Baby, It's You & No One Else

The next day Eric and I walked along the boardwalk of Lake Superior, hand in hand while bundled up in our winter gear and with a cup of hot chocolate. I giggled as I walked on top of the rocks, Eric holding on to me, ready to catch me if I fell.

"I feel so tall!" I exclaimed, laughing as the cold wind blew my hair away from my face. It felt good since I had been running around all day, getting hot as we waiting for Blake to text us when him and Kara were set to jump in the water. I hopped from one rock to the next, doing ballerina leaps as Eric watched me with a content smile. His grip on my hand was tight as I leaped into the air, always on the ready.

"I wish it was summer," I sighed, jumping on to a big rock and looking out at the lake.

"Why's that?" Eric asked, standing next to the rock, not attempting to risk injury by climbing on one.

"Because then we could watch those big ships come in and you could hold me while I squirm from how huge they are," I looked down at him, smiling and ruffling his hair with my gloved hand.

"How about we pretend?" He suggested, opening his arms for me.

"Are you gonna hold me?" I asked him, snapping my teeth playfully.

"You can hop on my back, how's that?"

"Excellent. I'm tired from jumping around so much," I huffed as he turned around and helped me get situated onto his back.

We stared out at the vast amount of water as I pretended a big ship was coming in, Eric playing along to keep me satisfied. I would squeal as his hands dug into my thighs at random times, making me jump slightly. My chin rested against his shoulder as the mild breeze blew around us, surprisingly warm for a Duluth winter and with the lake effects that were frequent in the area.

"Do you remember our first fight?" I asked him, remembering my dream about Lindsey the night before.

"Not really. I block out the bad moments to make room for all the good," he told me.

"Yeah, okay,"I giggled at him. "I'm talking about that summer before we went to college and I was sick the day of the senior send-off bonfire. Remember how I asked you how it was and you down played it like I didn't miss much, but then I found out Lindsey was sitting on your lap the whole night." I tilted my head to the side, resting my cheek against his shoulder. Eric didn't say anything but his brown eyes clouded over at the memory.

"Do you remember how I had those bad dreams? The ones that kept me from sleeping at night that I never told you what they were about?" I asked him, adjusting my hands as they started to slip from around his chest. Eric nodded again. "I never told you what they were about because it was always the same dream, the dream I had last night. It was a combination of when I almost drown when I was little and of the time where I almost lost you." I murmured against his cheek, my lips pressed against the weeks growth of stubble. He was so sexy with it and it made him irresistible in my eyes.

"So the dreams that haunted you for months were of Lindsey and me?" he questioned, turning from the lake and walking back down the boardwalk.

"Yeah," I whispered.

"You know nothing ever happened with her, right? And that I would never do that to you," He asked me, his voice serious and steady as we neared the area where the Polar Plunge was. Obviously I had told Kara I was not participating because of my past in water. She totally understood but that excuse didn't get Blake out of doing it.

"I know. I trust you," I assured him.

But part of me wondered if Eric had ever been tempted enough to cross the line. There was no doubt that Eric was perfect but sometimes I wondered if he edited some things about his days out so that I didn't worry. Like for instance when he came back from a Spring Break trip down to Florida, ironic right?, the only thing he told me was how they went clubbing every night and got wasted. He told me he barely went sight seeing, partied like a regular college kid and regretted it the next morning. He never gave me specific people who went with, and all though I blew it off at the time, part of me wonders if there was a specific reason he kept his mouth shut about who accompanied him.
***

"I've never been so cold in my life!" Blake complained, the blanket wrapped tightly around him and Kara to generate body heat as we walked into Kara's apartment an hour after the epic Polar Plunge. Kara and Blake jumped in together, both of them hitting the freezing water at the same time. Blake was the only one who screamed, his voice ringing out across the lake in a pitch way to high for a guy. Kara laughed all the way out of the water and down the dock as she headed over to us. Adam and Eric shook their heads, disgraced that he was a football player.

"Honey, it wasn't that bad," Kara rolled her eyes, snuggling into his side.

"Yes, it was and now you need to make it up to me by showering with me," Blake insisted to which Kara rolled her eyes again.

"You are ridiculous. Why am I even dating you," She teased, pinching his side.

"Because I'm handsome." He told her, flexing his muscles as I kicked my shoes off. I snorted and leaned into Eric's back to hold my laugh in. Eric's body shook and Adam blatantly laughed at Blake too.

"You are such a chick," Adam told him as Katie wrapped her arms around Blake, trying to generate some heat for him.

"Thanks for caring Katie. I always knew you were my favorite." Blake wrapped her into a hug.

"I don't care I just want you to shut up," she insisted, giggling into his chest. Blake pushed her away and pulled Kara down the hall and into the bathroom. The door clicked shut and we all awkwardly looked away from the room, knowing what was most definitely about to go down in there.

"I say we leave," Adam suggested, looking at the rest of us for confirmation.

"Yeah, let's get some food," Eric nodded, heading over to the door where he quickly stuffed his feet into his boots. The rest of us followed him, quickly exiting the apartment before we could hear any noises coming from the bathroom.

We hoped back into the car, which was actually Blake's but we were using it for the weekend, and headed back into downtown Duluth. We decided to grab some pizza at Old Chicago, a reliable restaurant. I texted Kara, telling her where we were in case her and Blake wanted to come after they were done, uh, getting cleaned up. We all ordered a large pepperoni pizza, despite Adam's campaign to get sausage on it. We all ignored him and Eric hit his shoulder when he tried to alter the order.

