“I’ll take a water and a cheeseburger. Please,” Rylee says, not even looking at her menu.
“Got it, and for you two handsome men?” Betty looks at us crammed on the same side of the booth.
“Betty, you know what I like.” Avery’s natural smile spreads across his face.
“I keep trying to get you to let me find out your other favorites, but you only let me serve you food.” Betty places a hand on her hip. Shaking her head, she places her hand on the edge of the table. “I’ll bring you a double cheeseburger with everything on it, onion rings, and a sweet tea.”
Avery winks at her. “Nothing’s as sweet as you, Betty.”
She shakes her head, attempting to hold back a smile. “And for you, hun?” Her eyelashes, thick with mascara, flick to me.
“I’ll have the same as Avery, but fries instead of onion rings. Thanks.”
She nods and walks away.
“Well, Rylee. How’s the boss been treating you? Need to file a complaint about him to HR yet? I’d be more thanhappy to help you fill out a form.” Avery leans over the table, clasping his hands together as he waits for her answer.
“You’re ridiculous. You know that? Even in high school, you always flirted with every girl who breathed, including the teachers.” Rylee shakes her head.
Betty walks up, and Avery leans back so she can put our drinks on the table. We thank her, and Avery dives back into teasing Rylee.
“I never heard anyone complaining,” he says, and Rylee shakes her head in disbelief. “Or was it that I didn’t give you enough attention, so you were jealous?”
Rylee’s head snaps up, shock written all over her face. She goes to say something, but Avery continues.
“Oh, I wanted to give you all the attention, but there was someone I couldn’t afford to upset who wouldn’t have liked it. So I didn’t—” Avery groans, cutting his words short as I put the heel of my boot on his tennis shoe. He always changes into them as soon as he gets into his truck so he’s more comfortable even during lunch break, but thankfully, I still wear my work boots.
“What?” Rylee looks at him, puzzled, before setting her gaze on me.
I take a sip of my tea, and thankfully, Betty comes, bringing our food for distraction. Wondering if Rylee still doesn’t order fries even though she wants them, I test the theory by grabbing a handful of mine and placing them next to her burger. She pauses, watching my hand, and quietly thanks me as we all dig into our food. I can’t help smiling as I watch her eat a fry.
19
RYLEE: THEN
Rylee:17 years old
The flames flicker in front of my eyes, and the heat from sitting so close to the fire pit burns my skin. I take off my socks and wiggle my toes toward the flames. It’s one of my favorite things, a cold night cuddled in my fuzzy blanket in front of a fire. My parents have already gone to sleep, and it’s just me sitting under the night sky. So much change is coming within the next year, and I want to soak up nights like this as much as I can. There’s a football game tonight, but I didn’t have the urge to go.
I open my book and flip to the page I’m on. I should be catching up on my reading for school, but those books don’t interest me as much as Mr. Darcy proclaiming his love for Elizabeth. I have read this book over a handful of times. It never gets old, just like watching the movie.
Fully immersed in my book, I don’t realize the fire subsided until my body shivers. Putting my book aside, I get up and grab a few logs to get it blazing again. A twig snaps from behind me, and I whip around to find Clayton standing a few feet away, coming from the path we made years ago, leading to his house.
Putting my hand over my heart, I exhale in relief. “You scared me.”
“Need help?” He motions toward the logs.
“You coming to invade my solitude?” I put a hand on my hip, still holding wood in my other.
Clayton walks closer, his eyes never leaving mine as he takes the log from my hand. “Do you mind?”
I walk past him, bumping him with my hip. “It’s about time you did. I almost froze my ass off waiting for you.” I chuckle and glance at him, catching a small smirk on his lips.
I’m not sure when it happened, but he’s a lot more manly than I ever realized. His large hands easily place the wood in the pit and pile several more pieces on his strong forearms. He joined the weightlifting class to fill up one of his free periods. I think he liked finding another release, and he pushes himself a little harder than the rest of the class. His efforts clearly show. He’s wearing a plaid flannel over a white T-shirt with jeans. I will never understand how he stays warm, but he rarely has a heavy jacket on unless there’s actual snow on the ground. I have no doubt his mom is the one forcing him to wear it on those days.
Cuddling back up in my blanket, I watch him get the fire roaring again before he sits down in the chair next to me. My head rolls to the side to look at him, and his eyes stare off like he can’t see anything. “Penny for your thoughts?”
He shakes his head, blinking away any thoughts he had. “They aren’t worth that much.”
