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“I want you to tell me what really happened,” Savvy whispers as she stares across the lake.
We’re sitting on an old bench along the edge of the water. Savannah’s fingers are intertwined with mine, resting on my right thigh.
“I told you, I wanted to wait until Sunday. Today, I just want to enjoy my time with you.”
“But how am I supposed to enjoy spending time with you if I feel like there’s this heavy secret following us around?” She sticks her bottom lip out in a pout, knowing it’s always helped her get her way.
“You’re not getting your way,” I murmur, tugging her closer to me. “I’ll answer all of your questions, but not today. Please, Savvy.”
“Fine, but I'm not going to like it,” she huffs, folding her arms across her chest.
“That’s fine.” I chuckle. “I can handle that.” I pick up one of the pebbles at our feet and skip it across the water.
“I think we should play twenty questions.” Savannah leans down and stares at the rocks. She runs her fingers over a few different ones, trying to find the perfect one for skipping.
“Ok. I get to go first.” I grin at her when she rolls her eyes, but motions for me to continue. “Where are you going to live after graduation?”
“Pebble Creek. Where else would I go? I don’t want to be away from my parents.”
“Where are you going to work?”
“That’s two questions.” She glares at me. “But I'm going to work at Catalino’s. Where else would I work? Dad and I have been working on some new plans and I can't wait to put them into action.”
The smile playing on her lips is addicting. She looks so happy and at peace with her plans. I have no doubt she’s going to do amazing at whatever career she chooses, but she belongs at Catalino’s.
“What kind of plans?”
“You know, you’re supposed to take turns asking questions. You can't ask all of them.”
“Fine, but tell me the plans first. Then, you can ask me three questions.”
“I want to expand the restaurant. Right now, we do parties and events, but we’re planning on doing weddings. I thought doing weddings and other larger events could take the business to a whole other level. We’ve talked about opening Catalino’s Bakery too. Having a separate shop just for our baked goods.”
“Those are amazing ideas, Sav. I’d love to help you guys any way I can.”
“I was thinking of asking you about getting an app made.” She peeks up at me with a shy smile. “Something people could order dinner or bakery items from.”
“I’d love to do that for you. I can put together a few ideas and you can pick what you like best.”
“Well, I need to get Dad on board and see if we can afford it. So, don’t get too excited.” She waves a hand in the air like she can erase the ideas running through my head.
“Savvy, I'm not going to charge you to create an app for Catalino’s. I’ll happily do it for free. I don’t even want any arguments about that.”
“Thank you, Nix.”
“Of course. Now, you get three questions.”
“Why did you come back to Pebble Creek?” She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear and peers out at the lake. She’s not meeting my gaze because she’s too scared of what she’ll find staring back at her.
“I came back for you,” I say softly.
“Why?”
“Because life felt empty without you. The past six years I felt like something was missing and the second you walked into the kitchen the other day, everything felt right in the world.”
“Nix…”
“I'm not asking for anything more than friendship, Savvy. I just need you in my life. I want to be able to pick up the phone and hear your voice whenever I want to. I want to sit next to you and work on apps while you study or read. We don’t need to talk or touch, just be near each other.”
