Holding on to Someday Read online

  Holding On To Someday

  K. Leah

  Contents

  Untitled

  Untitled

  Part I

  1. Fall 1996

  2. Strolls and Study Skills

  3. Testing the Waters

  4. Crazy Roommates and Football Games

  5. Maybe I need to rethink some things

  6. Cafeterias, Video Stores, and Sunsets… What an Odd Combination

  7. Hanging Out

  8. Sunday Picnics

  9. First Love

  10. Relationship Status

  11. Not So Much Pomp & A Lot of Circumstance

  12. Transition…it’s for the birds

  Part II

  13. Moving On

  14. Deep in the heart of Texas

  15. And so it begins again…

  16. Flys, butterflies, and other flying objects

  17. The Waiting Game

  18. Coffee and Simple Touches

  19. Lunch Dates and Real Dates

  20. Morning Mojo

  21. The First Real Date

  22. It’s More Than Just a Kiss

  23. Time Will Tell

  24. Real Vases

  25. Meet the Parents

  Part III

  26. Houston We Have a Problem

  27. Antiseptic Smells and Gray Walls

  28. Waking Up is Hard to Do

  29. It’s A New Day

  30. The Road to Recovery

  31. Welcome Back to Reality

  32. My Own Version of a Fairy Tale

  33. Revelations

  34. Let the Planning Begin

  35. Dum, dum, dee dum

  Epilogue

  Dear Reader

  About the Author

  Acknowledgments

  Copyright © 2018 by K. Leah. All Rights Reserved.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

  Cover designed by the author

  Created with Vellum

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  K. Leah

  Visit my website at www.kleahbooks.wordpress.com

  Published in the United States of America

  May 2018 Edition

  The inspiration for this story came from a dear friend.

  I hope she will find her one true love... someday.

  Part I

  1

  Fall 1996

  Julie runs into my room screaming, “Clara, I can’t believe you got a date with Drew Cason! I mean, he is THE star player on the football team, and like the cutest guy on campus! How in the world did you even meet him?”

  Julie is my best friend, and one of my roommates. We met our freshman year of college at South Springs University during orientation when we were all forced to play the human bingo game. The object of the game was to go around and talk to other students, find out what you had in common, and initial the squares until someone yelled, “Bingo!” We had to get BINGO on paper by finding out facts about other people’s lives. We learned things about each other like, who had been bungee jumping, who had traveled abroad, and who could rub their tummy and pat their head at the same time.

  Julie and I hit it off after we found out we were both only children. Being in a strange place, surrounded by people you don't know, you latch on to what you can. We just kind of clicked that day, and the rest is history. We became best friends that first semester and have been roommates through our senior year.

  Making her way across the room, she jumps over our other roommate Marabeth, who currently has her head buried in my closet, butt stuck up in the air, rummaging through my shoes.

  “You need new shoes, Clara. These look like they came from 1985,” Marabeth yells as she throws every pair of Sam & Libby flats that I own into the middle of my bedroom floor.

  If we weren't such good friends, I might be a little offended. “What’s wrong with my shoes? I have a pair in just about every color, so they will match any outfit I have.”

  “My point exactly,” Marabeth says, dangling a pair of royal blue flats in front of her like they have cooties. “You need to get with the program and trash these suckers. These are not cool anymore. High school called, and it wants its shoes back.”

  Julie ignores Marabeth and continues to prod me for details about my male companion for the evening. “So seriously, how did you score a night with the hottest guy on the football team? Dreamy Drew…” she says with a sigh as she falls back onto my bed. “He’s so dreamy and yummy, and kissable…and dreamy.”

  Marabeth rolls her eyes saying, “Oh no, here we go with the mushy stuff.”

  I think Julie zones out a few seconds before I bring her back to earth. Standing over her, I snap my fingers in front of her face and tell her, “It’s not a big deal. We are just hanging out together. Remember we DO have the same major. Dreamy Drew, and I have had plenty of classes together over the past two years,” I say, as I air-quote his name. “This is just a study date.”

  “How many girls would be in a puddle at his feet if he asked them out? And YOU are all like 'no big deal'… pfff… come on, at least get a little excited!” Julie says as she examines the clothing choices I have laid out on my bed. “So, what are you studying if this is a quote-unquote study date? Each other?… your lips?… his abs?” she giggles while making googly faces at me.

  “Oh, come on! Are you going to be this way when he gets here? Because if you are, I’m locking you in the closet.” I tell her as I grab my sweatshirt off the bed and start to pull it over my head.

  “Nope, nope, nope. No, you are not!” Marabeth says, tugging my sweatshirt off as I try to put it on. “Get that slouchy thing off and put on something that makes you look like a girl." She picks up a miniskirt and shoves it at me. "This looks nice."

