Sidelined

“Did something else happen?” I was confused. His voice didn’t sound fun and flirty like usual.

“I dropped the game-winning pass.” He sounded anguished, and I suddenly understood why.

“Oh, God. That’s terrible.”

“It was a disaster. It was a perfect pass. Right at me. And I couldn’t hold on to it.”

I grasped at something to say. “There will be other games. Other chances. It’s okay, Sam. It’s okay.”

“There’s nothing okay about it.”

The silence fell between us. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you can see me tonight.”

“What?” I was exhausted. He had to be exhausted from the game.

“That place you mentioned. Canyon Lake. I’ll get a cabin and we can meet. It’s only forty-five minutes for both of us. Meet me.”

“Sam, I don’t know.” There wasn’t anything keeping me here. My Monday was free. “Okay, yeah, I can pack and be there in an hour, I guess.”

He sounded relieved. “I’ll text you the cabin. See you there.”

He hung up and I wondered what he had planned.

I parked under a scrub oak and looked at the little cabin Sam had rented for us. It was only a few yards from the lake. His car was already here.

I stepped from the car as he opened the front door to Cottage 11.

“You made it.” He jogged down the stairs and picked me up in his arms.

“It’s beautiful here.” The moon was bright on the lake. It didn’t look as if any of the other cabins were being rented.

“I’ll get your bags.” He was already pulling them from the backseat and taking them inside. “Take a look at the cabin.”

I followed him up the stairs. It was small, but romantic. Exactly what I pictured. Only, I didn’t expect to speed here like I did, but none of that mattered. We were together and Sam seemed more relaxed than when we spoke on the phone.

The door opened and I inhaled. “Oh my God.” It was filled with candles and flowers. There was a bottle of wine on the table and a small fire in the fireplace.

“You like it?”

“I love it. It’s exactly what I wanted.”

He came up behind me and deadbolted the door closed. His hands circled my waist and he kissed my neck.

“You’re exactly what I

want too.”

He pushed my cover up off my shoulders, dropping it at my feet. I spun around in his arms, remembering the last time we were together we danced in my studio.

His lips brushed over mine and I tipped forward to kiss him.

“Are you okay?” My fingers played with his hair. “You sounded upset on the phone. I was worried.”

“With you I am.” He lifted me from the floor and carried me across the room. I expected him to lower me on the couch in front of the fire, but he kept walking.

“Where are we going?”