As predicted Greg called that evening, Shannon told him that I didn’t want to talk to him, and he didn’t press the issue, which surprised me, he must have been really sorry. However, I wasn’t going to take a chance anytime soon. Shannon decided to have a quiet evening at home, wrapping presents, and baking more cookies for her class, I was suppose to help, if I was feeling up to it. I changed into a pair of jeans and one of my old college sweat shirts that had seen better days and less holes, and helped mix up cookie dough.
      Guilt is a bad thing for romantic sensibilities. Any feelings I might have felt for Greg was squashed, but I wasn’t sure if it was because of his temper, or my actions. I kept returning the same conclusion, if I hadn’t been out with Evan, Greg wouldn’t have gotten mad. I wasn’t blaming Evan, okay I was... a little, but I knew if I had said no, and had not gone out to lunch with him, or I hadn’t followed him out to the cornfield, or if I didn’t let Shannon invite him over, or if I didn’t have a truce with him, or if I didn’t let him kiss me, or if I didn’t like the way Evan’s eyes had that little glint of mischief when he smiled, or if he didn’t smell so good, or if I wasn’t starting to fall in love with him. This realization hit me while I was helping with the cookies, which was why an egg slipped out of my hand and onto the floor. Shannon looked worried about me. “I’m fine,” I mumbled as I sat down at the table for a minute. I felt even more guilty for my behavior towards Greg, I was a dishonest slut, this made tears come to my eyes, and this time Shannon was there wiping them away.
      “It will be all right.” Shannon soothed. She didn’t understand the reason I was crying but I didn’t feel like informing her. The phone rang just then and Shannon went to answer it. I returned to mixing up cookie dough, when Shannon came back in. “That was Evan.” she didn’t say anymore, and I didn’t ask. We worked together wordlessly, I was thinking and feeling sorry for myself while Shannon was humming, again Shannon’s mood should have warned me, but I was too busy wallowing in self doubt and pity to see my best friend scheming again. My first clue, was when Shannon announced, out the blue, that we needed to go out the following night. I looked at her as if she had grown another head, but she continued to chatter about how we should go out to a club and I could wear my new out fit, and we could have a good old time, like we used to in college. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t know if I would be up to it. She gave me a disbelieving look and I almost forgot how nice she was being to me. After the dough was mixed up it had to sit overnight, I searched the house for scissors and tape while Shannon got the paper and bows, we met in the living room where we had an assortment of things to wrap. The doorbell rang about 15 minutes later. I looked at the clock that hung over the television. “Who could that be?” I jumped up because I was the closest one to the door.
      “Oh, yeah, Evan said he was coming over.” Shannon said as she put a bow on one of her packages. I already had my hand on the knob, but I threw her an evil look. She had set me up, again. I was going to have to stop walking around with my eyes shut. I swung open the door, and Evan was standing there will his devil may care smile. I gave him one quick sweep of my eyes before I frowned at him. “Are you just going to stare me down or let me in?” He asked, and I stepped aside giving him entrance. This was not a good idea, not with these new found feelings of mine, despite that I couldn’t help letting my eyes drift over him. He was wearing a leather jacket, over a long sleeve t-shirt and jeans which were molded to his tight butt. Yes, I was looking at his butt, and it took all my willpower to advert my eyes. Shannon noticed me looking however, and she had a gleam in her eye.
      “Are you ready?” Evan asked giving me a once over. I was confused, but I knew who would know what was going on, I glared at Shannon, who was all smiles.<
      “To do what?” I asked, Shannon was jumping up “Now don’t you worry about that.” she said, pushing me towards the door. Evan grabbed my coat from the rack as we passed. I was leaving the house even if I didn’t want to. Instead of Evan’s Jetta, a truck that must have belonged to his dad’s construction company was parked out front. Evan opened the passenger door and shut it behind me after I got in. After we drove for awhile I asked, “Where are we going?”
      Evan got that funny look on his face that meant that he was up to something, “Are you up for some fun?” Despite myself I smiled, “Why are we going to go toilet paper houses, or light dog shit on fire?”
      “No, still interested?” he jested. “if you say yes, you have to adhere to a code of silence punishable by death.”
      “Oh really, well then I guess then the answer is yes.” I quickly felt like a kid again, and it was doing wonders for my mood.
      “Okay, you must call me captain, and I will call you number one,” he said it with a straight face, but I don’t know how because I was rolling with laughter.
      “Aye aye captain. Where are we going... captain?” <
      “The less you know the better off you will be number one” we had reached the outside of town and he was turning towards the high school
      “We wouldn’t be going to the high school now would we captain?”
      “Gosh, you are smart, we might have to promote you to captain.” he said parking the truck in the parking lot off of the foot ball field.
      “You aren’t going to do anything illegal,” I said seriously.
      He made a tssk tssk sound, “Where is your sense of adventure number one, now I know why you are just a commander and not a captain, no guts no glory I always say.”
