Page 27 of The One With The Secret Crushes

I didn't want to dwell on the years we spent apart, the years we hypothetically could have had together. We didn't. But I also didn't want to waste another minute of my life without her.

"Have you proven your manliness yet?"

I growled. "No. I need at least one more trout. The bluegill are hiding today."

"Well then I'll get back to appreciating how sexy you are while you do it." She slipped her hand into my back pocket andsqueezed.

Maybe this was the key with Mackenzie. Be direct. Be clear. And then stand back and wait for her to catch up.

If that was the case, we were going to be just fine.

Nine

Mackenzie

This is either the start of a long and happy relationship or one of those serial killer stories my aunt loves so much.

The gorge waslike a giant hug. Nature surrounded me on every side. Trees strained towards the sky on mountains that rose up all around us. Sometimes when I got homesick, I would close my eyes and picture exactly this. It felt like melting into its embrace. The real thing was even better.

While Scott showed off his impressive fishing skills, I soaked my feet in the freezing water. His secret fishing hole was as quiet and peaceful as anyone could ask for. I didn't hear a single car or human sound except for us.

"We're going to stink at this dinner." I wrinkled my nose as he finished stowing his gear and took my hand.

"That's what showers are for, darlin'."

Darlin'. I liked that a lot. "You think I'm showering at the bar?"

"Nope. My house." He gave my hand a squeeze as he grinned down at me.

"You think I'm showering at your house?" Scott had spent years waiting. It was clear there would be no more of that.

"Yep. And I'm finally getting you into my Bigfoot Varsity Football t-shirt."

Well then. "Was this your plan all along? Get us smelly, get me into your shirt, and then...?"

"Feed you. It might be a boring life to some, but I like it nice and simple. Thoughts?"

"Sounds like heaven to me." If I went back to eighteen-year-old me and said ‘you can have Scott whenever you're ready’ this is exactly the life I would have pictured. I had a job I enjoyed, I worked with my best friend, and now my other best friend was going to be my what? Boyfriend? Husband? "We're not really going to run off and get married right away, right?"

He brought my hand to his lips. "I'm more than ready to start our lives together but I'm not insane. I just need to know you're mine. That you believe me when I say I'm yours. We'll do everything else one step at a time. Starting with showers and you promising that you sleep in my bed from now on."

My heart tripped over itself and fell down a flight of stairs. "This is either the start of a long and happy relationship or one of those serial killer stories my aunt loves so much."

"So I'm over-the-top." He shrugged and let go of my hand so I could navigate a narrow bend. "And it's fast, but Mackenzie, it's also been sixteen years. Half my life has been spent loving you from a distance."

True enough.

When we got to his place—ourplace?—he handed me clean towels and the aforementioned Bigfoot Varsity Football t-shirt and left me to shower alone. I worked his shampoo through my hair and liked that I would smell like him for the rest of the night.

Then I slid into a pair of too-big pajama pants and the shirt before heading downstairs. Scott had cleaned the fish and was assembling ingredients when he glanced up and smiled. "It looks as good as I fantasized."

I picked at the old cotton. "Is this from high school?"

"Sure is. You're making all my dreams come true today."

Scott fantasized about me wearing his shirt in high school? The past and the present collided like no time existed between where we'd been apart. My years traveling and his growing the bar and his craft were now footnotes on our story.

I glanced at the ingredients on the counter. "Can I help?"

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