Alex reached down to take Sam’s hand. She tugged her gently toward the door that led out to the patio. “Come on.”
They had almost reached the screen door’s safety when Nadine called out. “Oh! Hey, Sam…”
Sam froze, wondering if there would ever be a time when she wasn’t terrified of Nadine Weaver. She slowly turned back to face Nadine, who was watching her with a mischievous smile. “Would you like coffee with your pie?”
Sam exhaled in relief. “Oh, um, yeah,” she stammered. “With—”
“Cream and maple.” Nadine winked. “I remember.”
“Thank you, Nadine.” Sam smiled gratefully.
Alex again tugged on their clasped hands. “Come on,” she said, pulling her out of the house. She led her across the spacious patio next to the pool and gently nudged her back toward the long swing that ran the length of one end of the patio. “Let’s sit.” She sank onto the swing and turned to face Sam.
Sam paused for a moment, looking around the backyard. Shehad so many happy memories of them floating in the pool, reading on lawn chairs, and rocking back and forth for hours on that swing. The Weaver house had once felt like a second home. Though it was surreal to be back there, everything around her felt warm, familiar, and safe.
“Oh my God.” Alex burst out laughing. “You should see the look on your face!”
Sam scowled at her and huffed as she sat down on the swing. “It’s just strange, you know? I know she seems to mean well, but it’s hard to let go of what happened.” She shook her head. “It was brutal back then.”
“I get it, Sam. And I know for sure that she gets it.”
“How long did it take for things to feel normal for you?”
Alex scrunched up her nose. “I don’t think it’s quite the same,” she began. “I mean, she’s my mom. So I was much quicker to let her back in. With Sophie, I wanted her in my life.” She let out a bitter scoff. “But I did make her earn it.”
Sam looked over and met her eyes. “Good, you deserve that.”
Alex looked down at the space Sam had left between them and then raised an eyebrow at Sam. “Come here,” she said, patting the space beside her.
Sam’s eyes darted around before she finally moved closer. She sat stiffly, staring straight ahead and resting her hands neatly in her lap.
Alex let out a sigh and closed the distance between them, lifting one leg onto the swing and tucking it beneath herself. She was so close that her leg nestled between Sam’s side and the back of the swing. Her other foot stayed on the ground and began to gently rock them back and forth.
When Alex rested her hand high on Sam’s leg, she exhaled deeply and closed her eyes. She felt a buzz of electricity where their bodies met, and a flush spread through her body.
“Alex. Please.” Her eyes darted toward the door. The last thing she wanted was for Nadine to see them in this state. She tried to put some distance between them.
Alex took the hint and moved back a few inches. She turned away from Sam and leaned back against the swing. The hand onSam’s thigh moved up to rest along the back of the swing behind her. Idly, she began to run her fingers through Sam’s hair.
Sam let out a small groan and leaned back into the touch. “You know,” she mused, “I think I fell in love with you the first time you played with my hair.”
Alex gave a sharp inhale. Her hand stilled on the nape of Sam’s neck. “Are you serious?”
Sam glanced over at her. “Yeah.” She hid a smile. She nudged against Alex’s hand until she started up again. “No one had ever touched me like that. With such care, and I don’t know what else.” She sat thinking for a moment. “I don’t think anyone has since,” she admitted.
“But surely…” Alex sounded confused. “But you had so many boyfriends in high school.” She squinted at Sam. “I seem to recall that you had one when we…” Her voice trailed off at the sound of the screen door opening.
“I have pie, ladies!” Nadine carried a tray with two giant pieces of pie topped with ice cream and two steaming mugs of coffee. She pulled over a table and set them down in front of Sam and Alex, along with a tiny vase holding a single tulip. “I know tulips are your favorite, Sam. I just couldn’t resist.”
“Thank you, Nadine. This is very thoughtful of you.” Sam’s smile was genuine.
“Thanks, Mom.” Alex reached out and took a mug of coffee, grimacing when she tasted it. “Gross.” She passed it to Sam. “This is yours.”
Nadine waved her hand away. “Anything for you two.” She finished arranging the items and straightened up. “Now,” she said. “Your father and I are going to take a drive. I told him there was a new ice cream shop out on Route 40 and we needed to try it.” She shot them both a conspiratorial wink. “I’ll text you to give you a warning when we’re on our way home.”
“Mom!” Alex’s face had turned an impressive shade of red. She looked at Sam with a shocked expression on her face.
“See?” Sam joked. “It’s likeThe Twilight Zonearound here.”
