Page 170 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

47

SIENNA

Ten minutes later, Calvin has set up the most romantic picnic spot. I snuggle beside him on the blanket he laid on the ground before dropping a few cushions and other blankets to keep us warm.

Of all the things I’ve considered for this date, this wasn’t one of them.

“I hope you’re still hungry,” he says before lifting a lid on what I thought was a cool box. But it quickly becomes obvious that it isn’t keeping anything cold; instead, it’s keeping our dinner warm.

“Oh wow. Did you cook that?”

“Uh…no. I actually ordered it and picked it up before getting you.”

“It smells incredible.”

“Lamb shank in a rich gravy, smashed potatoes and greens,” he explains as he hands the container over. “Hopefully, it’ll help keep you warm.”

“Oh my god.” I groan when I take my first bite. The lamb falls apart, and the gravy…

“Good?”

“So good,” I mumble, unable to stop myself from diving back in despite the fact I know he’s watching.

It’s so dark out, it’s hard to see anything. I’m sure if we were here during the day, the view would be incredible, but I can barely see past the edge of the blanket.

The reason we’re here is obvious, though. It has nothing to do with the view before us, and everything to do with the one above us.

Thoughts of the tattoo he’s got on his thigh cycle through my head, although with my own very limited experience with stargazing, I recognized it instantly.

I only did it one summer. It was pretty much the only time in my life when everything was calm enough to do so. We never had another vacation like that one again. I was desperate to go back and do it all over again, but also terrified that if we did, everything would be different.

It wasn’t the place I fell in love with that summer, but someone. The thought of going to find him and discover that things had changed petrified me. So I allowed myself to store memories of that summer away to think about later, but times got hard.

It was my fault we lost touch. I got swallowed up into middle school, and life got busy. I’ll forever regret not keeping up with our letters. The boy from that summer understood me in a way I’d never experienced before. My naive, preteen heart liked to think that we’d found the boy we were meant to spend the rest of our lives with. But that’s crazy. Life only works like that in romance novels and movies.

“Do you come out here often?” I ask as we eat.

“As much as I can. Life as a professional athlete can get a little overwhelming at times. Sometimes, I…” His words trail off, and I look up from my dinner to focus on him.

The moon is tucked behind one big tree behind us, casting some of his face in shadow. I might not be able to see his expression all that well, but there’s something in it that makes my breath catch.

“Sometimes I need to get away from it all, remember quieter times.”

Ripping my attention from him, I look up, my eyes searching the stars that are twinkling above us, trying to find anything familiar. But it’s been over fifteen years, and I’ve forgotten almost everything I was taught that summer.

“This is your happy place?”

“Uh…yeah. I guess so.”

I smile around my fork. I love learning new things about him that no one else knows.

“What’s yours?”

“Um…” There’s only one place that ever comes to mind, and that’s the ranch from that summer. It was the happiest time of my life. “I don’t really have a place. It’s more the people I’m surrounded by.”

“Your family must be pretty special.”

“They are. I’m sorry yours isn’t.”