Page 10 of Cookie

Ryan

“ A re you sure you don’t mind?” I asked Avery as she unwrapped a cookie she’d grabbed as soon as she walked through the door.

“Sorry, I skipped lunch, and no, I don’t mind. You can charge me for this,” she said and held the cookie up at me.

“Eat what you want. I appreciate you doing this for me.” I stood and leaned on the counter, watched her take a bite, looked away and when I looked back, she rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got it. You go pack,” she said.

“Oh my god, thank you,” I said and gave her a hug. “I can’t wait to go.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t obvious. Go!” she shouted and laughed as I hurried up the stairs.

We were only going to be there one night, but I wanted us to go do something around town possibly tonight, or tomorrow after I talked to Aunt Millie.

I hoped it was a celebration, and she hadn’t changed her mind, which I doubted.

Anytime I mentioned the bookstore, she wasn’t all that interested, while I couldn’t wait to share my ideas about changing it.

I also worried I might be pushing her out, but never once did she mention she wanted to keep it.

A few times she’d even said if I didn’t buy it, she’d be selling her inventory and fixtures.

“That’s not going to happen,” I said as I tapped out a message to Charlie.

Ryan: I’m packing. When did you want to leave?

Charlie: I’m packing too. Mom was more than ready for me to get out of there. I have to be back on Friday morning.

Ryan: We’ll have all day tomorrow. I can’t wait.

My mind rushed with ideas of all the things we could pack into one day, but I didn’t want us to be running around trying to fit as much in as we could.

We could always go back to Sacramento another day.

This was the first time we’d have time together without anyone else around.

I wanted to get to know him, and I wanted him to know me.

Charlie: Me either. What do you think of leaving within the hour? We can stop and eat dinner on the way.

Ryan: Perfect!

I tossed my phone on the bed and double-checked that I’d packed everything I’d need, which wasn’t much.

It was only one night, and I still had most of my things at my apartment.

After getting my toothbrush from the bathroom, I threw it and a few condoms and packets of lube into my shaving bag.

Better to have them and not need them than need them and not have them.

My mind wandered to the time we’d spent together so far.

“Definitely better to be safe than sorry.”

After checking one more time, I hurried down the stairs to find Charlie standing at the counter talking to Avery. “Hey, I didn’t know you were here,” I said before kissing his cheek.

“You two are both a little anxious to get out of here,” Avery said and looked between the two of us. “Just go, I can’t take it anymore.” She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead and fake swooned before tossing a pen at me. “Go.”

Charlie’s eyes met mine and for a moment we were in our own little bubble where I could stare into his eyes for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. He smiled and my lips pulled up in a grin. Avery sighed, and I watched as she walked over to the mystery section. “Are you ready?”

“So ready,” he said and held out his hand. I took it and we both said goodbye to Avery from the door. “I borrowed Mom’s car. It’s parked right out front.”

He unlocked the door and after throwing my bag in the back, I climbed into the passenger seat just as he was buckling his seat belt. “How long do you think it’ll take to get there?” I asked.

“This time of day, traffic shouldn’t be too heavy until we get closer to Sacramento. I bet we’ll be there within ninety minutes,” Charlie said as we drove through town.

“I still can’t wrap my mind around that this will be my home.

” The town of Grace was beautiful, and so different to Sacramento, but I was coming to realize how much I needed that change.

Things were good here, and everyone was so friendly and nice.

Now all I needed to do was confirm it with Aunt Millie and start the paperwork.

“Do you think there’s any chance Millie would change her mind?” Charlie asked as we drove past the city limits.

“No, she’s ready to move on with her life.

” Saying those words settled it a little more in my mind and I liked how that felt.

Charlie reached across the seat for my hand and squeezed it.

“I talked to Mom to make sure she’d be there tonight, but I asked her not to tell Millie.

I really want to see her genuine reaction. ”

He was right about the traffic. It was light and when we dropped down from the foothills into the valley, we decided to find a place to eat. We were near Rocklin when Charlie pulled off the freeway near a shopping center that had a lot of different restaurants. “What sounds good?” he asked.

“You choose, I’m too excited.” He glanced over at me before once again reaching across the seat for my hand.

Charlie was so sweet, and even though it had only been a little over an hour’s drive, we had plenty to talk about, and it went by fast. He pulled up to a Mexican restaurant and the two of us got out of the car.

“There are no good Mexican places to eat in Grace, this is a treat.”

“Oh, we’re going to have to come back again. I know a few places that are really good in Sacramento,” I said as we walked into one of the smaller restaurants. It was clean and busy, as we walked up to the counter to order before finding a seat.

“I wouldn’t mind coming back down here again,” he said and glanced out the window. “There’s a lot around here.”

“This area has really exploded the past few years. Just a few years ago, this was all open fields.”

“I remember coming here to check out Sierra College with Clarence,” Charlie said.

“Did he attend school there?”

“Yes, he got his degree in automotive technology there. It’s one of the best programs in the area.”

“Did you go to school too?” I asked.

“No, I have always worked with Dad at the shop. Anything I couldn’t figure out on my own, he taught me. By the time I graduated high school, I knew more than my brothers and since I hated school, it didn’t make a lot of sense to me to go just for a piece of paper.”

“I loved school and didn’t want it to end, but now that I’m out, I never want to go back,” I said, making him laugh just as they called our order out.

“I’ll get it,” he said and hurried to the counter before I could even think about helping.

I watched as he picked up the tray with our order and wondered what our future held.

Then I reminded myself to thank Aunt Millie for giving me the chance, not just at her business, but also for making it possible for me to meet such a great guy.