I’m mid-thought, writing down an idea for floral runners, when a knock at the door startles me. The pen skids across the page, leaving a long, jagged line. My heart jumps, but I take a calming breath. With patrol surveillance back on, there’s not a chance of anything happening. It’s probably just a neighbor or one of my siblings dropping by unannounced.
I glance at the clock—Dominic’s only been gone for an hour.
Cautiously, I walk to the door, peering through the peephole. My twisted stomach unravels in relief when I see Ryker standing on the porch, his tall frame silhouetted by the porch light.
“Ryker?” I say, opening the door partway.
He gives me a small smile. “Hey, sorry to bother you. Mind if I use the bathroom? I didn’t get a chance to stop at home before coming here.”
I blink, confused. “I thought Gerard was going to be patrolling tonight?”
Ryker shrugs, a tired smile barely lifting the corners of his mouth. “He was, but he called in sick and I happened to be free.”
I open the door wider and step back to let him pass through. “Sure. Come on in.”
Based on how tired and worn out he looks, I think he just got off shift, only to have to come here and patrol me. A pang of guilt hits me. This situation isn’t just impacting my life, but now everyone in the department.
He steps inside, his boots thudding softly against thehardwood floor as he glances around. His eyes settle on my laptop and sketchpad. “Working late?”
“Just catching up,” I say, brushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear as I make my way back to the dining table. “It’s been a busy week.” I point toward the hallway. “Bathroom’s the first door on your left.”
Ryker nods, and turns on his heels.
A few moments later I hear the toilet flush and the sink run, before hereappears.
Standing just outside the dining area, his gaze flashes to the speakers. “You always did have good taste in music.”
I let out a dry laugh. “Gosh can you believe we’re old enough now to hear music from our teen years on old school stations? Makes me feel ancient.”
Ryker comes closer, exhaling a laugh as he sits. “How do you think I feel? I’m three years older, practically a senior citizen.”
I roll my eyes at him with a smile, double-checking that my project is saved. Before I can respond, Ryker’s strained gasp grabs my attention, forcing me to turn to see what’s happening.
“This song,” he says, his voice quieter now. His eyes fall shut as he listens, like he’s lost in a memory. When they reopen they settle with mine. “Do you remember?”
The playlist just switched from an upbeat Bruno Mars song to “Stay with Me” by Sam Smith. Besides being one of the many songs on my chaotic playlist, I don’t know the significance of it.
“Remember what?” I ask, tilting my head.
His smile morphs into an expression I can’t quite place. “Prom. We danced to this song.”
My eyes flit to my screen, a wave of awkwardness crashing against me. I often forget we went to prom together.
Sensing his stare, I force my focus back to him, despitehow incredibly uncomfortable I feel. I never know how to react when he brings up our one and only date.
A strange chill runs down my spine when our gazes meet, but I try to keep my expression neutral. “I guess I forgot. That was a long time ago.”
He stands and walks around the table, now hovering over me, his eyes drilling into mine. “How could you forget? It was such a special night. The one time it felt like you were mine, even just for a little while.”
My ears snag on the wordmineas my stomach starts to knot.
When Ryker asked me to prom all those years ago, it was a bit of a scandal for our small town. He had recently broken up with his longtime girlfriend and I was just a freshman. The age difference between us is nothing now, but back then I was newly fifteen and he was a very grown eighteen-year-old. Luckily, the scandal died as quickly as it made the waves because nothing came of it. We were casual friends, nothing more. I started dating Dominic and Ryker graduated and went off to college.
In all honesty, I never think about prom with Ryker because it’s completely overshadowed by the memory of coming home that night and finding Dominic waiting for me. I had told myself if he was waiting for me, then there was hope—that maybe he did like me as much as I liked him. He did.
It was a huge turning point for us, all the details leading up to it are insignificant by comparison.
Maybe I should’ve given that night more thought.