  I take the miniskirt and put it back in the drawer. “Like I said, this is not an official date; it’s a study date. I want to be comfortable. I also don’t want to give Drew the wrong idea. I mean, who shows up to a study date wearing a miniskirt and sequins?”

  Marabeth snickers, "Sam wouldn't mind if I showed up for a study date wearing a miniskirt."

  Julie chimes in, “Clara...He asked you on this study date, right? Like a ‘come-over-to-my-dorm-and-let’s-eat-pizza’ kind of date.”

  I dip my chin, trying to hide the blush spreading across my cheeks. “Well, yes, but…”

  Julie cuts me off, pinching my lips between her fingers. “But nothing! He asked you. It’s a date. If you are going to his dorm, it’s a date.”

  I am not going to win this battle. It’s been going strong for 20 minutes; I need to give in at some point, or I'll never be ready in time for my study date. Not to mention, she might have a point. I guess I don’t want to think of it as a date because it's Drew Cason, the star quarterback for the Bulldogs, asking me to his place. This guy is dreamy hot, hence the nickname “Dreamy Drew.” Girls fling themselves at him all of the time. You’d think he would be your typical jock: cocky, arrogant, big-headed…all the stuff you tend to think about guys who play sports at the collegiate level…but he’s not. Drew seems to be a genuinely good guy. We declared the same major, Business Management, so we’ve been in many of the same classes together over the years. I’ve gotten to know him reasonably well. As much as I want to stereotype him as the typical college football player, he is different. Nice, actually.
>
  When I see the other football players out and about, Drew is rarely with them. He doesn’t seem like the fame or hype phases him at all. It’s more like he is just ab ordinary guy who happens to enjoy playing the game. Apparently, he doesn't do the party scene either. At first, I thought it odd, because most of the jocks all live in the same dorm and flock to every off-campus event together. No, Drew goes against the grain. He doesn't take advantage of the all-too-willing girls, he is polite and uses manners, and he lives in a different dorm than the rest of the team. Best of all, he doesn’t walk around with a holier than thou aura.

  An assignment in our marketing class prompted this “study date” tonight. We were instructed to choose a partner and come up with a presentation at the end of the semester. The professor gave us the freedom to choose partners, and to my surprise, Drew approached me right away and asked me to be his partner. I fell out of my chair. Literally. He caught me off guard when came up behind me, so I did this ugly fumble/lean/try-to-cover-up-my-awkwardness…thing. I don’t know what to call it, but it was embarrassing. Ever the gentleman, Drew extended his hand and helped me out of the floor while trying not to laugh.

  After class today, he asked me to come over to his dorm, so we could start discussing the project. He also mentioned something about pizza. Even though we’ve had many classes together in the past, we’ve never really talked outside of class other than the usual “Hi” when we pass each other on campus or in the cafeteria. Funny, now that I think about it, I’ve seen Drew around a lot more this semester than I ever have before. Anyway, we are writing a business proposal for our project, so our plan is for me to go to his dorm tonight to start our research.

  A pair of cream-colored stirrup pants fling by my head, and Julie squeals. "Wear these with your cream sweater." She and Marabeth are still convinced that I need to wear something other than my high school cheerleading hoodie, jeans, and Adidas flops, which I am currently sporting.

  “But these are my comfy clothes, and pretty much my daily apparel,” I say to her, but she’s telling me she doesn't care with her evil glare.

  I look at my reflection in the mirror and don't see what's wrong with what I'm wearing. My blonde locks are pulled up into a high ponytail, primarily because I didn't dry my hair last night and it's a little frazzled. Regardless, I look like I do almost every other day.

  Hmmm... I might could stand to spiff up a little, I think to myself. So I cave and say, "I'll keep my jeans, but I'll wear the cream sweater instead of the sweatshirt. Happy?"

  Marabeth crosses her arms in a pout of defeat, “and take that scrunchie out of your hair and actually use a curling iron,” she says while waving a brush in the air.

  “Fine,” I huff. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to look a little better than my usual, frumpy self.

  Julie is more like me. She doesn’t care about making a fashion statement either. Marabeth, on the other hand, puts on lip-gloss to go to the bathroom. You will never see her in sweats or hair scrunchies, and if you do, you know something is majorly wrong. One time last year, she strolled into the living room wearing glasses so thick I thought they were glass bottles and an oversized neon green T-shirt with cut-off sweatpants. Whoa. It turns out she had an ulcer on her lip, so she deemed herself horrid and refused to leave the apartment for three days.

  As I proceed to my closet to find a sweater that is roommate-approved, I decide to go ahead and make it worthwhile and do the whole kit and caboodle. So I put on makeup. I figure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to make myself a little more presentable. Just in case this ends up being more than a study date.

