Chapter 32
As soon as I crush Liz in my arms, she breaks apart in wracking sobs, holding me like I’m the only person in the world who can keep her from shattering completely.
Julien stands a few feet away, a solemn look on his face as he watches us. I mouth to him, “Is she okay?”
He tips his head yes, and I heave a huge sigh of relief.
“Shh, princess. I’ve got you.”
“You always do,” she murmurs on my shoulder. “I don’t deserve it.”
I crook my neck back so I can see her face. Beautiful as always. “I’m just glad you’re safe and back home. Everything else can wait, yeah?”
“Yeah. Okay,” she sniffles.
“I thought I was imagining things when I walked by the living room window and saw you with Jules.”
Since we haven’t let each other go, she peers over her shoulder at Julien. “I kind of ambushed him.”
Just like I used to, I carry her barrel-style back to the house. I’m only in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, and it’s effing freezing out here.
“You can put me down anytime, Jayson,” Liz giggles.
“Nah. I’m good.” If she thinks I’m about to let her go, she’s got another thing coming.
Julien pushes past us and opens the front door. “Mom! Liz is here!” he shouts and makes his way into the kitchen to drink his usual post-run protein shake.
“I’m right here, Julien. You don’t need to shout,” Mom chastises him from the breakfast table. “Jayson, put her down and let her get something to eat. Hey sweetie,” she greets Liz.
“Good morning. Do I smell muffins?” Liz asks hopefully
Mom stands and puts her plate in the sink, then takes the oven mitts and opens the top double oven. “Perfect timing. They just need to cool down some.”
The smell of apple and cinnamon fills the kitchen. I think we all start to drool a little
Liz wiggles out of my grasp and goes over to give Mom a hug before getting a plate down from the cabinet and placing three muffins on it. “What? I’m hungry,” she says when she notices me looking.
Mom rushes by me and Julien, delivering pecks on our cheeks as she heads out the door that leads to the garage from the kitchen. “Alright, boys. Be good. Dad and I will see you after school.”
“Bye, Mom!” Julien and I both call out as she dashes out of the room.
I burst out laughing when I turn back around and see Liz with her cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk’s. Her plate is completely empty. “You did not shove all three of them in your mouth, did you?”
She covers her mouth with a hand and mumbles, “Mrrhrr. Soo grrd.”
Julien blows his cheeks out with air and crosses his eyes at her. Liz almost spits out the muffins as she tries to stop herself from laughing.
“I’m going to grab my shower. Be ready in thirty,” he tells me, leaving me and Liz alone in the kitchen.
Liz offers me a muffin and I bite into it. She’s right. These are delicious. Go Mom. “You want to ride with us today?” I ask her, trying my best to keep things normal.
She rinses her hands off under the faucet. “No point in me going in. I still have some schoolwork to get done online and an essay to write. May as well stay home and do it, then I can start fresh after Thanksgiving.”
I lean across the counter island and Liz mimics me. She looks good. Her hair has lost the pink tips and she has a bit of a tan, so she must have been doing a lot of stuff outdoors while she was away. Which brings me to—
“When did you get back?”
“I promise to answer your question. Just let me look at you for a minute,” she replies.
I hardly ever blush, but I’m blushing now under her intense gaze. “May I ask why I’m being examined like a microbe under a microscope?
“Just seeing things in a different light since I got my memories back.”
“Ahhh. I see. I hope I still measure up to what you remember.”
I don’t want to push her on what happened between us that night.
Well, if I’m being honest, I do, but I’m not going to right now.
From what Ry said after he spoke with Fallon and from all the texts Fallon sent him afterwards, Liz was in a really bad place and had what sounded like a mini meltdown.
I’m going to have to rely on my seldom-used vat of patience to wait Liz out until she’s ready to talk. It’ll be hard. I’m pushy by nature.
“Yeah. You do.” She reaches across the granite countertop, and I take her proffered hand. “I’m sorry for how I left things between us, Jayson.” She shakes her head. “That didn’t come out right. That night with you was incredible.”
I can’t believe she is actually opening up to me about that night. I guess I don’t have to wait long after all.
