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Same girl. Same.
My toes float through the cool water, the sun reflecting off the lake’s surface like a mirror. Absently, I lift a strawberry from the bowl and take a bite, letting the sweet juice trickle down my throat. It’s nearly sunset, and I can’t remember the last time I spoke to someone.
Roman was gone again this morning. I still don’t understand why he’s here. Why won't he just leave me alone? Especially now that Isaac’s gone. I take another bite, Isaac’s name clanging through me.
Isaac.
I keep trying to push him out of my mind, but I can’t. His presence looms over me, reminding me that I only have to deal with Roman alone for another week and a half. It seems like a lifetime will pass before I see him again.
It’s only been a few days since he left, and already, Roman has embedded himself so deeply into my life again that I know when he leaves, it’ll destroy me all over. It’s not fair for anyone to have that much power over someone. But he does.
They do.
A loud engine pulls me from my thoughts, and I glance over my shoulder, finding Roman parking his bike near the front porch. He throws his long leg over it and stands, scanning our small yard. His eyes briefly meet mine before he continues his scan, then they snap back to me.
I lift my hand in an awkward wave, a small smile tipping my lips. I shouldn’t be happy to see him after that shit he pulled the other day. But it’s nice to not be alone.
He hesitates, looking at the front door before he steps around his bike and strides toward me, his steps unhurried. Shock fills me. I almost expected him to ignore me and go inside.
Instead, he steps onto the rickety dock, his jaw tensing as he looks around, muttering under his breath about how this thing should’ve been torn down a long time ago. I smile again and look at the water, another strawberry in my hand.
From the corner of my eye, I watch him untie his boots and kick them off, still grumbling about the whole thing. “I didn’t ask you to come over here,” I say, still not looking at him. My voice is hoarse with disuse, raspier than usual. “You don’t have to take your shoes off.” He ignores my words, as he sinks onto the wood beside me.
“What are you doing?” he asks, cringing as his feet hit the cold water.
“What’s it look like?” I take a bite of the new strawberry. He turns to look at me, but I choose to ignore him, to stay looking at the way my feet swish through the water.
Words die on his lips as he stares out at the lake, reclining back on his tattooed hands. He lets out a long sigh, and I finally look at him, finding his gaze far away. Lifting the bowl, I hold it between us. “Strawberry?”
His lips kick up at the corner before he grabs one, his eyes locked on mine as he takes a bite. My breath hitches, his gaze holding me captive as he chews slowly, the juice staining his full lips. The moment stretches forever, the silence like a comfortable blanket around us.
It almost feels like we’re kids again, just getting out of the house, away from our parents to talk about our lives, our dreams. To talk about everything and nothing. To read our book silently, to discuss it animatedly. To live, and breathe, and just…be.
Those were my favorite memories. The ones where we just existed together.
“I never thought we’d be here again,” he breathes. I fold my lips between my teeth as I drop my gaze, feeling the weight of his words to my core.
“Me either,” I admit. But I’m glad we are, I almost say, but force myself to stop before the words can leave my lips.
Silence fills the space between us again, more palpable than before. His hand grips the edge of the dock, his gaze still locked on the side of my face. “Where were you today?” I ask.
“Work.”
I wait for more of an explanation, for him to open up about his day, but when he says nothing else, I let out a small breath and stare out at the dark water again.
My tongue runs over my teeth while I silently fight the urge to pry, to poke the bear until he’s forced to spill all his secrets. Why is it he can know my biggest, deepest secrets, the ones I keep buried deep in my closet; camming and Isaac, but I don’t even know where he lives?
“What do you do for work?” I practically blurt, the words and questions becoming too much to contain. He gives me a sidelong look and I sigh. “I mean, I have no idea where you live or work or who–”
I break off.
Does he live with someone? Does he have a girlfriend?
My eyes shoot to his left hand, searching for…
“I’m not married, Eve, fucking hell,” he snaps. Roman runs a hand through his hair, messing up the dark strands. He pauses for a long moment and I almost think he won’t answer, but then, he shocks me. “I’m a tattoo artist in Mammoth at a shop called Deliverance. My buddy, Kon, owns it.” He gives me a look. “And I live with Chase, but you already knew that.”
My cheeks burn. I did know that part. Chase told me casually one day a few years ago but things could have changed since then.