      “I have never heard you say that in your life.” I said getting out of the truck and headed towards the well lit football field. It was too late in the season for a football game, but the band still used it for practice, I looked at my watch and saw that it was a little after 9, band practice would have ended a while ago, but the lights probably were programmed.
      “I always have said that, as well as Seize the day! Here Randy, carry this.” Evan said, as he passed me a heavy wool blanket. I took it, but immediately I wondered what he was going to carry. He had a football which he was throwing up in the air and catching, he had taken off his coat and left it in the car with mine since it wasn’t that cold of a night.
      “Yeah that seems fair.” I mumbled. He led me out onto the middle of the field. With the exception of graduation and gym class, I hadn’t really been on it. He took the blanket and spread it out on the 50 yard line. “Aren’t you ban from ever setting foot on this field again or something?”
      He sprawled out on his back. Looking up at the sky, you couldn’t see the stars though, because of the bright lights. “No, I called Coach Rogers before I picked you up and asked if he could leave the lights on for a little while longer tonight.”
      “You called Coach Rogers.” I said, as I sat down indian style of the blanket. “And he left the lights on for you. Are you sure you told him who you were?”
      “You have so much faith in me.” Evan said. “One little screw up in 29 years and people are ready to string you up every time for it.” He rolled to his side, supporting his head with his left arm. “He didn’t even remember the incident, me being All star quarter back for an undefeated team does have it’s advantages you know. Everyone loved me.”
      I arched an eyebrow at him. “Really, I am sure all your ex-girl friends in high school loved you too after you dumped them.”
      He coughed, then frowned, “Sure bring that up. There was just so much of me to go around. And if I recall, you weren’t the dateless wonder either.” he teased.
      A little embarrassed as I thought about the guys I dated in high school, a real class of losers, “Yeah, I didn’t see you asking me out.” I quipped, I was walking a little too close to the edge of the truth. “Hey you had your chance.”
      “Yes, English class and period 10 study hall. I wasn’t sure you could even read, considering how bad you were in English.”
      “Yes, but with your special tutelage, you ‘learned me good.’” He remarked, then said something I didn’t expect. “I thought about asking you out.” he said almost as an afterthought.
      “Well why didn’t you?” I was curious. The teenager inside me jumped to the surface.
      “You intimidated me.”
      “I intimidated you? How?” now I was confused. Somehow me being intimidated by the captain of the football team and all around handsome guy was validated, how could that same person be intimidated by me?
      “You were so smart, and you dressed... different, and you were so... serious talking about English, literature and writing, and how you were going to go to Ireland and write about book about the people there, and you would never marry, until you met the right guy who treated you like a princess, because you never wanted to get divorced like your parents. You were just so damn sure of yourself, I felt stupid asking someone who had their life mapped out, to take some time and go out with me on a date.”
      I looked at him, and I didn’t know who he was. “You were listening when I talked about that nonsense?” He nodded, “it wasn’t nonsense when you said it.” I felt my eyes getting damp. This was too much. I searched my jeans pocket for a tissue. “I didn’t tell you that to make you cry.” he said brushing a tear away.
      “Then why did you tell me?” I blow my nose in the tissue. “That was ancient history, and who said I would have gone out with you then.” I didn’t want to take his words at their full meaning. Again I was denying what I really felt. I would have jumped at the chance and I knew it.
      “You go out with me now.” he informed me.
      “Yeah, what makes me so different now, how come you aren’t intimidated my me now?” I was ready to argue and didn’t give him time to respond. “Is it because none of the dreams came true and I am still stuck in this town, working at a job that I really didn’t want? Seeing a guy I didn’t want. And I don’t go out with you now!” I drifted off and started to cry for the third time that day.
      Evan wrapped his arm around me and held me to his chest, while he rubbed my back, “it will be all right. None of that stuff has anything to do with why I am not intimated by you now. It has to do with me, I had alot of growing up to do, and I can’t do it here in this town. You, no matter what you do, you will always be perfect.” His voice had a ring of sincerity in it that let me know that he was telling me his true feelings.
      This made me even sob harder. I was being pathetic, but I couldn’t help it. I never thought I would ever hear anyone say such considerate things to me, and never in a million years would I guess that Evan would be the one saying them. Evan was the one comforting me, trying to cheer me up, the one who made me laugh. Evan who treated me like an equal, and God yes even a ‘princess.’ Evan was the one I loved, always, and it took me this long to figure it out. “Thank you.”
      Evan was confused, “What did I do?”
      “Put things into perspective.” I wanted to tell him that I had found my one and only, but I had gotten the clarity to see that no matter how much I loved him, it wouldn’t be enough to make him stay here.
      “Wow, I didn’t know I did that.” He smiled, lying with his back on the blanket again, bringing me down with him. I nestled my ear against his chest listening to his voice through his chest as he spoke. “Why didn’t you ever write that book?”
      “I went to Ireland, for a year.” I began. “I was overwhelmed. It is so beautiful and most of the people so nice, I just couldn’t stop to find a place to write, so I didn’t.”
