Cade's Autumn Night (Valentine's Day Special)

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 Cade’s Autumn Night

By Ray Bush

Cade had been fighting himself to ask out Autumn since she moved in a year and a half ago. He was pretty sure that she was waiting for the same thing. Every time he tried his mind went to mush and his tongue tied itself into a triple knot. His hands would get sweaty and shaky. He could barely breathe every time he saw her, she was so beautiful. They had become very good friends despite Cade lacking the courage to ask her out. He knew they could be more, that they both wanted to be more. Why couldn’t he find the damn courage?

Cade had never once seen her bring a man home, either she was waiting for him or she was trying hard not to hurt him. Her friend Cindy said she hadn’t dated anyone seriously for the past six years and she had been on zero dates in the last two. She also told Cade that Autumn would probably say yes if Cade could just find the courage. 

Today was the day, Cade spent extra money to get the cleanest haircut he ever had in his life. He also dropped a couple grand on two brand new suits, he was sure nobody in his family tree ever dressed this nice. A very nice dark blue jacket with a baby blue undershirt. His pants and tie matched his jacket while his shoes matched the undershirt. This one was just to ask her out. He bought another forest green over a lime green shirt. Just like the blue suit, his pants and tie matched the jacket while the shoes matched his shirt. Autumn was worth the effort, she was beautiful with an honest and loving personality. Her skin seemed to glow against everything she wore, no matter the color. Her eyes contained the mysteries of love that Cade hoped to study for the rest of his life and into infinite. He loved the way she smiled at him when he made one of his dumb jokes. It was amazing the way she either knew or wanted to know everything about him. He had never experienced that before. 

   Cade walked nervously to Autumn's door with moist hands and eyes as round as hubcaps. She only lived three doors away from him but it took him about three minutes to get there. He walked to her door then back to his at least three times. He would never know that she was watching him through the peephole smiling an amazing smile. Cade had been building himself up to this moment for a long time, it should have made it easier that he knew she was waiting as well. It didn’t. He finally knocked softly almost like he didn’t want her to hear. She was already standing at the door so she snuck away then came back normally. She hoped he only heard the second set of footsteps. 

“Hey Autumn,” He hoped he was successful at hiding his nerves “How are you today?” It was very clear to Autumn that he was nervous but that was okay, it was cute. She gave him a smile that went straight from his eyes to his heart, it skipped a beat. Cade loved her from a distance almost from the moment he saw her. 

“I’m good Cade, How are you?” He would swear she had the voice of an earth angel. Cade couldn’t imagine a sound more beautiful than the sound of her saying his name. 

“Oh you know,” he hated the way his stupid tongue tripped over itself every time he tried to talk to her. That’s a problem that he would really need to fix if she did decide to say yes to the date. “It really just depends on how things go,” He couldn’t ask her out, the words were stuck in the back of his throat. He couldn’t spit them out.

“What do you mean?” She asked knowing exactly what he was talking about. She wanted him to beat this fear so they could finally be together. Autumn hoped that eventually he would want her enough that he could say the words. If he didn’t, she would. She just really wanted it to be him so they could spend some time together. “Do you have something going on?”

“I really hope so,” Cade found himself unable to make eye contact. Autumn was nervous that he would just turn tail and run. Her blue eyes were so amazing that the floor became the most interesting thing in the world. Cade shuffled his feet. She gently put her hand on his chin so she could raise his head. Autumn didn’t like that he was scared of her. “Do you like have any ya know plans for like Valentine’s or whatever?” Autumn smiled, that was a lot of words to ask such a simple question, he was too damn cute. 

“That depends on what you are asking,” he was so close, she just needed him to get over the hump. “What are you asking?”

“I wanted to see if ya know if you wanted to go to dinner?” Cade couldn’t help fumbling over his words, Autumn knew he was much more articulate than this. “Then ya know probably do something after maybe.” There it was, he finally got it out in the open. Cade was so proud of himself, and Autumn was proud of him also. She wanted this from the first time she laid eyes on him. 

