Honey, I Love Your Love the Most

"Eric Church." I say nonchalantly as I hold my hand out for her to shake. The last thing I would do is act like I'm actually interested in her. I know girls like her. As soon as you show interest they take off in the opposite direction. That's a trait in women I will never understand and I don't plan on trying to make sense of it. I don't reply to her statement about me playing guitar. Obviously she knows exactly who I am.

I take a sip of my beer and stare into the flames of the fire. One of my buddies, Brody backs his truck up closer to the fire and turns his music up loud so we have something to listen to. I stand up and turn to her. "Want a beer?" I ask as I motion towards the cooler in the back of Brody's truck.

"Sure. Thanks." her smiles seems genuine yet I can't seem to figure out what she wants with a guy like me. I'm not exactly the tall, tan, and buff type of guy girls like her normally go for. I toss my beer bottle into the fire as I make my way towards the cooler and take two fresh Bud Lights out of it.

"Hey, Church. Come here for a second." I turn to Brody as he's standing off by himself at the front of his truck.

"Yeah, man?"

"What the hell is Savannah doin' with you?" he asks as he motions towards her still sitting by the fire in the same place I left her over my shoulder.

"I couldn't tell ya. She hasn't said much at all to me. Just sat down and asked if my name was Eric."

"I'd be careful, man. She's been seein' that Cody Matthews kid from the next town over, you know him. Real stupid kid. Sorta the fightin' type. Just don't want to see you gettin' yourself into somethin' stupid, you know? Not over a girl."

"I know what you're saying. And you know if it were to come down to it I can handle my own in a fight. I'm not scared of him. But I don't even know the girl. So I wouldn't worry about it." he laughs and slaps my outstretched hand.

"Just lookin' out for ya, man." I turn around and walk back over to where I was sitting and hand Savannah the second beer. I crack mine open and drink half of it in the first swig.

"So you know all of them?" Savannah asks, motioning towards all of the people around the fire.

"Sure do. Went to high school with most of them."

"I don't remember seeing you much in high school."

"That's because I was doing my own thing most of the time. Spent a lot of it partying and fishing. And playing guitar." she laughs and that causes me to look up at her for the first time since I sat back down. I'd been keeping my attention on the flames. Her smile is a pretty thing and her hair blowing in the wind just adds to it. Her eyes lock with mine for the second time and I have to look away.

"Why do you seem so uninterested?" her blunt question takes me off guard a little bit and I'm not really sure how to respond.

"I didn't know I was suppose to be." I look back up at her and I can tell just by the look in her eyes that my response hurt her feelings a little bit. She's not use to being rejected. Especially by guys like me. She stands up and makes her way over to her group of friends without a second look back at me. Brody sits down in the spot she had just been occupying and slaps a hand on my back.

"Good attempt, bro."

"There was no attempt. We barely even talked. And she's the one thinking I'm uninterested. Not the other way around."

"That's actually pretty shocking, Church. A girl like Savannah? Shoot." he laughs and stands back up making his way to get more beer.

As the night wears on and the beer is running low, everyone for the most part is up having a good time listening to music and talking. I walk over to my 1996 Chevy Silverado and pull the tailgate down. My guitar case is laying in the back and I hop up in the bed and take it out. I sit on the tailgate and strum a tune I wrote myself. My truck is far enough from the fire that the music they are listening to doesn't interfere with my playing.

"You're really good." I hear a soft voice say and I turn to see Savannah with another beer in her hand. She's had quite a few by now along with a few shots of whiskey and I'm actually a little impressed at her ability to hold her alcohol.

"Shouldn't you be with your friends instead of talking to a stranger all the way over here in the dark?" she raises an eyebrow and a smirk appears on her lips.

"Were you planning on taking advantage of a poor drunk girl, Mr. Church?"

"Real men don't take advantage." I look her dead in the eye. If she's looking for a random drunken hookup, she's talking to the wrong guy. I wouldn't even try to go there after how much she's had to drink.

"Well that's pretty impressive." she sets her beer down on the tailgate and hops up beside me with a little difficulty since my truck has a lift kit on it and she's not very tall. I put my hand on her arm to steady her but remove it quickly. She notices and stares at me with a questioning look in her eyes.

"You're different, you know that?"

"How am I different?" I ask as I continue strumming chords.

"Most guys would have jumped at the opportunity. Out here in the dark. Away from everyone else. But here you are with your damn guitar in your hands and you can't even look me in the eye."

"Sorry to disappoint you."

"I'm not disappointed. You know, there is a reason why I sat down beside you earlier."

"Do tell." I keep my eyes trained on my guitar to avoid her gaze just as I've been doing all night.

"It's kind of stupid, really." I can tell she's a little nervous to tell me. "My friends.. they thought it would be funny if I picked a random guy here tonight and hooked up with them. They think my boyfriend is a real piece of work. They thought it would be a good way to get him back. Well I got here, I saw you first. And I just had this feeling you weren't the type to do it. So I chose you. Because I knew I wouldn't have to, but my friends would quit harassing me about it." I finally look up at her and she's looking down at her hands in her lap. I'm honestly surprised she told me all that, and I stare at her face for a second before I respond.

"For the record, I do like playing guitar." she looks up at me with a sweet smile and I can't help but give her one in return.