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“Well, he did ask for my number,” she said.
I froze.
Note to self, locate Frankie and kill him.
“I didn’t want to give him my number,” she added. “I mean, I didn’t.”
I met her eyes. “I told you to forget about me.”
“As if I’d ever forget you, Roman.” She jerked her hand out of my grasp. “I love you. I wanted to be there for you.”
Her voice rose with each word.
“I know you did.” I held my arms out at my sides. “I was trying to do the right thing. It wouldn’t have been fair to stress you out right before graduation. I’ve already fucked up my life. I didn’t want to be responsible for fucking up yours too.”
“You haven’t fucked up your life.” She tilted her head. “Besides, it’s my uncle who dragged you into whatever it is you’re involved in.” She waved her hands in frustration.
“He didn’t drag me into anything, Juliet. My options are limited.”
She let out an annoyed huff of air and turned toward the kitchen. “Are you hungry or not?”
I glanced down at my clothes, feeling grimy and uncertain. “You mind if I take a shower first?”
“Of course not.” She jerked her head toward the stairs. “All your things are right where you left them.”
Something unfamiliar like relief, or maybe disbelief, unlocked the tension in my chest. This was the first time I’d ever returned anywhere and had my belongings in the same place. The first time I didn’t lose everything. She had no idea how monumental this was for me.
Or maybe she did. “Thank you.”
She nodded and turned away. My stomach let out a ferocious growl as she pulled cold cuts out of the refrigerator. I hurried toward the stairs and into the bedroom. Everything looked the same. Bed neatly made, closet door slightly ajar, books stacked on the nightstand. In the bathroom, I shed my clothes and cranked up the hot water. Lord knew there hadn’t been long, hot showers in jail. Eager to return to Juliet, I didn’t stand under the spray for long.
I emerged feeling renewed and hopeful about the future.
When I returned to the bedroom, Juliet was sitting on the bench at the end of the bed staring at the door. Our eyes met and she shifted, tucking her hands under her legs.
“What’s wrong?” I approached her slowly, my feet silent over the carpet.
“Nothing. I wanted to continue our talk.” She flicked her gaze at my bare torso, then down to the towel at my hips. “It can wait, though. I know you’re hungry.”
A different sort of hunger was building inside me, but things still didn’t feel right between us yet.
The bags she’d returned home with sat on the edge of the bed. “Will you show me what you bought?”
She cocked her head. “What do you want me to do? Put on a fashion show for you?”
Laughter rumbled in my chest. “No.”
She stood and I took her place on the bench, whipping the towel around my neck off and rubbing it over my damp hair. When I opened my eyes, Juliet was standing in front of me, holding an orange and purple dress against her chest with one hand and a pair of dark purple shoes in the other.
“Wow, that’s eye-catching.”
The corners of her mouth turned down and she lowered the dress. “You don’t like it?”
“No, I like it a lot. It’s pretty. Just different from what you normally wear.” I shrugged, feeling stupid. It’s not like I knew a damn thing about women’s fashion.
“Well, duh. I don’t graduate every day.” She flashed a quick smile and stalked over to the closet, sliding the door open and hanging the dress inside.
I peered past her. Like she promised, my clothes were where I’d left them. I stood and walked over to the dresser I’d taken over when I moved in and slid the top drawer open. All my clothes were still neatly folded inside. I swallowed hard over the lump in my throat. She hadn’t tossed my stuff in a bonfire in the backyard. She had faith I’d return to her. More faith than I’d had in myself.
“Did you think I was lying about your stuff not being here?” she asked.
I wrapped my fingers around a pair of black sweatpants. I couldn’t turn to face her yet. “No, although I wouldn’t have blamed you if you threw it all in the trash.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
I finally turned but she was scooping up my clothes, not looking my way. “You’re supposed to hang up your cut.” She shook my leather vest. The box with her butterfly necklace tumbled out of the inner pocket, landing on the carpet with a quiet thump.
Her wide eyes blinked and stared up at me. “What’s that?”
I hurried over and scooped it off the floor. “The reason I went to the mall.” I slipped my hand around hers and tugged her toward the bench. This wasn’t quite how I envisioned doing this, but it’s not like I’d come up with a better plan.