“I do not have any plans for Valentine’s Day and I would love nothing more than to go to dinner with you,” she was almost as excited as he was. Unlike most men these days Cade was still sweet and innocent. Autumn knew that he would treat her like a queen. 

“That’s amazing,” Cade said and immediately walked away leaving Autumn smiling and confused. He remembered what he was doing and walked back to her door. “Sorry I’m just really nervous,” she didn’t mind, she thought he was adorable when he was nervous. That’s part of why she liked him so much. “Is it okay if I take a couple days to plan something then see if you are okay with the something that I planned?”

“That’s fine Cade,” she said, “You have my number right? You can literally text me anytime, I always love talking to you.” Cade’s eyes almost popped from his skull, he couldn’t believe she said that. “Let me know what you decide.”

“Thank you,” Cade said, then walked in the opposite direction of his apartment. He turned around and as he walked past Autumn he said, “Sorry I mean thank you, I mean ya know I’ll text ya.”

“Alright Cade,” The smile never left her lips, “I can’t wait to hear from you.” Cade met her eyes for just a second, looked at the floor, then walked away without another words, “Have a good day.”

The next couple of days were so stressful for Cade, a few times he wondered if it was even worth it. Then Cade would think about the late nights and early mornings, all the smiles he could see. He had to make her his, there is no scenario where he would want to live without her. That gave him all the motivation that he needed. Dinner was easy, Autumn loved Italian so it would have to be Bonetti’s. It was a local restaurant owned by Tony Bonetti from New York. Cade didn’t know if it was authentic Italian food but it was the closest thing you could get in Utah. Whether he was from New York or not, telling people he was surely contributed to his success. 

The hard part was trying to figure out what to do after dinner. Cade spent a couple late nights in long text conversations with Cindy trying to plan the perfect date. She was good for the basics. Movies, that was no good. He wanted to be able to talk to her. Bowling, he was on the fence with that one. What if she got super competitive and it ended up ruining the date. He was over thinking things of course, but that was just Cade being Cade. She suggested karaoke but getting up in front of a group of people and singing while on a first date sounded like a nightmare. 

By some miracle Cade found an event that would be perfect. It was a book reading where Brittany McGillis, Autumn’s favorite author, would answer questions and sign autographs. It was supposed to last for two hours, his suit would also fit perfectly with that crowd. He thought that would make for a perfect night, he really had no idea who the author was but that didn’t matter. This was all to sweep Autumn off her feet. If he could give Autumn a good night then maybe she would let him give her another and another until they were together every night. That was the dream, to make her his. Nobody could ever love her better than he did, he hoped nobody else would ever have a chance. 

To try to avoid awkwardness Cade tried avoiding Autumn which made him feel even more awkward. He just couldn’t beat his nerves when it came to this date. He barely slept for the two weeks leading up to Valentine’s Day but finally it was here.

He spent the day getting his hair touched up, his close cropped brown hair looked perfect. Cade shaved, showered, then got dressed in the green suit with the lime green undershirt. Cade looked better than he ever had in his whole life. Cade knocked on her door and tried with everything he had to not be nervous. He had hung out with her so many times and they knew so much about each other that this should be easy. It wasn’t this time was much different. 

It was time. He walked the three doors down with a dozen white roses. Cade knocked and held the flowers in his left hand behind his back. After about fifteen seconds Autumn opened the door. Cade had never seen anything as beautiful as Autumn, not even a perfect sunset on an autumn evening. Every strand of her almond brown hair was styled perfectly on her head. Her blue eyes shone stunningly like a thousand galaxies. Her smile made Cade’s knees weak, he felt like they were going to give out. If he wasn’t in love with her before, he damn sure was now. 

He handed her the roses and said, “Whoa, you look amazing.” Cade couldn’t believe that he was lucky enough to be going on a date with this stunning woman tonight. 