      “This was right after college?” he was now playing with my the hair in my pony tail.
      “Yeah, I came home when they found a large brain tumor in Michael’s head, Mom’s last husband. He was more a father to me than my real father so I came home.”
      “And you have been here ever since. Don’t you want to leave again?”he wondered aloud.
      I knew that was coming. “Leave this town? I would love to, but how could I leave my family or Shannon? Besides this town has grown on me, even when I was in Ireland I couldn’t stop being homesick.” it was the truth. I loved this town.
      He pondered what I said, “I couldn’t wait to get out of this town.” he said after awhile. “I went to college and was happy only to come back on holidays, then they started to get less and less. until I wasn’t coming home at all. There was nothing for me here. I wasn’t the town’s golden boy like Greg. I wanted to go somewhere that had never heard of Greg Phillips.” He paused. “It worked for awhile, but now I am stuck here until the project is over.”
      After we were both silent for a few minutes I changed the subject. “Why haven’t you gotten married Evan?”
      “Who says I haven’t?”
      I started to laugh until I saw he was serious. “You were married? To who...” I was not believing him.
      “Okay, it wasn’t a real marriage. It was to this one show girl when I was in Los Vegas. We both were drunk, and regretted it the next morning.” This time I did laugh, “You’re not serious.”
      “Oh yes I am. Her name was Monica Booth, and we had an annulment a couple of days later. It was the best 72 hours of my life.” Now I knew he was joking. “And I guess you never found that ‘right’ man.”
      “Nope.” I said lifting my head to look into his eyes. “But I'm not giving up.” I was lying through my teeth, but he didn’t need to know that. I lowered my lips to his, and gave him the softest of kisses. He responded instantly, pulling me closer to his warmth. Our tongues dueled between our mouths, thrusting and retreating. As our passion was building the lights suddenly went out.
      Startled by the sudden darkness I broke the kiss. There was a figure standing on the bleachers. “Johanson is that you down there necking?” I started to giggle immediately, but Evan covered my mouth with his hands as he called out, “Yeah Coach, it’s me.”
      “Well, I am turning off the lights now, I don’t want any of those delinquents breaking in here and urinating on the end zone. Can’t understand where they would get an idea like that from, anyway, lock up when you leave.”
      I was laughing so hard, I didn’t hear Evan’s response. When the Coach was out of distance Evan let his hand off my mouth. “And you said the Coach didn’t even remember.” I teased.
      He shrugged. “I might have started a tradition.”
      “Oh shut up.” I kissed him hard on the mouth continuing where we had left off. I spread my hands over his chest feeling the wide expanse. I sat up straddling him, taking off my shirt. He moved his hands to cup my breasts that filled his hands perfectly. Evan rolled us over so my back was on the blanket and gave me another long hard kiss that left my lungs empty, but I still wanted more. He moved down to the hallow of my neck then farther still to feast on my breasts through my lacy black bra. He un hooked the offending piece of clothing from the back, then took one nipple into his warm mouth. I could feel a sweet warmth growing between my legs and I could tell by the hardness against my thigh that Evan was in the same condition. After he treated my other nipple to the same assault he stopped and looked at my face.
      “As much as I would love to make love to you on the 50 yard line, we can’t.”
      “But...”
      “Oh this isn’t over. We just have to change scenery.” he kissed me one last time before he sat up and started to gather the blanket. I was left to put on my sweatshirt and pocket my bra. Like two teenagers who were sneaking out to meet other we made our way across the field and to the truck.
      Evan dumped everything in the back and practically jumped into the cab. He started the truck with a hurry, but not before he gave me a mind numbing kiss, which almost lapsed into something else. He had to peel me off him so he could drive.
      I didn’t know where we were going until Evan drove the truck up to the old stone Lehman house.
      “What are we doing here.” I was surprised . “The cooperation will use this house as a project head quarters. I am sort of staying here when I am not at my parents.” he explained as he cut the truck engine.
      “And when aren’t you at your parent house?” I said wryly we walked up the slate path that led to the side kitchen door. Wondering if he had brought anyone else here.
      “Just right now... but I do happen to know that this place has a mighty fine bed, or so I’ve been told.” He said as he unlocked the door. Once the door was closed he reached for me, as soon I found myself with my back against the kitchen wall with my legs wrapped around his waist and Evan kissing me like nobody’s business.
      “I thought you said this place had a bed.” I said when he started kissing my neck. I knew I was going to have hickys in the morning.
      “It does.” He took me up through the rest of the kitchen then up the back stairs and down a hall to a bedroom at the end of the hall. “So much for the grand tour.” he mumbled as he stood me on my feet.
      Our clothes vanished and soon we collapsed into the softness of the bed. Evan wasn’t a rushed lover, but I can’t estimate how long it was before I left his warm length enter my wetness, or how many times I had climaxed from it. I do know that we did it three or four times. After that I feel asleep against Evan’s slick body, feeling utterly and perfectly content and in love.