AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shrugged. “I just think he’ll be pissed off and if he matters to you that much, you’d be taking his calls.”
“Well, one weekend won’t kill him if I don’t jump when he calls.”
We moved forward as the cars to the rollercoaster reloaded at the front of the line. “You’re a jumper, are you? Didn’t think you would be.”
“Then why are you telling me to take his calls?” I asked exasperated.
Dylan huffed. “I’m just trying to catch up with you, Remi. I want to know what’s going on in your life.”
Part of me wanted to ask him where the hell he’d been for the past three years, but I didn’t want to ruin the day. Instead, I reached out and touched his forearm. “I know. I just don’t want to think about the hell I’m going to get because I’m out of pocket, but I want to have fun with you. Let’s just enjoy our time together. Who knows when we’ll get to do this again? If ever.”
“I was thinking that earlier, but I don’t want us to lose touch again.” His tone was sincere, and my heart leapt.
“I don’t either, but I’d understand if it happened.”
We were both facing forward in the row of passengers waiting for the ride when Dylan reached out and put a hand on my shoulder giving it a squeeze and half pulling me to his side. “Well, we can’t let it.”
Love surged inside me. I wanted to melt into him, wrap both arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest. At the same time, I felt a sort of helplessness fall over me. How could we cultivate this new closeness being halfway across the country from each other? How would I deal with my feelings about the girlfriends I knew would come into his life? How would that be fair to Alan?
As much as I wanted to be more than friends with Dylan, I couldn’t allow myself that hope because then I’d disengage from the relationship that I did have. Nothing had happened to communicate that Dylan wanted more than being best friends like we had been growing up. I knew any closeness with him would cultivate deeper feelings and probably heartbreak for me.
The line moved again, and we were able to move up to the platform and take our place behind one of the metal barriers that separated the line into shorter ones for each of the cars. Dylan grabbed my hand and pulled me with him. “Let’s get in the line for the front car.”
“The line is longer,” I protested.
“Not that much longer. Quit whining.” He flashed a bright smile and I, along with the two young women who would be in the same care, but behind us, melted.
I wondered if the jealousy I’d always felt when other women ogled Dylan would ever diminish? If it didn’t change, I’d be in for a lifetime of misery.
He pulled off his sunglasses and handed them to me with his phone. “I knew it,” I protested then with a shake of my head proceeded to tuck them both in the fanny pack next to mine. I shifted it forward so I wouldn’t sit on it once we were onboard.
The full coaster cars stopped in front of us with a whoosh and we waited as the current passengers disembarked. Dylan seemed oblivious to his admirers. “Go ahead, Remi,” he instructed.
I stepped into the car ahead of him and we both buckled in and then pulled the shoulder harnesses down. Dylan reached over and pulled on mine hard to bring it down closer to my shoulders. There was another buckle that connected between our legs to the shoulder harness and we both clicked them into place.
“Ready?” Dylan asked. His hand came down to rest on my knee.
I glanced at his smiling face. His eyes were dancing, and my heart began to race. “Yes! I Can’t wait.”
“Don’t fall out now. I don’t want to go shopping for a new best friend.”
I huffed indignantly. “As if you’d be able to find someone as good as me.”
Dylan looked at me and smiled. “Truer words were never said,” he said as the cars began moving forward.
Delight filled my entire being. The smile on my face was due to more than just the anticipation of the thrill of the first steep drop, and even the fun-filled hours that I knew lay ahead of us. The piece of me that had been missing for the past three years was back; the only questions were did Dylan share my euphoria and if so, what would happen next?
Dylan
The day had been magical.
It was as if Remi and I had gotten into a time machine and traveled back to before we went to college and our relationship was less complicated. The sun was setting behind the mountains and the temperature was dropping fast as we stood in line for one more ride on the Lightening Rod. It was a shorter roller coaster than the Wild Eagle, but it was Remi’s favorite.
“Why do you like this one so much?” I asked. I couldn’t help but notice a guy about our age eyeing her from behind as he and his companion took their place in the same aisle as us. We were just getting to the top of the queue, and he was positioning himself to sit next to Remi in the four-seat row.
“Because it shoots so fast to the top of the first drop!” she explained exuberantly. “It reminds me of the Rocking Roller Coaster at Disney World.” Remi’s brilliant smile lit up her beautiful face. Even in the twilight and the soft glow from the park lights, I could see her cheeks, forehead, and the tip of her nose took on a rosy hue of a slight sunburn despite our efforts to be careful.
“Ah,” I acknowledged.