Autumn did have to admit that she loved the way Cade was looking at her. Never in her life had any man ever looked at her this way. She did have men lust over her or even say they love her, but with Cade he didn’t have to say anything. His eyes told her how much he was in love with her. She was so happy that he found the courage to make this happen. It would have been a tragedy for them to miss out on this moment. Autumn looked forward to being looked at that way for the rest of your life. Cade seemed like the kind of man that would make this love last a lifetime and beyond. 

“Thank you Cade,” Autumn said smiling, “You look very handsome also.” It was adorable the way he blushed and suddenly became interested in his shoes. She never imagined that there were still people as sweet as Cade. He was always a little nervous but it was because he liked her so much, so that was just fine. “Do you like my dress?” He seemed stunned to silence, she loved it. 

“Ye…” Cade closed his eyes tight for a minute, he couldn’t let this chance slip away from him. If he only knew that she felt the same way he did. He let out a deep breath and opened his eyes to see Autumn smiling. “Yes I do. I love it.” Cade decided to take a big swing, “I love everything about you.” Autumn could see the truth in those brown eyes. 

They shared a silent but very passionate stare, it was only for a few seconds. Cade wished he could be trapped in that moment for a lifetime. She grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him down to her lips for the best kiss he had ever had. Every kiss that happened before this kiss was forgotten. From now on, no matter what happened tonight, Cade would only have eyes for Autumn forever.

“I love everything about you too Cade,” she had tears in her eyes. She never thought she would find a man like Cade. Cade was smiling the most genuine smile that a person could smile. “I’m so happy you asked me out tonight.”

“Me too,” Cade said, she could still hear the nerves in his voice. However he did sound more together and confident. “I don’t know if you could tell but I was just a little nervous the other day.”

Autumn gave him a quick peck, she loved the way their lips felt together. “I might’ve noticed a little something, but like I said I love everything about you.” 

“I’ve waited my whole life for you,” those words flew out of Cade’s mouth before he had a chance to think. That might have been a little much for a first date. Well not even a first date, they were still standing in her doorway when he dropped that bomb. “Sorry I shouldn’t’ve said that.”

“I think I’ve been waiting for you too,” Autumn was being completely honest, “But I don’t think I knew it until right now.” 

There was a short moment of un-awkward silence where both admired each other. “Should we head to dinner?” right on cue Cade’s phone dinged, “I think that’s our ride. Sorry I guessed I should have asked you. Both places we are going have drinks so I got us a driver so we could enjoy the night together. I hope you don’t mind.’

“Oh yeah,” she said smiling, “You were supposed to run your big plans by me. What if I don’t like what you’ve got planned?”

Cade was also smiling, after the way this date started Cade didn’t know if he would ever stop smiling, yet he still had a slight tickle of nerves. “Ye.. Yeah, sorry but I think I nailed it, you’re gonna have a lot of fun,” Cade was blushing a little. “I really did put some serious thought into what we were doing tonight. I don’t want to tell you because I think the surprise is worth it.” Autumn didn’t say anything, “Do you want me to tell you? I will.”

Autumn laughed, it was as beautiful as any leaf rustling autumn breeze Cade had ever heard. “No we’re good,” She answered, “I trust you.”

They walked down the apartment stairs hand in hand. Autumn laughed a little when she saw the man standing next to the limo waiting to open her door. “Oh my goodness Cade,” He was really pulling out all the stops, “you didn’t have to get us a limo.”

“I wanted to spoil you like nobody ever has,” Cade said, “I want this to be the best night of your life.”

They had a drink in the limo on the way to dinner. The table at the restaurant was decorated with balloons and hearts. Cade paid the restaurant and a flower shop for this special service. Everything was perfect. The food was remarkable but it failed to compare to the conversation and the company of this magnificent woman. They had another drink on the way to the author event, that was the first ten minutes of the ride. The second ten minutes was spent kissing and pawing at each other. 

