Page 56 of The Pieces We've Lost

Mikeylovedhis birthday. Maybe even more than a child loves their birthday. He no doubt would be hitting up the strip clubs.

Reid, Jake, and I preferred to walk the Strip and Fremont Street and occasionally spend a couple hundred dollars on the slot machines.

It was almost seven here, so it was about nine o’clock in Texas. I wanted so badly to call her, to hear her voice, but she more than likely was working. But it wouldn’t hurt to ask.

Working today?

Blaze

Actually no, for once. Lol

My heart felt like it burst for a second.

Alright if I call you?

Blaze

What? Miss me that much already?

Yes, actually.

“What do you mean you’ve never seenGrease?That’s one of the greatest movies ofall time,” I complained.

“I don’tknow, okay!” She giggled, hiding her face with her hands. “Besides, I never pictured you as the kind of guy to watch rom-coms.”

“I’m full of surprises, honey.” I winked. “Well, that just means we have to watch the movie. I can even send you a playlist so you can learn all of the songs.”

“Don’t tell me you knowallof the songs,” she groaned, her eyes widening.

“Obviously. You can’t watchGreaseand not know all of the songs.” I pointed out. “I was also Kenickie for Halloween three years in a row.”

“I don’t know who the fuck that is, but okay, Lover Boy.” She laughed.

“That’sDirty Dancing,but nice try.”

The five days in Las Vegas had some of our best runs, besides the one in Houston. We were consistently getting faster and keeping up our winning streak. I wouldn’t admit it out loud to anyone, but I wholeheartedly believed that hearing Ellison’s voice, simply talking to her about anything under the moon, contributed to my success. She melted all my stress and nerves away every time we spoke. Calling her, even if it was for five minutes, started to become part of my routine.

I recalled the first time we started the little ritual. It was right before the first competition in Vegas and I was starting to feel the same sense of dread I felt before the championship round in Houston. In a panic, I had instinctively dialed her number straight from my favorites tab on my phone.

“Hello?” she had answered, obviously very confused why I was calling her.

“Hi.”

“What’s going on? Aren’t you at a rodeo right now?” There had been a small hint of worry in her tone.

“Yeah, we’re going to be roping soon. But I just wanted to hear your voice,” I had mumbled, still trying to ease my rapid heart rate and almost erratic breathing.

“I’m here,” she had replied, understanding what I meant. “You’re going to be fine. You’re going to do great, Colter. I believe in you.”

I believe in you.I loved hearing those words come out of her mouth.

“Would it be okay if we did this more often?” I had asked.

“Anything you need. I want to support you in whatever way I can. As long as you don’t think I’m being annoying.” A breathy laugh had sounded from her end of the phone.

“You could never annoy me, Blaze.”

“I’m starting to like this version of you, Carson.” Mikey raised his beer bottle to me. It was our last full day in Vegas before we hit the road to head to Utah so we were all hanging out poolside.

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