Page 56 of Brighter Together

“Why?” she asks.

“Because I lose the ability to form a normal sentence when you’re involved.”

A smile spreads across her face. “That’s actually quite reassuring.”

“Glad my suffering has helped.”

“It has.”

I rub the back of my neck and finally feel some of the tension leave my shoulders.

Ella takes another sip of coffee, watching me over the rim.

“So what did the messages say?”

I shake my head. “You’re not getting that information.”

She laughs. “Come on.”

“Absolutely not.”

“You definitely started one with About Friday, didn’t you?”

I stare at her.

Her grin widens.

“You did.”

“I’m starting the car,” I reach for the start button.

“You’re blushing.”

“I’m not,” I protest.

“You are a little.”

I rub a hand over my face while she laughs again.

I missed that sound.

Two days shouldn’t be enough to miss someone, yet apparently it was.

Ella’s smile softens. “Tommy.”

“Hmm?”

“We should probably work out what we’re doing.”

I look down at my hands for a second before meeting her eyes again. “Yeah.”

She puts the coffee into the cup holder and turns more fully towards me.

“I don’t want to pretend Friday didn’t happen,” she says, her voice soft and quiet.

“Neither do I,” I agree.

“And I don’t want us to go back to how we were before.”