AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Understanding dawned on Russell’s face, and he started to smile. “Darcy. Like the song?”
“Like the song.”
“You know—my dad wrote that song.”
“No way!”
“Way. I’m Russell Sanders.” He held out his hand to me, and I shook it. When we touched, a thrill ran through me—but not the same one that had been there when we’d touched back in Jesse. There was memory in it now, and history.
“Nice to meet you, Russell.”
“I live in LA. I have six siblings and two cats.”
“Cats! You didn’t mention the cats.”
He gave me a guilty grimace. “I didn’t mention a lot of things.”
“Where do you live in LA?”
“Um—we’re in Brentwood.”
“Ah.” I felt my cheeks get hot as I remembered how I’d described it, as a terrible place full of assholes. “Sorry about—what I said.”
“I mean, you’re not wrong.”
“Is that why you told me you lived in Ojai?”
“We used to live there. When my mom and dad were together. It was one of my favorite times. We had this great house, and everyone pretty much accepted us as normal; we didn’t get a ton of attention. And it was the three of us… until it wasn’t. They split up when I was ten, and my mom and I moved to LA.”
“And you met the Bens?”
“Exactly.”
“So the Bens are real.”
“Believe me, nobody could make them up.”
I shook my head. “I can’t believe we’ve both been in LA this whole time.”
He laughed. “I know. It is wild to think about the fact that we’ve probably passed each other on the freeway.”
“Or in line at Vidiots or the Bowl.”
“No.” Russell’s voice was definitive. “I would have noticed you for sure. I would have remembered.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Um, we just met.”
“Right,” Russell said, nodding. “Apologies.”
The wind picked up, sending a chilly breeze across us and reminding me that even southern Nevada got cold at night.
“You okay? I should have brought a sweater or something.…”
“I’m all right,” I said, “I have the dog keeping me warm. And I should get used to this, right? I’ll be dealing with actual winter soon enough.”
Russell grimaced. “Right.”
“And you’ll have it even worse in Michigan.…” I looked over at him sharply. “Are you going to Michigan?”
