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Lexy:I’m sorry, I know this might be coming out wrong through text. I’m not mad. I’m just trying to understand. It’s hard since I didn’t know you when everything happened with Dean. Plus, I’ve had Mack in my ear about it since he hasn't heard from you.
Maci:You can’t tell him any of this, Lex.
Lexy:Promise.
Maci:I left for the sanctuary truly believing whenever I make my way back home, Mack and I would have a second chance. Or we’d at least try it out and see if it was right this time around. When I finished my volunteer work, I was even more certain that's what I wanted. But then I ran into Dean out of nowhere. Like, more of a freak occurrence than when we ran into Troy. I’m in another country for goodness sake. How can I ignore that kind of sign?
Lexy:The same way you kind of ignored Troy?
Maci:This is different. I never dated Troy. I didn’t have the chance to fall for him. But Dean…there was always something different about my connection with him. Mack feels like home, but when I’m near Dean, it feels like I can’t live without him.
Lexy:Dean feels the same way about you?
Maci:Yeah, I think he does. The first few days I was here he was super open about everything he left out before. The past few weeks, it’s like I’m in the twilight zone. We just go about our days like it’s normal to just surf, eat tacos and have sex…really great sex. Like…mind blowing, Lex.
Lexy:What you’re saying is you’ve been holding out on me?!
Maci:I didn’t want you to feel like you were stuck between Mack and me.
Lexy:Soooo, the real question is…this mind blowing sex. It’s better than with Mack?
Maci:It’s different. I try not to compare them. I always feel comfortable when I’m with Mack. Whatever moment we are in, he makes me feel like I belong there, with him. That’s something I never really had before. But the chemistry I have with Dean…it’s just. It’s like the world stops and nothing else can matter until I’m touching him. Have you ever experienced that?
Lexy:Yeah…actually, there’s something I wanted to talk to you about.
Maci:Oh, hey, Dean is coming over here. I’ll talk to you later? Love you!
“Hey, babe, whatcha up to?” Dean falls onto the bed next to me.
“Talking to Lexy. I’ve been bad about checking in. Time has been weird lately. What are you up to?”
“Nothing, just wanted to be closer to you.”
“You were five feet away at the table.” I laugh and shove on his shoulder hard enough he rolls onto his back and stays there. With Lexy’s conversation fresh in my mind, I decide to ask something I’ve been curious about for a while now. “Do you believe in chemistry? Like between two people?”
He lies there for a moment like he’s contemplating his response. “I didn’t.” He’s still talking to the ceiling as he continues. “But when you showed up here, I knew it was you before you turned around. It freaked me out, but after that I couldn’t deny it anymore. Especially since that wasn’t the first time I felt weird around you.”
My first reaction is to be offended he thinks being around me is weird, but my mind flashes back to all the times I knew he was there before I saw him–at the pool table the night we had sex for the first time, when I was studying at school, the day he made me play hooky before he told me he was leaving. Each time it happened, I questioned how it was possible I justknew. It was exactly that–weird. I also thought I was the only one who felt it. “That wasn’t the first time?”
“No. I’ve always felt this pull toward you. The first time I saw you and the night we actually met had me really tripped up.”
As much as I want to revel in everything he’s already said, my brain processes his out of place words. “Wait, what do you mean ‘the night we actually met?’” My voice trails off before I add, “You’re making it sound like you knew me before we met.”
“Mmmm,” he hums quietly under his breath like he’s nervous to continue.
“It’s okay, Dean. Tell me. I don’t want secrets between us anymore.” I say it gently, but my heart races as I wonder what has been left unsaid.
He turns to face me, his hand reaching up, fingers threading through my hair. His brown eyes search mine as if they are looking for confirmation he’s safe to share. After a moment, he speaks. “You were wearing a strapless gold dress two Halloweens ago, right?”
I nod slowly, my brows pushing together in confusion. That was a week before my birthday, a week before I met Dean.
He continues. “Your hair was falling in your face, but I kept catching glimpses of your smile,” he smiles briefly at the memory. “Unintentionally, I kept singling out your laugh from everyone in the bar, despite how loud it was in there. I was drawn to you. I kept seeing you visibly shiver from being cold, and all I wanted to do was warm you up, even though I was so fucking cold myself.”
Recognition washes over me. I remember seeing him too. “George of the Jungle.”
A smile lights his face when he realizes I noticed him too, and any hesitation he had before about telling this story is gone. “Yeah, I lost a fucking bet.” He rolls his eyes, but continues explaining the night as if he’s an excited child at show-n-tell rambling about his favorite toy car. “Okay, so, I tried to fight my way through the crowd after you and your friends won the contest so I could introduce myself. I know I had been seeing Julia for like a week at that point, so it was probably a dick move, but I swear I couldn’tnot. That’s when you all got on the bar. You looked so…happy to be with your friends, and I loved that for you even though I didn’t even know your name. I was telling Marcus I’d be right back and looked away for only a few seconds. By the time I turned back, you were gone.”
I interrupt his story to tell him how much I wanted donuts. “I wonder what would have happened if I didn’t.”
