of their Saturday night shenanigans with girls, but this will be the first time I will have a story to tell, and it’ll be even better that Natalie will be there, too, so I can tell her.

“You know I’ll want to talk all about it!” I say with so much glee in my voice that I almost can’t stand how chipper I sound.

“I’m so happy for you. Have fun and text me when you get back, so I know you’re home safe.”

I grin at her words. She’s genuinely an amazing person who you can tell was raised by a good family. She cares about people, and it shows in everything she does. It makes me sad we weren’t friends earlier.

I walk out of my room, excited about how my day just took a turn for the better.

“Morning, Daddy!” I lean over the recliner where he’s sitting, reading the news on his phone, and kiss his forehead.

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