Liz pulls out the elastic band from her ponytail and rakes her fingers through her long hair as if she’s trying to steady her nerves before she continues.
“But that night, I was Old Elizabeth. The me I am now…I’m not her. Well, I am her, but I’m also the new me. Kind of like a blended mixture of the two. Sorry,” she says again. “I’m rambling and not making much sense.”
I stop her. “Nuh-uh. If we’re going to have a heart-to-heart, it’s not going to be from across the kitchen right before school,” I tell her even though it’s the exact same thing I did to Ry the other morning. “Come over after school today,” I suggest.
Liz turns her head away slightly, but I don’t miss the guilt that passes over her face before she does.
“I can’t. Ryder and I are skipping today.
I stomp down on my instinctual jealously and beat that sucker into submission
“Go out with me tomorrow,” I blurt.
Her eyes widen in surprise. I’m surprised myself.
“You want to go out on a date?” her voice’s pitch raises an octave.
Don’t screw this up. Remember your promise to Ry. You need to be the better man.
“Not a date-date, but a friend date. We need to talk, and I’ve missed you.” Okay, that sounded pretty good.
“I’ve missed you too, Jayson.”
I lean a little farther over the countertop and cup both of her hands between mine. “Then it’s settled. You and me. Tomorrow. We’ll talk. It’ll be good.”
She bites her bottom lip. “Okay,” she agrees with a sharp nod of her head and a smile. So gorgeous.
I beam at her and give myself a mental pat on the back. That wasn’t so hard.
Liz pops herself up onto the counter, dangling her legs in front of me. I prop my arms on either side of her hips, caging her in. It’s something we used to do all the time when we talked, whether it was in my kitchen or on the tailgate of my truck.
Liz reaches out and fingers a lock my hair. “Your hair is different. Shorter.”
I close my eyes at her barely-there touch, wanting to imprint this moment. I’m close enough to her to smell the faint traces of her jasmine bodywash and shampoo.
“Got it cut last weekend.
“I like it,” she replies.
“You look different, too,” I offer.
Her mouth quirks up. “I hope in a good way.”
“Definitely in the best way,” I hush out.
She gently cups my face, then seeing what she’s doing, removes her hand and places it in her lap. “Hailey came home.”
“Holy shit,” I belt out. That’s huge. Huger than huge.
“Yeah, that about sums it up. I couldn’t have said it better myself.
“Wait. That’s all I’m getting?” I ask, my incredulity showing.
“Do you mind if I fill you in tomorrow? It’s a lot.”
“Alright.”
“Before I forget, I was going to see if everyone wanted to come over tonight. Is there a football game after school today?”
“Nope. The final two are in December. I think Keith said he and Beth would be leaving after school to spend Thanksgiving at his grandparents’ house. The rest of the gang should be around. What time do you want us at your place?”
“How does eight sound? I’m sure Daniel wouldn’t mind if we fired up the grill.”
“You ready to go?” Julien shouts from upstairs.
I yell back, “Give me five!”
“I guess I should go,” Liz says. She takes her hair band and secures another ponytail at the back of her head.
“Down you go, princess.” I secure her waist between my hands and assist her from her perch on the counter. “I’m really glad you came over this morning.”
Standing in front of her now, Liz has to tip her head back to look at me. “I am, too. Would it be weird if I asked if I could hug you?
I don’t even answer her as I pull her to me. We wrap our arms around each other at the same time. Liz buries her face in the crook of my neck, and I kiss the side of her temple. Perfection.
When we pull back, I ask her, “I have an idea for tonight. It involves shaving cream. You up for it?”
A wicked grin makes its presence known across her face. “If it’s what I think it is, then count me in.”
“Thought you’d say that.” Liz was always my partner in crime when it came to pranks.
She pats me on the chest. “I’ll get out of your way and show myself out. I know how Julien will get if you’re not ready and he thinks he’ll be late to school.”
“We’ll figure out our plans for tomorrow when I see you later tonight, yeah?”
“Sounds good. Looking forward to our friend date,” she teases with a wink.
I watch as she walks out of the kitchen and out the front door, leaving my heart happier than it’s been in a long time.