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When they approach us, Micah rolls his eyes at me and I laugh. Micah and I will never share best friend status, but we will always be family. Not only because of my friendship with Shelly, but also because of Gavin. Micah will just have to learn to live with me being around. He is the grumpy big brother I never had and I am the annoying little sister he wished he didn’t have.
Gavin steps up and encircles me with his arms, kissing the top of my head. A charm of hummingbirds takes flight in my chest, wings fluttering rapidly and stealing my breath. The more Gavin inserts himself back into my life, the less I want to resist him. Part of me recalls the last time we were in this place—inseparable—and what life was like when he left. That part of me keeps the barrier I have built around my heart upright. Solid. Impenetrable.
Or so I keep telling myself.
When I got home from St. Pete and emptied my pockets, the worn paper mocked me for hours. Until I unfolded the creased edges and saw what he gave me. What he had stashed in his wallet. My letter. The last letter I wrote him. On our anniversary, six months after he left.
Seeing that letter again stirred up more than a decade’s worth of emotions. But the fact he kept it, tucked it in his wallet, said more than words ever would.
He promises to repair every cut and scrape and rift between us. And I believe him. But I need evidence. And until I see the proof with my own eyes, I still can’t expose myself fully. Not yet. Not until I have absolute reassurance he will stay.
After we load up our gaming cards and purchase drinks, we wander through the arcade and scope out all the games. Micah heads over to the virtual reality area while Shelly, Erin, and Jonas go toward the classic arcade games. As soon as Shelly decided we were coming here, my first thought was Skee-Ball. Not only was it my favorite arcade game to play. It also happens to be Gavin’s favorite.
“Skee-Ball?” Gavin asks. He cocks a brow up in challenge.
“As if you need to ask.”
One of our many rendezvous years ago was to a local arcade. We would play Skee-Ball for hours. Not for tickets, but for bragging rights. Gavin won more times than I did. But when I did win, I rubbed it in his face for weeks. Whatever tickets we won, we handed over to children nearby.
Tonight would be no different. Minus the tickets.
I have been here with Shelly and Jonas several times over the years. And I have broken some high score records. Not that I plan to give this statistical information to Gavin. But my Skee-Ball game is strong. So strong, I am willing to bet money he hasn’t played since the last time we played together and can add another Skee-Ball trophy to the shelf. Which works great for me.
We step up to the lanes and swipe our cards. I glance over at him and feel a little cocky. “You ready to get your ass handed to you?”
He throws his head back and laughs, his entire frame shaking. “Who’s handing it to me? You?”
“Not sure how good your game is, but I’ve been practicing.” I pop an eyebrow and give a snide smile.
“Have you now?” The balls roll down the chute and clunk together. “What makes you think I haven’t been practicing?”
I pick up a ball and shrug. “Call it a hunch.” Then I face the lane, swing my arm back and release the wooden ball. It rolls up the lane with perfect precision and flies into the 100-point hole. With pride lighting up my face, I face Gavin again and shrug again. “Whatcha got, Hunt?”
“Oh, it’s on, baby.” Gavin smirks and lines up to shoot the ball. But I zone out. Molecule by molecule, my body comes alive. Warmth blossoms in my chest, spreading its petals open like the roses Gavin sent me. I get lost in the intimacy of this moment. Of his term of endearment for me. In the banter and ease with which we slip into it like second nature. How being beside him feels right on so many levels.
As much as I want to ease into a life with Gavin, it won’t happen. Because that is not how things have ever been between us.
From the first day we met, under our tree, we were destined for more. We slipped into friendship easier than anyone else. Our friendship morphing into best friends was inevitable. We loved spending time together and laughed without effort. Everyone said t
hey knew we would start dating. It was only us who didn’t see it happening. Not until that day at the beach over Thanksgiving break.
Our first kiss. The most amazing and memorable kiss of my life. The kiss that started it all.
From that moment forward, I never wanted to kiss another person in my life. My body sang for Gavin. Hummed with hunger and lust and love. No one else has lit my soul on fire like Gavin. And no one else ever will. When one person holds the key to your heart, no other key will ever unlock it. Gavin has always been my key.
Watching Gavin beside me, my heart swells like a hot air balloon—hot and combustible. All the old feelings I buried for thirteen years assault me in the middle of the arcade. Hit me like a hammer to the chest and leave me breathless. I want to yell and cry, cheer and sing, throw myself at him and crush him in my arms. He tosses another ball up the lane, oblivious to my never-ending stare down, and scores another forty points. He glances up at my score and notices it hasn’t changed since my first roll.
Gavin rotates his head and drops his gaze to mine. “You okay, baby?” There it is again. The familiar endearment I love rolling off his tongue. And the flutters that come along with it.
Fuck. They’re coming. The back of my eyes sting as I nod. I swallow down the expanding boulder in my throat and work to answer him. “Yeah, I’m good.”
He sets his ball down and steps up to me, running his fingers through my loose strands. “What’s wrong?” Bending his knees, he comes eye level with me. “Talk to me.”
I swallow again and tip my head back, batting my lashes. No crying, Cora. No more tears. Not even happy tears.
“Just remembering us. This.” I gesture to the lanes. “How things were before. How comfortable and easy it is to be with you.”
He stands tall and peers down at me, his thumb dusting over my bottom lip. “We’ve always had this effortless connection. Do you know why that is, baby?”
