“Sit with me.” His voice was low, mingling with the quiet night instead of disrupting it. He settled with his back to the tree and tugged her down to sit between his legs, resting against his chest, the way they used to when they were younger. He draped his arms over her shoulders, and intertwined his fingers between her breasts. “Your heart is racing. Are you sure you’re all right?”
She wanted to give him a coy answer. Something like you have that effect on me. Her mind was too much of a cluttered mess to pull out the teasing. Guilt and regret sank into her. Longing. Everything she swore to herself didn’t exist when she left. “I don’t know.”
He traced his nose along the back of her neck, breath warm and soothing. His lips vibrated against her skin when he spoke. “Me too.”
His uncertainty—a waver she wasn’t used to hearing from him—mingled with her thoughts and helped calm her. At least she wasn’t alone in this. She leaned more of her weight against him and covered his hands with hers.
“When we talked in my office a few weeks ago, I told you I wanted to rewrite our ending.” As he spoke, his words rolled through his chest and her back.
*
Had it really only been a few weeks? Logically, Zach knew that was right. But in some ways it felt like a blink and in others an eternity.
“I remember,” Rae said. “I don’t think it worked.”
He rested his forehead against her skull and inhaled her familiar scent. “That’s why we’re here.” He wasn’t sure where the inspiration had come from, but once the idea struck, he couldn’t get it out of his head. “I don’t want to rewrite our ending because I don’t want us to end.”
The tension seemed to drain from her body, and she sagged against him. “I like the sound of us.”
He smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “So, rather than closure, I think we need to catch up.”
She twisted her head enough to see him, brows raised, then settled back against him again. “That’s a lot to cover.”
“We’ve got time. We’ll start small.” He kissed along her shoulder and up her neck to her ear, to nip at her earlobe. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”
She let out a light laugh. “You know what I’ve been up to.”
This felt so right. Her in his arms. No pretenses between them. “No. I know what you do for a living. I want details about you, not your job.”
“How far back do you want to go?”
He gritted his teeth at an abrupt surge of—he wasn’t sure how to describe it—everything. He pushed overwhelming sensation aside. “To the last time we were here. Well, not literally. But since…” Everything fell apart. The words froze in his throat. He swallowed them down. “You know.”
“I do.” Her voice dropped in volume, and she pulled his arms tighter. “Let’s see. I, uh, had an internship offer in Chicago…”
As the past flowed between them in words, it stripped way the lingering tension. It didn’t erase everything, but it lessened a sting he hadn’t realized was there.
Then, as if a switch flipped, she stiffened in his arms, and her words faded into the darkness.
He nudged her. “What?”
“That’s when Kelly came back, isn’t it? The money. The promises.”
Inky anxiety clenched in his muscles until his neck protested at the tightness. “Yup.”
This time she shifted her entire frame until she faced him. “Is there more to it than that?”
Of course there was. But he wasn’t sure he could explain it. There were too many mistakes on his part there. Too many assumptions. Decisions that almost destroyed everything. Mistakes. “No.”
She furrowed her brows, and her smile vanished. “Of course not.”
“I’m sorry. Not yet.” Suddenly the closeness that had wrapped them up for the last couple of hours felt like a heavy blanket, stealing his air. “We should get home.”
“Yeah. Drop me off.”
He bit the inside of his cheek until it ached. That meant separate beds. Which was fair, but it didn’t mean he liked it. “Of course.”
Chapter Seventeen
Two days later, Zach trailed his fingers through Rae's hair, watching it fall back against his chest when he let go.
Her breath scurried across his skin when she sighed. Her fingers drew a line down his sternum and back up. “Morning.”
“Mmm… Ditto.” He moved his hand to her bare back. Neither of them had mentioned the abrupt end to the conversation at the high school the other night, and he was fine with that if it meant peace. This was the third morning this week waking up next to her, and he wondered if the novelty would ever fade. They still hadn't told anyone. Being in the same room together with Scott was tense. They stayed at Zach’s place whenever Chloe was home, so her sister wouldn't ask questions, but Chloe had been at Jordan’s last night. Besides, those were details to be worked out later.
Something creaked in the background, and Zach tensed. “Are you expecting visitors?”
Rae shook her head. “Probably the neighbors. They're loud sometimes.”
“Lorraine.” Chloe's distinct voice carried through the room.