Page 78 of Never Really Over

Me:Yeah, she is.

Colt:Then I’ll straighten her out. See you both soon.

Me:Thank you. Looking forward to it.

I’m not sure if he realizes just how much I’m looking forward to seeing him and I try not to dwell on the fact that he didn’t say he was, too. Ugh, I feel like a middle school girl with her first crush, which just so happened to be Colt.

Thinking back through the years, even when I was in Chicago and dated other men, it was always Colt. I would compare every man I met to him, and even though I tried to convince myself that I wanted a different type of man, a part of me knew the truth.

I fell in love with Colt when I was barely old enough to understand what love is and never fell out. Holy crapballs, I’m still in love with Colt.

Mom comes back to the bathroom, dressed in a navy blue maxi dress, her hair is curled and she has more makeup on than she normally wears, but it’s not overdone. “Do I look okay?”

“It’s Colt, Mom. Of course you look okay. A tad overdressed for dinner with Colt and Poppy, but you look beautiful.”

“I’m nervous and wanted to look decent.”

“You don’t say?” I ask, grinning. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m nervous, too. Excited, but nervous.”

“Nervous because you realized you’re in love with Colt?”

I flinch. “How’d…”

“I heard you say holy crapballs, I’m still in love with Colt. Wasn’t hard to come to that conclusion, though, it was helpful that I heard you say it out loud.”

“I said thatout loud?”

“You didn’t realize you were talking? Did you think you’d just thought it or something?”

I’m sure my face is flaming red. “Well, that’s embarrassing.”

“It’s just me, and I pretty much already knew it anyway. I don’t think you ever stopped loving that boy and I’m certain he never stopped loving you, either.”

Those darn butterflies are back in my stomach, fluttering away.

“I was so mean, Mom. And then I just left as if he didn’t even matter to me. And when I came home, I wasn’t kind. I have a lot of making up to do.”

She grabs my hands in hers. “Honey, if he invited you to his house tonight, the making up is done. No more concentrating on the past. That’s where it stays.”

“How’d we go from me trying to make you feel better to the other way around?”

“It’s what mothers do. Besides, if I concentrate on your nervousness, I might just forget all about mine.”

Chuckling, I finish getting ready and grab my purse off the hook by the door. Before I leave, though, I think better of my outfit and change. If Mom’s wearing a dress, so can I.

I run back to my room and throw on a cute little green sundress. I grab a jean jacket to throw on, too, in case we sit outside and I get cold then place it back in my closet. For reasons I don’t want to dig too deeply into, I figure if I get cold and need a jacket, I can borrow one from Colt.

And then keep it.

If teenagers can do it, so can I. That’s the rationale I’m going with and not apologizing for it, either.

When I get to my car, I notice Mom is already sitting in hers.

In fact, when she spots me, she cracks her window and shouts, “Drive yourself!” then reverses out of the garage, leaving me standing here wondering why in the world the two of us would drive separately to the exact same place.

Halfway to Colt’s house, I mutter, “That sneaky little shit.”

She’s planning on me staying longer and doesn’t want me held up because I have to take her home. She’s turned into a meddling mama.

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