  2

  Strolls and Study Skills

  By the time 6:45 pm rolls around, I am entirely dolled up - curled hair, tight-rolled jeans, straightened sweater, a spritz of honeysuckle body spray, and lip gloss is applied (courtesy of Marabeth’s collection). I am a ball of nerves by this point.. Drew's dorm is just across campus, and I know it won’t take long to walk there, so maybe I can shake these jitters before I arrive.

  Breathe in. Breathe out. Okay… it’s go time.

  The girls are all smiles when I leave my room. I grab my backpack and open the door of my apartment to find a set of the most perfect blue eyes staring back at me. I squeal in surprise as Drew laughs and puts his hands in his pockets.

  “Hey, Clara. I didn’t mean to scare you, but I thought I would come and walk you to my dorm so you wouldn't have to walk across campus by yourself.”

  I think I just melted a little. That is probably the sweetest thing a guy has ever done for me. Julie and Marabeth come running up behind me to investigate the scream they heard. I turn around to look at them and introduce the handsome man standing in our doorway.

  “Girls, this is Drew. Drew, these are my roommates, Julie and Marabeth.”

  Julie strolls to the door, props her arm on the frame, and says, “Hiiiiii, Drew…. I’m Juuuuuulieeeee. I like the way you play football,” in a breathy, seductive voice.

  Oh. Mylanta! She did not just go there!

  I shove her away from the door, “Ohhhh-kayyy then…so I’m out of here. I’ll see you girls later tonight,” I say grabbing my keys to hurry out the door before Julie does anything else to embarrass me, or herself.

  Drew nods a farewell at the girls and we head down the stairs. I am still confused as to why he showed up at my door when the plan was for me to meet him in the lobby of his dorm. His presence at my door has me thinking this really might be more than just a study-date. I like it. A lot.

  Keep the feelings in check, Clara. He’s a noble guy – he's probably just trying to be a gentleman.

  He speaks up as we make our way down the stairs, “I hope it’s okay that I came to walk you to my dorm. I didn’t like the idea of you walking across campus by yourself in the dark." Is he blushing? "I mean....I know you probably do it all the time, but you never know, there might be wolves lurking nearby, ready to pounce as soon as you cross the quad.”

  I snicker. “Lurking wolves? Really?” Okay, he's totally blushing.

  “Yeah, well,” he says, “You're probably right. Wolves aren't prevalent in this town. I really… just…well, I just wanted to do the gentlemanly thing and walk with you. I could have probably just come to your apartment tonight, but I wasn’t sure if your roommates would be okay with that, or if they would be hanging around the whole time. It was an assumption on my part. Sorry… my bad.”

  “Oh, it’s no problem at all. I don’t mind studying at your place. We’ll have more room in the lobby anyway. Plus, you're right - my roommates would have probably been sitting right beside us the entire time. I could have asked them if we could have the place, but Julie probably wouldn’t have left. Sorry about her back there, by the way. She’s usually not…well…yeah, she’s always like that. Especially around cute guys.” Oh my gosh, did I say that out loud? Now, who’s the one blushing?

  A smile creeps across his face, revealing a slight dimple. “Cute, huh? So do you think I’m cute?” he asks.

  At this point I am struggling - no, stumbling – over my words. How can I peel myself out of this one? “Ummm…errr…. I mean…,” sigh. “Yeah, you’re cute. You know it though. There's no denying that all the girls on campus think so." I steal a sideways glance at him. "You do know your nickname is Dreamy Drew, don’t you?”

  He laughs, and I am now totally embarrassed. “Yes, I’ve heard rumors about my nickname.”

  Enter awkward silence period. Crickets. You can hear crickets.

  We continue walking toward his dorm, and after a few minutes of silence Drew speaks up. “So what kind of pizza do you like? I figure we can order once we get back to the dorm and work a little while until they deliver it.”

  I have to admit that I’m not the biggest pizza fan, but I would never tell him that. Everyone is supposed to like pizza, but I never really have. I was always the oddball anytime we had sleepovers, parties or get-togethers when I was younger. Most church youth events equaled pizza and Kool-Aid - neither o
f which I’ve ever been a fan. I was always the one bringing a bologna sandwich and Pringles in a paper baggie.

  “Clara… are you okay?” Drew asks. Apparently, I stopped walking to reminisce about bologna sandwiches and Pringles. I must look like such a space cadet. Gah.

  “Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a minute thinking about all the pizza choices.”

  “I guess pepperoni will be fine… but I can eat anything you want. If I don’t like a topping, I’ll pick it off.”

  There goes that dimpled smile again.

  “Would you eat a meat lovers pizza? That’s my favorite, and if you don’t like something on it you can ‘pick it off’ as you say,” he says with a laugh as he pulls out his key card to open the door. I feel the heat rising in my cheeks.

  “Meat lovers it is then,” I tell him with a smirk as we walk through the door.

  3

  Testing the Waters