I zipped up the bag Lilly packed and dropped it beside mine. Of course, both our bags were way over packed. When packing mine, I had to continuously tell myself that it was only for one weekend; I was never much of a light traveler. Part of me still couldn’t believe my daughter and me were about to spend the weekend with Kendall.
As if on cue, my phone began to vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it to my face, I smiled. “Hello, Kendall,” I said into the phone.
“Hey, are you all packed?”
“Well,” I looked down at our bags, “I think we have everything we need.” I decided to use this opportunity to pry for information. “What exactly do we need to pack?”
Kendall laughed. “Just pack some clothes. It isn’t a big deal, and if you don’t have something you need, I’m absolutely sure I could get it for you.” He paused to chuckle once more. “You’re not trying to dig information out of me, Mr. Green?”
Crap. He figured me out. “Of course not,” I muttered, defeated.
“Though, I’m sure you have way more than enough packed. I remember that one time we camping. You ended up packing so much that I couldn’t even shut my trunk.” He paused to laugh once more, and I smiled at the memory. “I’m going to take a long shot and say that you haven’t changed that much.”
I wrinkled my nose. “That’s not funny! If I wouldn’t have over packed, you would have spent that whole weekend scratching your ass. Thankfully, I had calamine lotion,” I added triumphantly.
“That is very true.” An awkward pause fell over the conversation. Breaking the silence with a loud sigh, Kendall spoke. “What all did you do with your life, Aeden?”
His words stuck me in a way that almost made my heart hurt.
Almost.
Seventeen years passed between us; Kendall missed everything I experienced. We didn’t know each other anymore; however, despite the time, why did I still have feelings for this man, the man that left me behind?
I blew out a breath. “Why don’t we save the catching up for when we’re face-to-face, huh?”
Kendall chuckled lightly. “Sounds like a plan. I’m sure we have a lot to catch up on.” He paused. “You looked really good today, Aeden.”
His words made me flush. Hell, it wasn’t even over the fact that it was Kendall freaking Rogers. I didn’t get much attention from men anymore. Partly, it was by choice. It didn’t feel right to bring random men into Lilly’s life.
I cleared my throat and said the best thing my mind could cook up. “You too, Kendall.” I shoved my fingers through my hair and ran my hand down my face. That was the best I could do? “What exactly do you have planned?” I asked only to change the subject.
He laughed. “I just want you and Lilly to spend the weekend at my house, and before you go on one of your long-winded objections, I just want to catch up; I really want to know about your life has been. I never have guests, and I think that I could give you a nice break from,” he paused then added, “I mean, I’m not saying that you need a break from your life.” He fell silent once more. “Look, it will be fun, ok?” He sounded winded, and I couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t laugh at me,” he nearly wined.
I laughed harder. “Talk about long-winded. I just want to make sure that you’re positive about this. It’s not too late to change your mind, you know? Lilly can be a handful sometimes, and I don’t really want to scare you away.”
Kendall sighed. “I’m not going anywhere,” he said with a serious tone edging his voice. “I’m inviting you both because I want to be around you both. I love kids; it’s really not a problem. I have a pool and a game room. I’m absolutely sure that Lilly would have a good time.”
Blowing out a breath, I sat on the corner of my bed. “Lilly isn’t really all that difficult to please.” I smiled to myself. “She gets that from me.” I drew a long breath and closed my eyes. “I’m kinda worried about me.” I spoke truthfully. What if all I did was hurt myself more in the end?
“Why would you be worried, Aeden?” His voice was small. I guessed that it was because he knew the answer.
I cursed mentally. “It’s been so long, Kendall. I don’t want to put myself into a situation where I come out worse than I went in. You have no idea how badly you messed me up when you left.” There, I said it.
A long silence fell over us once more, and I instantly wished I had kept my mouth closed. “I really am sorry, Aeden. If I have to tell you how sorry I am every other minute of the time we spend together this weekend, I will as long as it will just get you here. Let me at least try to make it up to you.” He fell silent, obviously waiting for me to say something, but when I didn’t, he continued. “It would really mean a lot to me.”
His words rang in my mind. If I said no to him now, I just knew that I would regret this moment for the next seventeen years of my life. I bit my lip and opened my eyes. “Ok, Kendall, but no funny business.” The corner of my lips tugged lightly at my words.
“None at all, I promise!”
“So,” I said putting a hand on the back of my neck, “give me directions to your place, and I’ll leave here shortly, if that’s ok with you.”
There was a pause on the line. “Are you sure you don’t want me to pick you and Lilly up? I seem to also remember you having about as much directional ability as a cross-eyed rabbit.”
I scoffed but smiled. “Shut up. I do just fine, thank you very much. I did grow up, Kendall.”
“Well, growing up doesn’t have much to do with being able to drive and follow simple directions.”
Rolling my eyes, I said, “If I get lost, I’ll just call you. No big deal, right?” I wasn’t giving up my car. Who knew if I would need an escape plan later in the day? One had to plan for those things.
“Fine. Fine,” Kendall mumbled in defeat. He recited his address and a few points on how to get there, making sure he took his time to consider my lack of directional abilities.
Once I felt like I could get there without ending up in Canada, I smiled brightly and said, “Thank you, Kendall.”
“Just call me if you get lost. I’ll keep my phone glued on my hip.”
Rolling my eyes once more, I reassured him that I would call. Goodbyes and see-you-soons passed between us before we hung up.
I didn’t want to admit it, but talking to Kendall was nice; though, I was realizing all too suddenly why exactly I fell in love with him so quickly back in our childhood. He was absolutely charming.
And sexy.
Mentally cursing at myself, I had to remind myself that it was just one weekend to catch up. That was it. As simple as that. Why in the world would he still have feelings for me all these years later? Exactly. He wouldn’t. I stopped at my thoughts. Why was I trying to convince myself that Kendall wouldn’t have feelings for me? I furrowed my brow.
“Dad, what’s wrong?” Lilly asked as she hopped into my room; her pigtails bobbed behind her.
I shook my head lightly to clear my thoughts and smiled. “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of a few things.”
“What kinda things?”
Raising an eyebrow, I leaned down and scooped Lilly into my arms. “You’re such a nosey little Eel.” I began tickling her sides, sending her into loud shrills of laughter.
“Stop it!” She laughed. “Put me down!”
I tickled her a little more before putting her back down. She was getting too big for this, but I planned to enjoy these moments for as long as I possibly could. “Kendall just called. We are going to be leaving soon.”
“Yay!” Lilly practically jumped in the air then ran out of the room.
Still sitting on the edge of my bed, I ran a hand through my hair. My daughter was growing up so fast. In a blink of an eye, she would be graduating high school and chasing after her dreams. One day, when she falls in love, she’ll pull me aside and tell me that she’s engaged to be married.
I sighed then sighed deeper. “She’s only ten,” I reassured myself.
With a deep breath, I stood from my bed and gathered our bags in my arms. Part of me was ecstatic to be spending time with Kendall, but another part of me was absolutely terrified. No amount of mental preparations could possibly prepare me for this, so instead of dwelling on the thoughts in my mind, I buckled Lilly into her seat then set off to spend the weekend with the man who crushed my heart into thousands of tiny shards.
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Hey everyone. I hope you are all enjoying so far, and if you are, ca you all be extra lovely and tell me in a comment or fan me if you really like this? I'm actually really excited that this story has nearly forty reads so far. I know if now much in the world of wattpad, but it still feels nice. Thank you all!
The remaning parts of this story should be upladed today. Fingers crossed.
xoxo - Mason