AllFreeNovel
Share Us
There’s more than just the mattress and blankets back here. There are bags of chips and candy and cans of soda. “I didn’t have time to prepare, so it’s the best I could do,” he says, effortlessly jumping on the bed. He settles in with his back against the cab, his knees up and apart. He taps the spot between his legs. “Come here.”
I don’t even hesitate. I just do as he asks. And I know that we’re blurring the lines, but I don’t seem to care. Just like I don’t care that he’s still damp from our water fight, especially when he envelops me in his warmth as he wraps his arms around me. He tucks me in closer, and I cozy in, resting my back against his hard chest.
“Do you remember The Question Game?” he asks, his chin on my shoulder.
I half turn to smile up at him. “I do.” The Question Game never belonged to us, though. It was always his and Mia’s. And even though we didn’t play it often, I still remember the rules. “You don’t have to answer every question, but you at least have to acknowledge it.”
“And if you do answer?” he asks.
“Then you have to answer in truth.”
His grin is stupid. “That’s some memory you got there, Jameson Taylor.”
I wonder if I should tell him that most of my memories consist of him.
“Want to play?” he asks. “Because I have a ton of questions.”
“Like what?”
“Like… did you ever go back to school like you’d planned?”
I shake my head, wrap his arms tighter around me. “No. I kind of focused on myself that first year after I got to Gina’s. I worked a few days a week serving at a restaurant, and then I found other work I could do from home or on the road.”
“What kind of work?”
“Transcribing audio, running social media accounts. That kind of thing. And speaking of, you guys have, like, no social media presence.”
“Stalk much?” he says through a chuckle.
“I was curious.” I shrug. “You should really get on that.”
“I wouldn’t know the first thing about it.”
“Step one?” I say, “Set up an Instagram account for the company and post a shirtless picture of you in the greenhouse. The girls will come a-flocking.”
His laughter is deep, a slow rumble that I feel right in my chest. “You haven’t even seen me shirtless lately!”
“Oh, but I can imagine,” I mumble. “I bet you’re exactly the same but manlier. Just don’t make it look like a thirst trap. Make it look like you’re working, you know?”
His head moves from side to side as he stares me down.
“Want me to set it up for you?” I ask, hand out for his phone.
After reaching into his pocket for it, he unlocks it before handing it to me. The background picture is of him and the same little boy whose face and artwork cover his fridge. We work together to set up the account, including a short bio and links, and when I’m done, I hand his phone back to him and reveal my own. “Mind if I follow you from afar? I’m kind of excited to see what you do with the place.”
He nods, eyes right on mine. “Go ahead.”
I find the new account quickly and hit follow. “Okay, my turn. Question.”
He nods again.
“Why are you doing all this? The water fight and the sleeping under the stars?”
His shrug is lazy, as if the answer should be obvious. “I just want to make you happy.”
Those words alone create an undeniable ache in my chest. I look away, so he doesn’t catch my smile fading. This is the fault in our fate, our one undoing: All he’s ever wanted is my happiness, even when it costs him his own.
“What?” he asks, and I shake my head. “Did I say something wrong?”
