Page 171 of Securing the Pucking Rebound

He sighs heavily. “I have memories of a time when they were. But I think knowing that only makes it hurt worse.”

“Do you think they’ll ever come around to the fact that this is your life?”

“No,” he says sadly.

We continue eating in silence with only the sound of owls in the distance and rustling trees above us.

“Lie with me,” he eventually says once we’ve both finished eating.

Unable to argue, I shuffle closer, and, after covering our legs with a blanket, we lie down together and stare up at the sky.

A kind of calmness I’d almost forgotten existed rushes through me.

“Do you know what we’re looking at?” My voice floats off into the night, but Calvin doesn’t respond.

Pushing up onto my elbow, I look down at him to find his eyes closed.

“Calvin?”

He inhales before his eyes flicker open.

My breath catches as his gaze locks on me. His hand lifts before he gently caresses my cheek. He touches me as if I’m not real, like I’m not really here with him.

I search his eyes, desperate to understand what’s going on inside his head, but I can’t figure it out unless he tells me.

His lips part, and I hold my breath, waiting to listen to what’s bothering him. But when words come, they’re not what I want to hear.

“Lie back,” he says softly.

Unable to do anything but what he asks, I slowly lay myself back down and look up at the stars above us.

It takes a few seconds, but eventually, his deep voice fills the silence again.

“Can you see that over there?” he whispers, pointing east.

I search, unsure what I’m looking for.

“Can you see the square?”

“Uh…” My eyes dart around, desperately seeking what he can see, my heart racing as memories of doing this before flood my mind.

“Yeah,” I finally reply. “I’ve got it.”

“That’s the Great Square of Pegasus. And over there,” he says, pointing higher. “You can see Cassiopeia. It looks like an M.”

I nod, despite the fact that he’s not looking at me.

He talks me through a few more constellations glittering above us as familiarity continues to flood my veins.

“When did you learn all this?” I ask, eager to soak up a little bit more about this enigma of a man beside me.

He pauses, as if he needs to think about his answer.

“I’ve been interested in astronomy since I was a teenager.”

My heart pounds steadily in my chest as crazy, wild thoughts begin racing through my head.

“You said you grew up in Texas,” I say, forcing the words past the lump in my throat.