10 Years (Time for Love 5)

“I was surprised to see you in the stands.” I gestured behind me, then shoved my hands in my pockets.

Gwen looked up at me, her face not betraying any emotion.

“Just keeping a promise,” she said, then turned and began walking away.

I watched her walk away, all hope going with her, when my phone started to ring in my pocket.

“Yeah?” I said distractedly without looking to see who was calling.

“Craig.” My brother’s voice sounded nervous. “Shelly’s in labor, we’re heading to the hospital.”

“I’m on my way,” I responded immediately, then looked up to see Gwen rounding to corner.

I started running.

“Be safe,” Cal replied.

“I will, and Cal … Congrats, Daddy,” I said with a grin, then hung up the phone.

“Gwen!” I yelled as I picked up speed.

She turned, exasperation clear on her face.

“There’s nothing else to say…” she began, but I cut her off.

“Shelly’s having the baby. I’m going to leave now. You coming?”

Pleasure, excitement, and then remorse crossed her face in the span of seconds, and she bit her lip as she contemplated what to do.

“C’mon,” I persuaded. “You know you want to be there. I have a car and am going to the same place. It just makes sense to ride together.”

She thought about it for a minute, then looked at me warily.

“This doesn’t change anything.”

I nodded, then turned to go back and grab my stuff, before heading to my car. I figured she’d follow me. I wasn’t going to go out of my way to accommodate her, if she was still going to hold a grudge, but as she trailed behind me, I had to admit that hope came along with her.

Chapter Eighteen ~ Craig

Present Day (20 years old)

I could tell that Gwen was struggling with her emotions as she finally told me what had happened to cause the riff between us.

I was struggling myself.

I felt terrible that she’d been so hurt that she’d felt the need to shut herself off from me.

I felt angry that rather than talk to me that morning, tell me everything that had happened, and discuss what she was feeling with me, she’d chosen to keep it to herself for all of these years.

I felt a mixture of sadness and hope, that the dreams and flashes of having Gwen in my arms were actually memories from that night.

“What are you thinking?” Gwen asked finally, when my silence became too much too bare. She tried to keep her voice cool and controlled, but the way she was ringing her hands in her lap betrayed her worry.

“I’m sorry,” I said simply, pushing aside the myriad of emotions warring within me. “I’m sorry that we hooked up when I was too drunk to remember. I’m sorry that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me the truth the morning after it happened.” I held up my hand to stop her from interrupting when she opened her mouth to argue against my statement. “I’m sorry that you felt the need to protect yourself from me by cutting me out over the last few years.” Tears began falling down her flushed cheeks, but I made myself go on. Unlike Gwen, I needed to express what I was feeling, rather than bottle it all up inside.

“But most of all I’m sorry that I told you that I loved you.” Her face began to fall, so I hurried on before she got the wrong idea and ran away from me again. “I wish I hadn’t told you like that, on that night. I first knew that I was falling for you when I broke my arm and you spent months trying to cheer me up. I think it was when you snuck Major League into my room and watched it with me. We were la

ughing so loud that my mom came in, and you were so afraid you were busted, your face turned bright red.” She smiled through her tears at the memory, and I kept going. “I wanted to tell you a million times, but it never felt right. I wanted to ask you out, but you seemed to have no interest in dating, and no interest in me other than friendship. I was waiting until we went away to school together. I figured once we were away from our families and out on our own, you’d be willing to give us a shot… Of course, by the time we got to college, you were no longer talking to me, so it seemed like you’d never know how I felt.”