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“What did I do?”
Was this guy serious? I blinked at him in the darkness, trying to see his face and tell if he was. But as he chopped another piece, and stepped closer, his face was illuminated by the lantern, and I could see he was waiting for an actual answer.
“You made my life hell. Encouraged everyone in our grade to ostracize me. Made snide and immature comments about me all the time. Fuck, you were the reason I had my nickname.” He continued to stare at me, and to his credit, he looked somewhat alarmed by what I was saying. “Jumbo June?”
He continued to stare at me like he was trying to remember what I was saying, and it only served to make me angrier. Of course, he didn’t remember. It didn’t affect his life the way it did mine, and he was able to go on and never have to hear those words, not only whispered but shouted to his back daily.
The bullying I endured because of Evander Butler left me at my lowest point, and if it wasn’t for my cooking, I might not have made it out of high school.
Suddenly his face changed, and he opened his mouth to say something, probably an apology, but I didn’t want that.
“You know what the worst part was, Evan?” His mouth snapped shut again. “You were the hottest guy in school, which made you the most popular, so your influence was almost god-like to our peers. And since you showed everyone I wasn’t worthy of any dignity at all, not a single other person in that school thought I was either. I wasn’t just undateable because of you. I was unfriendable too.”
evan
An hour later,next to a roaring fire, her words still echoed in my ears. I felt like a dick. Not only because of what she said but because she’d rendered me speechless, and we hadn’t said anything to each other since.
I didn’t know what I could say that would fix what I’d done as an immature, stupid, self-absorbed kid.
“I need to call my dad, and I’m going to get out of these wet clothes. Can I change in the bedroom?” Pressing her hands into the floor, June lifted herself onto her feet and glanced at me while I rose next to her. “Sure, the second door is the primary. You can use that one. There should be a first-aid kit in the bathroom too for that cut.” I nodded and pointed to where she ought to go simultaneously. With a nod, she turned to get her bag and went inside the bedroom.
I needed to say something. Surely, she was waiting for me to say anything, but how was I supposed to fix years of damage with words? Especially when she’d obviously held onto them for as long as she had.
My eyes flicked to the bedroom door as she closed it or tried to. The door didn’t quite stick without the help of a door jamb. As I opened my mouth to warn her that it was opening again, the words caught on my tongue.
Through the growing crack, she pulled her sweater over her head, inadvertently taking her blouse with it. Her faux pas gave me a full view of all her soft curves. Her heavy breasts delicately cupped in lace made me want to peel the fabric away from them with my mouth before tasting them to see if they were as good as they looked.
She struggled to untangle her arm and bring the shirt back down, which snapped me back to reality and acknowledging that leering at her was probably not going to help how much she currently hated me. But maybe I could fix that.
Turning around, I walked over to the small kitchen and began turning the wood-burning stove on. From the bedroom, her voice drifted out as she spoke with her dad.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry I didn’t call sooner. Yeah, the car is probably totaled. No, I’m at … I’m at the Butler Cabin. Evander Butler found me and brought me here. … Yeah, that’s fine, I guess. I’m sure he’ll be okay with that … No, I get it. … Thanks. Talk tomorrow.” I shouldn’t be eavesdropping, but from the sounds of it, I had one night to make up for a lifetime of pain. Seemed impossible, but I wanted to believe.
“Are you hungry? I haven’t eaten yet, so I was going to make myself some dinner.”
There was a long pause where she didn’t answer me, so I busied myself with opening the fridge and getting out the ingredients I planned to use tonight.
“You know how to cook?”
Her voice made me stop and look with a smile. “Not well, but I can throw something together that’s somewhat edible and sustaining.”
She came out with a bandage on her forehead and wearing a t-shirt with a cardigan over it. The cardigan came over her ass, which I found to be a great shame.
“Why don’t I cook, then? I’m a chef.”
I paused what I was doing to look at her in surprise. “You are?”
“Yeah, well, I figured if I liked food so much,” she patted her belly like that was supposed to tell me something, “I might as well make a career out of it.”
“Right,” I said, clearing my throat. Now seemed like a good enough time as any to apologize for what she’d said earlier. “Listen, June, I think I ought to tell you that all those things I did when we were at school—none of them were appropriate. And I’m so sorry I hurt you as much as I obviously have. Back then, I was a stupid kid who was going through a lot of shit, and that doesn’t excuse my behavior, but I clearly shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”
Was it perfect? Probably not, but if she was going to be in town for the holidays, I wanted to have a chance to fix what I’d broken.
“Thank you for apologizing. That means a lot.” She took a deep breath and came around the table to take the food from me. “You should probably sit before you hurt yourself in here. Kitchens are for professionals only.”Was she teasing me?I’ll take it.
“I can make us hot chocolate while you cook?” There was barely any space between us. If I stepped forward a hair, I’d be able to kiss her. Although, she’d probably slapped me if I did.
There was another long pause, and she rocked slightly on her toes. Wasshegoing to kiss me? My heart jumped in my chest, making me feel like a foolish little boy when she pulled back and nodded.
