Without You by Julie Prestsater Page A

and I wasn’t sure what to make of it. He bit the corner of his bottom lip, showing his concern.
    “Are you sure?” I asked.
    “Absolutely.”
    “Well, okay then. Thank you.”
    He turned away from me, but not before I noticed the grin beginning to form on his lips.
    ––––––––
    E VAN
    ––––––––
    “S o what’s next on Genna’s checklist?” I asked after a few minutes of silence. To say it was awkward being in my old truck with her was the understatement of the year. “I can picture cake tasting until we’re sick or maybe some kind of trust activities. We’ll all have to catch her as she falls back from a raised platform.”
    Maddy laughed at my theories. I knew Genna well. I couldn’t be too far off.
    “We have to get a slide show together for the rehearsal dinner. It should be easy. We already did the cake tasting, so you’re safe. I couldn’t eat sweets for weeks. All I wanted was a bag of Fritos to balance the sugar. No amount of milk could wash down the bites of chocolate, red velvet...” She named several flavors as she counted them off on her fingers. “Let’s not forget the various fillings. Vanilla custard, strawberry, raspberry, chocolate mousse, bananas. I volunteered to go thinking, who wouldn’t want to taste test cake? I still regret it to this day. I hope Luke shoves the cake in her face at the wedding.”
    “I’m glad I missed it,” I said.
    The ride to her house was a short one. I always thought we would be living in it together. So did her parents. When they moved up to Big Bear, they gave her the house. Her dad told me it was an early wedding present. He always assumed we’d get hitched, like everyone did, and that I would move in. They weren’t too pleased with me when we split up. They never intended for Maddy to live in the big house on her own. From what my friends told me, her dad tried to talk her into moving to the mountains with them, but she refused, saying that she was old enough to live on her own and she didn’t need me to take care of her.
    She was right. She had been living on her own since we moved out of the dorms our sophomore year of college. I tried to convince her to get an apartment with me, but she refused. I thought it would save money on rent since we spent most nights with each other anyway, but Maddy had this sweet Daddy’s-girl syndrome and she didn’t want to ruin her image by shacking up with her boyfriend. I had always admired that about her. Some people might have called her stubborn, but she just knew what she wanted and wasn’t going to allow me to tell her what to do. I loved that about her. Her strength. Her will. It was a complete turn on.
    As soon as I pulled to the curb alongside her house, memories come flooding back to me. I glanced over at her and she looked away. She was nervous. I could tell. She tugged on the straps of her bag, looking for something to do with her hands. I could give her some suggestions, but I thought of Genna and imagined her swatting my hand away.
    “It was fun tonight,” I told her, not wanting the night to end. “Their guests are going to like the booze with the funny sayings.”
    She smiled, nervously. “I bet. They got naughtier as the night went on and we drank more.”
    “People will be able to pick out Rebecca’s a mile away.”
    Maddy chuckled again, her smile so big it made her eyes close. It made me feel good to know I could still make her laugh. “No kidding. I don’t think she has a crass bone in her body. Her notes were all cutesy and innocent.”
    “Where’s the fun in that?”
    Our laughter eventually settled and silence filled the truck once again.
    “Well, I better get going,” she said, her hand stretching out for the door handle.
    “I’ll walk you up.” I turned to get out as well.
    Maddy’s hand landed on my forearm. “No. You don’t have to. I’m okay.”
    “Sunshine, there has never been a time when I have not walked you to your door. And there