“Right now?”
“This very instant.”
Cleo bit down on her lip, gaze trailing from my eyes to my boots and back up. My style hadn’t changed much, but I did learn how to dress it up a bit. Gone were the days of throwing on a wrinkled T-shirt and jeans and walking out the door. Now, they were hung up and starched. I wore rings and a watch. Even put on a spritz of cologne before walking out the door.
Okay, maybe I put on two because I knew I’d likely run into someone I knew here, but still.
“You want honesty?” she asked, raising her brows.
“Don’t I always?”Even if it fucking kills me.
“On some level, you look the same. I can recognize the same boy I used to know, but I can see how much has changed. Like, you’re turning into an actual adult? It’s weird,” she laughed.
I could tell she was still holding back, but for her to admit what she had was huge. Cleo usually kept her thoughts and emotions close to her chest. The fact she was willingly giving them away like that was reassuring.
“I could say the same about you, you know. You look amazing, Cleo.” She blushed under my praise. Some part of me got a twisted sense of satisfaction about still being able to elicit that kind of reaction. “Beautiful,” I added, because fuck it. Why not?
“You too,” she said, before smacking her forehead. “I mean, handsome. You look handsome.”
“You can say I look beautiful,” I chuckled. “Handsome is overrated these days, anyway.”
“Is it? I wouldn’t know.” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “Are you still doing the music thing?” Her words faltered ever so slightly over the last two words. Not because she wasn’t interested, but I think because it was obviously a sore spot—the big ass elephant between us. It was what drove us apart.
And it hurt me, too. I never asked my mom about what Cleo was doing, she just told me. I had no choice in the matter. Did she not do that with Cleo, or was this just a polite conversation?
I nodded. “Yeah, I am. In Nashville, actually. I didn’t stay in Austin for long…” I trailed off, sucking in a deep breath. “Mom tells me you’re teaching now. Elementary, right?”
Cleo’s eyes flashed in surprise. “Yup. This is my second year full-time. I had some substitute teaching experience before I accepted the position. I wanted to get my master’s at UT, but I think it was hard for Mom and Dad when I was gone, so I’m doing it online. You know how it is. Being the eldest daughter isn’t easy.”
“Yeah, no. I often tell myself the same thing,” I said, and she laughed.
“Okay, smartass.”
I placed my hand over my chest. “Cleo Hayes, was that a curse word dropping from your pretty lips?”
She pushed on my shoulder, letting her fingers softly trail down my arm before dropping altogether. That was twice now she’d touched me, but the first time she hadn’t immediately pulled away. Goosebumps erupted along my skin, and my dick, who had been lying low like a good boy, suddenly decided now was the time to wake up.
Clearly, I was doing great.
“I’ve grown up a little bit,” she said, shimmying her shouldersand straightening up. “I’m not the same little girl you used to know.”
God, wasn’t that the truth? It didn’t take the word ass slipping out to tell me that much. She was standing before me in a knee-length dress and boots, her skin sun-kissed and freckled from summers outdoors. Her hair was lighter than I remembered, probably for the same reason. But she didn’t look timid like she had when I took her out on our first date. There were nerves, obviously, but she stood her ground.
“I can see that,” I murmured. My shirt rose up as I lifted my hand to run through my hair, and her eyes drifted to the ink peeking out from under the fabric.
“What’s that?” she asked, pointing toward the exposed skin.
Quickly, I dropped my arm and pulled down the shirt. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just something I got a few years ago.”
“Can I see?” she asked, stepping forward. Her eyes stayed glued to the secret on my skin.
“Sure, let me just take my shirt off in public,” I joked, trying to distract her with humor.
It didn’t work.
Cleo, persistent as always, lifted her gaze and batted those blue eyes like she used to. “Come on, just lift it up a little. It’s not that big.” When I just stared at her, she rolled her eyes. “You show me yours and I’ll show you mine. Sound fair?”
“Wait, what?” I asked, blinking in surprise. “You have a tattoo?”