Autumn was so excited to meet  her favorite author Brittany McGillis and even more excited when she read an excerpt from her favorite book. Cade guessed she was feeling the same as he would if Stephen King were to read him a bedtime story. 

While Autumn was off talking to another fan about how great tonight was, Cade got a text from his friend that drove the limo. Hey bro, had somethin come up. my guy will take you home. have fun my man. Cade knew Brody for a long time, he hoped it was nothing serious. 

The new couple. Autumn was certain that after tonight they would be together for the rest of their lives. They walked to the limo hand in hand, she thought it was strange that there was nobody standing there to open the door. Cade mentioned what happened with his friend, but for the new guy to not even open the door. She was no rich girl. She was very capable of opening her own door, but it was just curious. It didn’t matter, Cade was more than happy to open the door for her. This time there was no drinking in the limo, the two were wrapped in each other's arms with their lips locked together.

Stupidly neither paid any attention to where the car was going. So when the limo stopped in the darkest part of the Ogden Cemetery neither had a clue where they were. The night was dark and with the limo’s tinted windows, seeing outside was impossible. Cade was worried, he didn’t know how long they had been driving for but it didn’t feel like long enough to get home. He cracked the window and his heart sank when he saw the elaborate headstones scattered throughout the grass. He knew where he was, him and his friends used to come here in high school to see who was the bravest. This is where the witch was supposedly buried. 

“What the fuck?” Cade was a little freaked out, “Hey what the hell are we doin here?” The car shook when whoever was driving slammed the door. Cade hit the lock button, hopefully they didn’t grab the keys. 

“What’s goin on?” Autumn asked, dark eyes looked back at Cade through the cracked window. “Where are we?” Autumn was terrified by the look on Cade’s face. 

Autumn’s window exploded, showering the two with shattered glass. Luckily neither were cut bad. A hand reached in the broken window and grabbed at Autumn. It got a hold of the strap of her dress, Cade had to act quickly. He opened the door suddenly and violently, hitting the man with the dark eyes square in the face. The man stumbled back. Cade grabbed Autumn’s hand and pulled her from the car. Her dress strap tore almost exposing her left boob. They took off into the darkness of the cemetery. 

Cade was thankful that Autumn was fast, she did tell him that she played softball in high school. They found a thick tree about thirty feet from the road and hid behind the trunk. Cade poked his head around the tree, the two men were still at the car with their flashlights on. One of them was holding his face. 

The other smacked him on the back and said, “I can’t believe you let him get away. You know those two are rich, did you see his suit?”  

“You let’em get away too fucker,” goon one said, both voices were pissed and a little scared. “Lucas is gonna fuck us up if we don’t find them. We haven’t paid him anything in weeks.”

Autumn pulled out her phone but Cade stopped her from unlocking it. “I don’t want them to see the light,” Cade said quietly, “follow me but be quiet.

The two quietly moved to another tree. The men were running west in their general direction so Cade was moving north deeper into the cemetery. They moved three trees over, there was no way the men could have seen them. The two stooges were still moving west. Autumn was crying silently, Cade may not have known if he hadn’t felt her body shaking. 

Cade pulled her gently to him until her ear was against his lips, “I promise you will be okay. I love you Autumn, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He kissed her cheek and felt the slight nod.

“Spread out,” Stooge one said, “We have to find them. You really better not have lost them. You won’t make it to Lucas.”

Cade silently moved to the north again, Autumn stepped on a stick. The crack sounded like a gunshot in the silent night. Both flashlights pointed towards them, thankfully the beams were not bright enough to reach them. Autumn heard the two stooges run straight towards them.

“Go,” Cade said, “Get out of here. I’m gonna stay behind you. Don’t stop no matter what, I need you to get away..” He looked at Autumn and hoped she heard the seriousness in his voice and could see it in his eyes. “I need you to be safe,” she softly brushed her hand across his cheek, he took it and kissed her palm. “Now go,” Autumn took off.

