The Fourth Sunrise by H. T. Night Read Free Book Online Page B

an impossible feat.’
    “‘ I’m speaking in the hypothetical sense.’
    “‘ Well, if you are going to aim for knight in shining armor then I’m aiming for the mysterious, small town girl who has a secret past.’
    “‘ A secret past? I like that. What is it?’
    “‘ Maybe I’m a gypsy who made her way to the States and was adopted by a couple of small town folks from Delta, Colorado.’ Christine stared at me and just started to bust out laughing. Then Christine just suddenly stopped laughing.
    “‘ What’s wrong?’ I asked.
    “‘ I was just thinking how unlucky I am,’ Christine said quietly.
    “‘ How so?’ I asked.
    “‘ I know how this ends.’
    “‘ How what ends?’
    “‘ You and I,’ Christine stated.
    “‘ What’s ending?’ I asked. ‘The way I see it, it is just the beginning. We just met a couple hours ago, and I think we are really hitting it off.’
    “‘ Are we?’ Christine asked.
    “‘ We are still in the beginning stages,’ I pronounced.
    “‘ The beginning stages of what?’ Christine asked.
    “‘ Of whatever is happening here.’
    “‘ What is happening here?”
    “‘ Well, if you can’t see it, then maybe I am a bit delusional.’
    “ Christine looked across the table and reached out her hand and held mine. I thought my heart stopped. This was her town. She was making a public display of affection. Her ex-boyfriend had just gone to war. I was probably not the most popular guys at this fair. But here I was, on a night when my team bus broke down, holding the hand of the most amazing woman I had ever met.
    “ As I held her hand, I looked into her eyes and smiled. This was as natural as anything I had ever felt in my life. Still, I didn’t want to be the scumbag baseball player who slipped into town and put the moves on the prettiest girl and was never to be seen again.
    “ I tried to look around us nonchalantly to see who was watching. No one was. Everyone was more concerned about having their own good time and certainly weren’t worried about us. Once I realized that, I was able to really enjoy my time with Christine.
    “ A girl like Christine was able to play by her own rules, call her own shots. She was about to get very real and honest. ‘I’m afraid for it, Joel.’
    “‘ Why?’
    “‘ Because I see something here and I know you’re going to be gone tomorrow and the odds of you writing and keeping in touch are slim. I’ve been dealing with this reality for a while. I meet a cool-enough guy and then inside of a couple days, he’s gone.’
    “‘ I’m just a cool-enough guy?’
    “‘ You are more than that. At least, I hope. I just met you, but you seem like a fantastic person.’
    “ I was quiet. I tried to say something, but nothing came out of my mouth.
    “‘ What’s the matter, Joel? Things just got a little too real for you?’
    “‘ I know you’re trying to scare me away, trying to see how far I run, because that is your defense mechanism. I don’t scare that easy. I’m just trying to process your blatant honesty that is coming my way.’
    “‘ Am I wrong? Isn’t this what you ball players do?’
    “‘ Some guys might, but I march to the beat of my own drum.’
    “‘ Do you?’ Now Christine was looking deep into my soul. We were definitely having a connection, a connection far greater than anything I had ever encountered.
    “‘ I do. I don’t run from girl to girl in each city. The truth of the matter is, I’m actually pretty shy when I like someone.’
    “‘ You haven’t been too shy with me.’
    “‘ I know.’ I paused. ‘Maybe we should try to start over. Don’t look at me as a ball player whose bus broke down. Look at me as a guy who met...’ I stopped what I was saying, out of my fear of revealing too much.
    “ But it didn’t matter, she would get it out of me.
    “‘ Who met who?’ she asked.
    “‘ I’m a guy who just met the love of his life.’”
     
     
     
    Chapter