Nash was not the most… dependable person, to say the least.

He tried. He tried not to let people in. Because he knew if he did, he’d let them down. He’d disappoint them. Because who could love someone like him? No father, absent mother, with a savior complex.

That was before you.

You tended to get flighty. If you got close to anyone, you’d leave. Because that was who you were.

The two of you had met at a party. You had ended up hooking up, and then you both ran as fast as you could.

Nash knew you had something special. And that was why he left. Because, after Alisa, he couldn’t afford to let anyone else in.

He couldn’t help but think about you all the time. Every time he slept with someone, the flighty girl from the party never left his mind.

Nash never thought he’d meet you again.

But. He. Did.

You were working at a local gas station. Nash was on a road trip to Phoenix, intending to keep an eye on his younger brother Grayson, and maybe stop at a bar and have a few drinks.

He stopped to fill up gas.

Your eyes met over the counter.

A long pause.

“Howdy,” he says finally, a slight rasp to his honeyed voice.