“Did he ever tell you about the night of Meera’s high school graduation?”
Snapping out of my mental hiccup, I cross the room and gently place my hands on her shoulders. Something tells me she might need the comfort.
“Can’t say that he has,” I admit. “But before you start… I think I’ll take you up on that offer of wine.”
“God, Elijah.” Her shoulders drop as she exhales, visibly relieved. “I’m so glad you said that.”
She crosses to the small wine fridge and pulls out a chilled white. I uncork it as she sets out two glasses. Once I’ve poured, I slide one her way.
“Okay. So… tell me about this graduation night. What happened?”
Teya cracks open the window and takes a seat.
“Well… it was the night of Meera’s graduation. Alex and I were waiting for her in the parking lot after the ceremony. He looked so handsome, Elijah. All dressed up for the occasion. You can picture it, right?” She smiles softly, lost in memory. “He’d bought her this enormous bouquet of roses—every color of the rainbow, if I remember right. God, he was so happy. So fucking proud of her.”
I match her smile, picturing a younger Alex—dimple showing, stars in those hazel eyes.
“Meera was walking toward us, and Alex was practically vibrating with excitement. He was like that, you know? Couldn’t sit still when he was happy. ‘Ants in his pants,’ my mom used to say.”
We both smirk into our wine glasses as we take a sip.
“Anyway, the parking lot was packed with families waiting for their graduates. But as Meera got closer… she suddenly veered off. Like she was confused—or maybe like she’d seen something we couldn’t. Alex stepped forward, waving that huge bouquet in air. And that’s when another man stepped out from the backseat of a fancy car.”
She pauses, eyes narrowing at the memory.
“I remember thinking maybe it was her brother? I mean, who else could it be, right? But this guy was older. Sophisticated in a strange way. He had long, wavy hair that hung past his shoulders—no real style to it. Definitelynotthe younger blond brother sheused to gush about. This man had dark hair… and in the fading light, it’s all we could make out.”
Her voice falters. I lean in, barely breathing.
“He was holding a single long-stem red rose. And when Meera reached him, he pulled her into his arms, spun her around, and then…” Her breath catches. “He kissed her.”
I stand, stunned, as tears spill down her cheeks.
“One fucking rose, Elijah.One.”
“Oh Jesus,” I murmur. But it’s not the rose that grabs me by the throat.
“Yeah,” she breaths, barely audible. “But it’swherehe kissed her that had Alex puking. Right there on the spot. All over the roses. Looked like he threw up a fucking rainbow.”
My stomach drops.
I can’t help flashing back to the rainbow-colored roses Alex had bought formejust days ago.
Fucking hell.
I scratch my chin, grimacing as my stomach churns. Maybe mixing coffee and wine wasn’t such a great idea after all. Bourbon would have been smarter.
I glance at Teya, a sick twist coiling through my gut.
“You said…wherehe kissed her. What did you mean by that? Where exactly did he kiss her?”
She lifts her glass, eyes glassy, voice trembling.
“Her stomach, Elijah.”
A pause.
“He kissed her on her stomach—after dropping to his knees.”
