Page 55 of Love at a 7-Eleven

Eric had ordered more food at the bar which came out soon after we sat down. There was plenty to share, but I wasn't that hungry since we had eaten at my mom's. Eric was the first to leave, but the rest of us stayed and socialized for a while that night. Drake was a cool guy who had more than one story to share about Caleb. I didn't sit on his lap the whole time, but even after I adjusted, he held me near, never losing contact with me. I was proud and happy to sit next to him, and it gave me all sorts of feelings to have him there, showing me affection in front of those guys. It made it feel official. I felt like he was my boyfriend. I loved it. I wanted that to always be the case.

It was after midnight when we said goodnight to Drake and headed to Marcus's house. I went home feeling like I might just die if Caleb ever went back to California.

Epilogue

Nearly a year later

I was on my way to the Bears training facility. Bob Simmons had come to me a few weeks back to hire me to plan the welcome party for the players. I was headed there now to start setting up. Bob had nothing to do with it thus far, aside from hiring me and showing me the space. He said he was glad to delegate the responsibility and thankful they could budget for it.

I had all the party planning work I wanted, which translated to two events a month. Caleb had hired someone to help him with video production, but I spent some time every day helping him with other aspects of his channel.

My parents had given us a home for our wedding gift. It was only a few miles from their place, and Dad had bought that specific one because he wanted us to be close. He loved Caleb and wanted to hang out anytime Caleb had a few hours off. That's what was happening at the moment. The two of them had been fishing all morning. EJ had gone with them, and so had one of the coaches. Caleb texted me when they got off of the boat, and I knew there was a chance I would run into them at the training facility. They were stopping there to drop off the coach.

I stopped at the 7-Eleven since I was running a little early. I hadn't been there since the day I met Caleb, and I pulled into the parking lot smiling and thinking about how much my life had changed since then. In the back of my mind, I knew I met him here, but I didn't give the story enough credit. I should have gone there before today. I parked and got out, seeing the familiar store and smiling as I retraced my steps. I caught glimpses of memories as I walked inside. I remembered the spilled slushy. I remembered the cooler with energy drinks, and talking to Caleb. I started to replay some of the things we said to each other.

I walked through the candy aisle to the same cooler. I wasn't thirsty for an energy drink, but I was pretty sure I was going to buy one for the sake of the story. I came to stand at the cooler. I was thinking about Caleb and the scene between us. It was last year at about this same time. I remembered it while I absentmindedly stared toward the cooler. I noticed some movement behind me, and I stepped to the side to let the person walk around.

"I'm not… I'm not sure what I want. You go ahead."

I turned, and it was my gorgeous, larger-than-life husband standing behind me. I had just been thinking about him.How was he standing there?He was in his fishing clothes, which was a baseball cap with shorts and a long-sleeved fishing shirt. He looked me over, taking in the fact that I was taken off guard by seeing him.

"No, it's all right. You go ahead," he said. "I'm not even sure if I'm getting one of these."

"Me neither. I lied to my mom about it," I said, holding in a smile.

"You did?" he asked, looking concerned.

I nodded. "Hey, aren't you the guy from the TV show? I know you. Why did you kill your dad? He was one of my favorite characters. I’m sorry. I’m rambling. I'm nervous because I'm going to a big meeting right now at Halas Hall."

"Hey, I'm headed there, too. Maybe I can get your number."

"Not if you're a football player."

"I never said I was a football player."

"You said you were going to Halas Hall."

"I'm a chaplain. Didn't your dad say you can date the chaplain?"

"How do you know my dad?"

"Aren't you Lila Decker?"

"No, uh, Decker was actually my maiden name." I put a hand to my chest and spoke shyly.

"Oh, you're married?" he asked, looking me over.

"Yes. And my husband would be jealous if he knew I was flirting with you." I leaned in. I touched his forearms with my fingertips and got close enough to him that I could feel the heat of his body.

Caleb cleared his throat. "I think your husband would say that I'm the only person you should flirt with."

"Well, if my husband says it's okay, then…" I trailed off, leaning even closer to him.

We had been married for six months, and the newness had not worn off. I was still unbelievably attracted to Caleb Caldwell. We stood toward the side of the aisle, and I touched his hand gently just because I couldn’t keep my hands off of him.

"This is an amazing coincidence," I said. "Seeing you here again. It's my first time back. What are the chances?"

"I saw you pull in. We were a few cars behind you at the stoplight. I told your dad I saw you, and he said he wanted to stop. He'll be coming in. EJ, too."

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