"How much do you want to bet they'll ditch on New Year's plans to fuck all night?" Adam bluntly asked. Katie punched his shoulder and told him to keep his voice down.

"I'd say it's a pretty good bet. Blake needs to get his hanky panky in before he goes back to being celibate for another month," Eric stated. I turned to look at him, giving him a look that said to knock it off. "I hate that look," Eric stuck his tongue out at me.

"Real mature. You've obviously been hanging out with Adam too much lately," I grinned as Adam threw his napkin at me. Eric took it off my lap and lodged it right at Adam, always quick to step up to my defense even for something so simple.

"I'm sorry, babe but I do live with him." Eric shrugged.

"Come live with Katie and I. We're much better influences."

"Decks that's a bad idea. She'll turn you into a chick." Adam warned, taking a sip of his beer.

"Seriously Weber?" I asked him, glaring slightly.

"Like you should talk Adam, you're the biggest chick I know," Kara stated, coming to the table with her cheeks slightly rosy from the cool air.

"Oh, look who decided to show up," Adam grinned cheekily, pounding fists with Blake.

"She can't keep her hands off me, what can I say?" Blake turned his palms up, acting all smug before Kara punched his stomach. Blake let out a big puff of air as he deflated and took his seat next to Kara. I giggled, and patted his back lightly, rubbing my hand over it as he tried to get his breath back.

"You never learn your lesson do you, Blake?" I asked him.

"I guess not," Kara rolled her eyes, ordering a water from the waitress.

Our pizza came out a couple minutes later and the talk shifted from Blake and Kara's sex life to the upcoming bowl game. All the boys where pumped but no one was quite more riled up than Eric. It had been almost two month since he had last played football and he was looking forward to tearing up the grid iron. They were playing Kansas State in the Insight Bowl in Arizona this year, happily in a warm part of the country.

"Are you ladies going to support your men this year?" Adam asked, giving Katie a pointed look.

"Wow, sorry for throwing up last year," she snapped at him, obvious annoyance in her tone. I pursed my lips, my eyes lowering in confusion as I watched them snap at each other, completely oblivious to their four other friends who were at the table. Eventually it escalated and Adam stood from the table saying he didn't need to take this shit and stormed out of the restaurant.

We all sat silent, and I cast Eric a worried glance to which he shrugged like he had no idea what was going on. I wrapped an arm around him, pulling him in for a hug so I could talk to him.

"What the hell is going on with them? They've been like this for a couple weeks now," I asked him, leaning my head against his shoulder. His arms encircled my waist as I pressed my face into his neck, trying to figure out what was going on with my two friends.

"I don't know. I think they're just going through a rough patch," he whispered, watching as Katie got up and went to the bathroom.

"Should we go talk to her?" Kara asked me, nervously fiddling with Blake's fingers.

"No, I think she just wants to be alone," I pulled away from Eric, sighing and looking down at the table. Eric asked the waitress for the check and him and Blake split the tab. We waited at the door for Katie to come out and when she did, her hair was a little messier and her eyes were bloodshot. My stomach sank to my knees, hating seeing her all heartbroken. Part of me wanted to find Adam and wring his neck while the other part wanted to leave him in Duluth so he could walk his ass back home.

"Should we wait for Adam?" Blake leaned in, asking Eric as Kara got situated in her car.

"No, he knows the way back and he's probably trying to calm down. He was pretty heated." Eric concluded, climbing into the car. "See you at Kara's."

Eric and I headed back to Kara's in Blake's car while Katie opted to ride back with Kara. Most likely because she was more willing to ignore Katie as she cried in the back seat. I sighed and ran my hand through my hair, fluffing it out as I stared out the window. Eric's hand went to me thigh, squeezing it reassuringly.

"Baby, you can't control what goes on with them. Let it be." He told me as I pursed my lips in annoyance.

"Have you ever noticed how much of a jackass Adam can be to her? I mean I swear it just happened recently, like they were the perfect couple until a couple months ago and now their whole relationship is strained." I shook my head, not understanding any of it. "I mean, what could have happened?" I asked, turning to look at Eric. His eyes were hard as he stared out the windshield at the road, a slightly peeved look on his face.

"I don't know, Riley. But I think you should just drop it." He suggested, his voice void of any emotion except maybe irritation. I pouted at him, my feelings slightly hurt although they really shouldn't have been.

The rest of the ride to Kara's was silent, not even the radio on to break the tension that ran in between Eric and I. He pulled into her parking lot, sighing and running his hand through his hair in frustration as I climbed out of the car, basically on the verge of tears. Eric caught up to me quickly, his hand wrapping around my forearm as the first tear slipped from my eye

"I'm sorry," he whispered, his hands holding my face and his thumbs brushing the tears off my cheeks as more leaked out from my eyes. "Bubs, don't cry. I'm sorry honey."

"You're being as big of an asshole as Adam right now," I snapped through my tears, closing my eyes and trying to pull myself together.

"I'm sorry but I just don't want you to get so wrapped up in their problems. Let them figure it out together." He pleaded with me, running his fingers through my hair softly.

"No, you know something Eric. I can see it in the way you can't quite meet my eye. You'd tell me if he was cheating right?" I asked, looking into his eyes. He never broke eye contact with me, assuring me that no matter what, if he was hurting Katie in such a horrid way, he wouldn't protect him from me. But as we headed into the apartment building, I could see the relief he had in his eyes when I believe that he wouldn't lie about something so serious.