When we were together, he enjoyed drinking and going out. I did, too—it was fun, high energy, lots of people around. And while I still enjoyed that, I’d slowed down significantly on going out since graduating college and moving back to Golden Falls. Jules, Lily, and I still knew how to have a fun night out, but it wasn’t like we were doing that every weekend. For a while there, Colin was.
When I thought he’d be in the area for New Year’s Eve, I’d invited him to come out with our group. He’d ended up switching plans and going to Portland instead to visit Leo, which ended up being for the best.
The last thing I wanted to do was give Colin the wrong idea. I had no interest in getting back together. When I thought back to our relationship, I realized just how much shit I’d put up with. It was almost like because he was my boyfriend at the time, I didn’t see it. Had it been anyone else, I would’ve called it out immediately. That was one way I’d changed in that relationship, and I didn’t like it. I didn’t want to soften myself to make someone else feel comfortable.
I wasn’t crazy about relationships when I met Colin, but Iwas much more inclined to give it a try back then. I thought that was part of why I was appealing to him. The chase. The challenge to get someone who was hesitant to commit. Because once I committed and truly gave the relationship my all, he backed off and seemed less invested.
It was almost as if he liked theideaof me more than who I actually was. And then the things I thought he liked about me—how outgoing I was, how I could strike up a conversation with anyone, that I enjoyed bartending—caused arguments.
Was that what relationships were? That once you saw every side of someone, you couldn’t stop finding flaws?
And trust me, I knew I had flaws. And I knew I wasn’t perfect in our relationship. I kept Colin at arm’s length a lot of the time, never fully letting him in.
That was why casual sex felt so natural. I didn’t have to worry about any of that.
My eyes remained glued to my phone as I entered Lake Ridge for my shift, contemplating whether or not I should respond.
As soon as I stepped inside, I inhaled an aroma of garlic, honey, roasted vegetables, and likely much more that I couldn’t put my finger on. My stomach immediately growled.
“Ray, what’s cooking?” I called out while clocking in.
Not getting a response, I walked farther into the kitchen, glancing at my phone again to see if another text had come in. When I took another step, a yelp escaped me. My left foot slipped, and I braced myself, fully prepared to eat shit on the tile floor. Of course, it would happen right next to the yellow wet floor sign.
Except I didn’t fall.
Instead, a large hand gripped my arm, pulling me upright, while another hand landed on my hip to steady me.
My jaw nearly dropped at the sight of Leo in his black chef’scoat. The fabric stretched across his chest, and the rolled-up sleeves showed off his forearms. My eyes immediately dropped to the tattoo of a mountain landscape with evergreen trees on his left arm. I wanted to reach out and trace my fingertips over the sun’s rays and the mountain peaks.
“You okay?” Leo asked.
When I looked up, his piercing blue eyes were already on me.
I nodded, my gaze shifting back down. Against my better judgment, I reached out. My thumb traced the edge of the mountain.
“Is this new?” I asked, and I took his grunt as a yes. When I looked back up at him, his jaw was clenched, and his eyes were as dark as the ocean. Not the ocean with calm waves you’d wish for on a beach vacation—but the type of water that would swallow you whole and you wouldn’t be able to do anything about it.
“I got it last year. One of the best views I’d ever seen. Figured if I was ever going to leave Oregon, I might as well get it tattooed, so I’d never forget it.”
“I doubt you’d forget something like this,” I whispered, in awe of the detail.
I loved tattoos, but I especially loved ones of nature. I had flowers, plants, vines, leaves, and stars on my body. They were all pretty small, with my right arm being more filled than my left. I had a few on my fingers and torso, too.
“I suppose,” Leo murmured. “Some things are hard to forget.”
He was right about that.
“What was so interesting that you couldn’t look up?” Leo asked with a hint of teasing in his tone as he nodded toward my phone.
At the same time my screen lit up with a call.
Colin.
Who knew a name could have the same effect as a bucket of ice water.
It was like we’d both been drenched.
Reminded exactly why we had this familiarity between us. Not because we’d met and lost touch. Or because he’d walked into the bar during my shift.
