empty.
“Enjoy the night,” Alex said, walking away.
Later that night, Ben approached the flutist to pause after a song. He stood there until the song ended. With no microphone, he tapped his champagne glass with a fork. Everyone automatically looked at him.
“Thank you everyone for being here,” Ben said. “We are here to celebrate Kayla’s birthday –“ everyone clapped and Jenny shouted a birthday greeting. “—and of course their recent engagement.”
Everyone clapped again. Jenny hooted.
“Two years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined Alex would reach this point.” Everyone laughed, with Alex laughing the loudest. “But Kayla enters his life and he has gone back to the Alex Stone who would have baseball practice after school, then go to the soup kitchen to help his parents.”
Ben saw as Kayla looked up at Alex. She wrapped her arm around Alex’s waist. Alex bent over to kiss her on her forehead.
“So thank you, Kayla,” Ben continued. “You arrived just in time. I was about fed up accompanying Alex to every bar in town.”
Everyone broke out in laughter.
“So I raise this toast to love, to friendship and coming home. And happy birthday, Kayla,” Ben said, raising his glass before taking a sip of champagne.
Alex turned to kiss Kayla.
And it was while watching Alex and Kayla that Ben remembered what Kayla asked him. What else did he have in his bucket list?
It was what was in front of his eyes right then.
He wanted something like what Alex and Kayla had.
Chapter 16
Liz
I could just kill Brian, Liz thought to herself. She played with the napkin on her lap as her supposed date droned on and on.
“Soccer is awesome. The anticipation before the next goal… then boom! Goal!” Gary Allman continued on his ode to soccer. He was flapping his fork and knife as if these objects weren’t sharp. Liz was catching her breath every time he waved them – worried that they would slip through his fingers and fly straight at Liz.
Liz nodded absent-mindedly as she took another bite of her steak. She’s already told him that she didn’t watch soccer. But he still continued rambling about it.
Brian owed her big time for this, she mentally glowered.
“Come on, Liz,” Brian pleaded a couple days back when he called. “He’s my client’s son. My client’s been pestering me about it. She seemed desperate. I was worried I would lose her since she’s one of my largest clients.”
“I would have had Emily go,” Brian continued, “but it seems like she and Philip have really hit it off.” That brought a smile to Liz’s face. It was true, Philip has the night they met Philip asked for Emily’s number. He has been calling her, and they have gone out once. Philip has also told Liz that he has managed to move on with his book. Ah, the power of inspiration, Liz thought.
“Fine,” Liz conceded, since she didn’t want Brian to get in trouble with his client. And she had a hard time saying no to her friends. She practically regretted it as soon as she said the word though.
“Oh my gosh, I love you Liz!” Brian squealed. “You can’t take it back anymore!”
“It better be a good restaurant though,” Liz said. “I should at least enjoy the food.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Brian said. “Their family’s loaded.”
“You know I’m not after that,” Liz said. “You so owe me for this.”
Brian nodded reassuringly, but she wasn’t still convinced she made the right decision.
“Do you realize how many people have died related to soccer?” Gary continued, snapping her back to the present, and proving to her she absolutely made the wrong choice. No wonder his mom was desperate. “A referee killed by a fan due to a call he made. Fans of rival teams going against each other. That shows how much passion there is in the game.”
Or lunacy, Liz thought.
Liz nodded, biting back any retort that formed in her brain, with the assumption that sparking up a new
“Enjoy the night,” Alex said, walking away.
Later that night, Ben approached the flutist to pause after a song. He stood there until the song ended. With no microphone, he tapped his champagne glass with a fork. Everyone automatically looked at him.
“Thank you everyone for being here,” Ben said. “We are here to celebrate Kayla’s birthday –“ everyone clapped and Jenny shouted a birthday greeting. “—and of course their recent engagement.”
Everyone clapped again. Jenny hooted.
“Two years ago, I wouldn’t have imagined Alex would reach this point.” Everyone laughed, with Alex laughing the loudest. “But Kayla enters his life and he has gone back to the Alex Stone who would have baseball practice after school, then go to the soup kitchen to help his parents.”
Ben saw as Kayla looked up at Alex. She wrapped her arm around Alex’s waist. Alex bent over to kiss her on her forehead.
“So thank you, Kayla,” Ben continued. “You arrived just in time. I was about fed up accompanying Alex to every bar in town.”
Everyone broke out in laughter.
“So I raise this toast to love, to friendship and coming home. And happy birthday, Kayla,” Ben said, raising his glass before taking a sip of champagne.
Alex turned to kiss Kayla.
And it was while watching Alex and Kayla that Ben remembered what Kayla asked him. What else did he have in his bucket list?
It was what was in front of his eyes right then.
He wanted something like what Alex and Kayla had.
Chapter 16
Liz
I could just kill Brian, Liz thought to herself. She played with the napkin on her lap as her supposed date droned on and on.
“Soccer is awesome. The anticipation before the next goal… then boom! Goal!” Gary Allman continued on his ode to soccer. He was flapping his fork and knife as if these objects weren’t sharp. Liz was catching her breath every time he waved them – worried that they would slip through his fingers and fly straight at Liz.
Liz nodded absent-mindedly as she took another bite of her steak. She’s already told him that she didn’t watch soccer. But he still continued rambling about it.
Brian owed her big time for this, she mentally glowered.
“Come on, Liz,” Brian pleaded a couple days back when he called. “He’s my client’s son. My client’s been pestering me about it. She seemed desperate. I was worried I would lose her since she’s one of my largest clients.”
“I would have had Emily go,” Brian continued, “but it seems like she and Philip have really hit it off.” That brought a smile to Liz’s face. It was true, Philip has the night they met Philip asked for Emily’s number. He has been calling her, and they have gone out once. Philip has also told Liz that he has managed to move on with his book. Ah, the power of inspiration, Liz thought.
“Fine,” Liz conceded, since she didn’t want Brian to get in trouble with his client. And she had a hard time saying no to her friends. She practically regretted it as soon as she said the word though.
“Oh my gosh, I love you Liz!” Brian squealed. “You can’t take it back anymore!”
“It better be a good restaurant though,” Liz said. “I should at least enjoy the food.”
“That shouldn’t be a problem,” Brian said. “Their family’s loaded.”
“You know I’m not after that,” Liz said. “You so owe me for this.”
Brian nodded reassuringly, but she wasn’t still convinced she made the right decision.
“Do you realize how many people have died related to soccer?” Gary continued, snapping her back to the present, and proving to her she absolutely made the wrong choice. No wonder his mom was desperate. “A referee killed by a fan due to a call he made. Fans of rival teams going against each other. That shows how much passion there is in the game.”
Or lunacy, Liz thought.
Liz nodded, biting back any retort that formed in her brain, with the assumption that sparking up a new
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