“You just get off work?”
I nod.
“What do you do?”
“Um…” I fiddle with the hem of my shirt.
He chuckles.
I narrow my eyes then look down. “Oh.” I laugh at my blue shirt with an apple on the front.
“Sorry.” He pushes his hands deeper into his pockets. It brings his shoulders closer to his face. He looks so young, handsome, and…happy. “I’ve seen you at the Genius Bar.”
“You have?” I narrow one eye.
He looks down at his feet. God… who is this man? Is he embarrassed? Shy? I’ve never known this side to Theodore Reed. “Yes. I’ve been in town for a few days.”
“Stalking me?”
He glances up. “Just… seeing how you’re doing.”
I try to decide what that means as I return a slow nod.
“You look amazing.”
I smile. “So do you.”
We stare at each other in more awkward silence.
“Uh, can I get you some tea or…”
“Tea?” He chuckles. “Just say it. You only have tea or water to offer me. Maybe some carrot juice?”
I shake my head, biting back my grin. “I’m out of carrots. I need to go to the supermarket.”
“I’m good. I don’t want to keep you. I just wanted to say hi and see how you’re doing.”
Theodore Reed, if you walk out that door again, I’m certain I will die right here in this very spot. It still feels like this is a dream. I’m so afraid if I move an inch, I’ll wake up and he’ll be gone.
I point toward the kitchen. “Maybe there’s still one of Oscar’s beers in the back of the fridge. I can go check.”
Theo shakes his head. “It’s fine. Really, I don’t want to keep you.” He turns and twists the doorknob.
“Do you miss me?” I ask in unapologetic desperation. I don’t need to know if he still loves me, just if he misses me. That’s all that matters.
He drops his forehead to the door, slowly rolling it side to side. My fucking feet won’t move. Maybe it’s my heart pounding in my throat. Maybe it’s the fear that if I touch him and he still leaves, the heartache will start all over again.
“So much I can barely breathe,” he whispers.
Tears flood my eyes. “Then maybe you should want to.”
He slowly turns, eyes red and glassy with emotion. “Want to what?”
“You…” I blink and the tears release “…you said you didn’t want to keep me. But if you miss me even a fraction of the way I miss you…” my voice shakes as my words struggle to claw past the lump of emotion stuck in my throat “…then maybe you should want to keep me.”
His forehead tightens. “Scarlet…”
Scarlet …
