AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Jess turned back to me. "Sure, that sounds like it would be fun." Jess stepped to the side, inviting me in.
"This is my friend, Sara. She lives a few floors down."
"Hi, Sara, I'm Ben."
"Hi, Ben. Geez, you're a sexy thing," she said, winking at me. "Well, Jess, I will see you later okay. Have fun."
I watched as Sara leaned in and whispered something to Jess, causing her face to flush. Jess hugged Sara, and once she had left, she shut the door behind her.
Twenty minutes later, we were walking through the wholesale shop looking at slabs of granite. "What do you think of this one? It's light enough but still compliments."
I watched as Jess ran her hand over the smooth piece of granite, smiling. "I think it would be perfect."
"All right then, you're sure? You can only choose once you know," I said, winking at her. "I remember how indecisive you always were."
"Yeah, I'm sure. I think you're right. It fits perfectly."
"All right, so just to recap..." I said, pulling out all the tile selections she had made and laying them on the counter. "Does it all look okay?"
"Yes."
"All right, the order is going in then." I stepped off to the side and began placing the order. I kept watching Jess as she stood looking over everything. A funny smile came over her face, followed by an immediate look of sadness. I signed the order form and handed it to the guy behind the counter to process and then joined Jess again.
"What's on that mind of yours?" I questioned.
She huffed. "Just memories. Memories of our plans when we were younger to remodel homes together. Sometimes, I wish I’d taken that path instead of the one I did." She lifted her eyes to mine.
"Well, we are remodeling a place together, silly." My finger taping her chin.
"I guess." She smiled softly. "Did you want to come back to my place for dinner?"
I glanced at my watch, the words of my sister running through my mind not to get involved. I knew she was right on so many levels, but on so many levels my gut was telling me just to go for it.
"If there is somewhere you need to be just say so," she mumbled.
"Nope, I'm all yours. Just trying to decide what to grab for dinner."
"Oh." She smiled again, this time turning away from me.
Three hours later, we lay sprawled out on a blanket in her living room. We both lay on our sides, our heads resting on our hands as we shared a bowl of popcorn. Once the bowl was empty, I pulled it out from between us and reached back to set it on the coffee table. I turned back to find Jess on her back, staring up at the ceiling, a faraway look on her face.
"You remember that old house, the one we used to make out at?"
"The one I fixed up with my dad?" I said, my mind instantly transporting me to the spot we used to frequent.
"Yeah, that's the one."
"What about it?" I asked, studying her face.
"What ever happened to it?"
"Well, we finished it that summer. Dad already had a buyer, so I'm guessing they moved in."
"Did it turn out as well as we had thought it would?"
"Yeah, it was okay I guess." I didn't have the heart to tell her I was basically a robot the rest of that summer, that I barely remembered anything after she had immediately left.
"Did you ever think of us? After I left, I mean."