“There they are,” the first stooge said, “You’re ours now assholes. Just stop and make it easy on yourselves. We just want your money.” Cade didn’t believe them at all.

Autumn dialed her phone and after only a second she said, “There are two men chasing us through the Ogden Cemetery. Please help us,” Autumn didn’t hang up but she did stop talking.

“Run towards the light,” Cade didn’t know how to get out of here from where they were but he thought the light gave them some sense of direction. If he remembered correctly, that should be the statue of the pioneer girl. Its head was supposed to move, or maybe something would appear if you drove around it three times in reverse. He wasn’t sure but it was something like that.

Cade was happy that Autumn played sports growing up, she was super fast. Cade wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her even if he wanted to. The unfortunate part is that their, would be robbers, were both faster than him also. They were closing in rapidly. Cade heard police sirens destroy the silent night. 

Autumn was standing in the light, she hadn’t looked back until now, that was good. “Run that way,” Cade said as he pointed south. Autumn hesitated, “Don’t wait for me, go.” Cade could tell that she wanted to wait, “Please.” He was unable to hide the fear in his voice, thankfully she ran.

One of the men kicked the right side of Cade’s right foot causing it to fling into his left foot. Cade tumbled hard to the ground. His expensive suit ripped in several places and raspberries appeared in those same places. The blacktop pavement was unforgiving. He lay in the circle driveway around the statue with the man that tripped him standing over Cade. The other was still running towards Cade and made no effort to slow. He planted a kickoff style kick right in Cade’s guts, luckily Cade had time to tighten his abs. It still hurt like crazy but it could have been much worse. The man standing over Cade decided to copycat his friend. He kicked Cade hard in the stomach. 

Cade had all the wind knocked out of him, to make things worse one of the stooges stood him up with a hand around his throat. Judging by the marks on his face it was the one Cade hit with the door. As he got all the way to his feet, the other man landed a hard punch to Cade’s cheek. His vision flashed white and he fell to the ground. He fought to stay conscious. He had to make sure Autumn got away. The sirens were getting closer but the stooges didn’t seem to care. 

This time it was Cade that got himself up, but only to his knees. The man that punched him laughed. “Stay down fucker,” the other man said, “All we want is your money and maybe a taste of that sweet lil honey you are with.” 

“Fuck you,” Cade said and tried to get to his feet. The same man punched him and Cade went back down to the ground. Cade held on by a thread, that punch nearly turned out his lights. 

Again Cade fought to his knees, the struggle was much more real this time but he managed. He looked in Autumn’s direction. Cade couldn’t tell because of his fuzzy vision but it looked like Autumn was only about ten feet away. The men were so focused on him that they didn’t even notice her. The puncher followed his gaze to where Autumn stood.

Apparently she was really there, the man moved to charge but before he could a baseball sized rock hit him directly in the mouth. Blood volcanoed out as well as chunks of his shattered teeth. Cade could barely hear the sirens but he could see the red and blue lights closing in on their location. 

“You fucking bi…” A rock split open the second stooges forehead and sent him to the ground. The first man was whimpering and holding his broken, bloody mouth. The other looked to be out cold. 

Autumn ran to Cade, when she saw how the busted up man was trying to get to his feet, she found a brick decorating the grass at the base of the statue. She walked to the whimpering man and smashed the brick into the back of his head twice. His body lay limp at her feet. She went back to Cade, layed next to him, and wrapped him in her arms until the cemetery flashed red and blue. Cade was placed on a back brace and had another brace wrapped around his neck. They put him on a stretcher then in an ambulance. 

“I love you Cade,” Autumn said, Cade was thankful that he had held onto consciousness long enough to hear her words. He slipped into darkness. Cade woke up in a hospital bed with Autumn laying next to him. He was so happy that it hadn’t been a Valentine’s nightmare.