There. It happened again. Her heart kicked against her ribs like an angry bull. And a third time.
I broke the suction on our kiss and leaned back to look in her eyes. “What is that?”
“Hmm?” She looked annoyed that I’d stopped. She tipped forward, her soft lips, brushing mine.
“Hey.” I rolled off the couch and onto my knees. Then I swept her legs around, forcing her to sit up. I placed my hands on either side of her. “Why is your heart palpitating? How long has that been going on?”
She lifted one shoulder and chewed her lip. “A couple of weeks. It’s nothing. Just stress from school and being apart from you.” Her hands slid around my neck and she tried to pull me back onto the couch.
I dug in, not letting her. “Anna, that’s serious. You need to get it checked out.”
She smiled but her brows puckered. “I’m fine.”
I brushed a lock of hair back over her cheekbone, my eyes scouring her face. She looked gaunt. Her cheeks were hollow and there were dark circles under her eyes. “What have you eaten today?”
She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Food.”
“What food?”
She cocked her head likereally? “Pancakes and bacon for breakfast. Grilled cheese for lunch. And you were here for dinner.”
I was and I knew she’d hardly touched the steak, baked potatoes, or salad that Silas and Lemon had made. They’d fussed at her too. If breakfast and lunch had been devoured similarly, Anna was running on fumes.
I pinned her with my gaze.
She lifted her hands. “I’ll go make myself a fat ice cream sundae right now. Will that make you happy?”
“Yes. Yes, it would.” I stood and offered her a hand. “I’ll help.”
She sighed but took it. Together, we walked to the kitchen. Silas and Lemon had redone it since Anna and I had dated in high school. The whole house had been renovated and everything expanded. It was necessary with three little boys and now a baby girl on the way.
The kitchen was twice its original size. The cabinets were a creamy white and there was a nice light blue herringbone tile backsplash. The only reason I knew it was herringbone was because my mom had picked the same design for her bathroom shower we’d had built a year ago.
Anna pulled three different flavors of ice cream from the freezer, while I grabbed a pair of bowls and some spoons from the drawer. Anna placed a single scoop of cookie dough ice cream in one of the bowls. She squirted a tablespoon of chocolate sauce over it, topping it with a tiny dollop of whipped cream from the can. Then she picked it up like she was done.
I let out a sardonic laugh. “No. Put that back down,” I ordered.
She sighed like she had in the living room and handed it over. “Just make it however you want.”
So I added another scoop, twice the size of the first, and drowned it in chocolate sauce, completing it with a cup of whipped cream.
She tittered. “Seriously?”
“Yes. And you’re going to eat every bite,” I said, not laughing at all. “Please,” I said, gentler.
She saluted. “Yes, sir.”
I made myself a sundae twice the size of hers.
We ambled back into the living room and sat on the couch. Her knee was bent, resting on top of my thigh. For the hundredth time since we got back together, I was awed at that little touch. How many times had I wished Anna was with me? That I could reach out and touch her again? And now she was. I hoped I never quit being grateful.
We watched the movie as we ate. I shoveled that junk in like I was half-starved. I always felt that way during football season. The team dietitian would probably scold me for eating so much sugar but I was doing it in solidarity. Anna needed my example. Right now she was only taking tiny nibbles, pausing for a solid minute between each bite. After five minutes, I scraped the bottom of my bowl. Her ice cream was only a quarter of the way gone and she looked like she was going to hurl if she kept going.
I let myself scan her over. Her arms were skinny and her cheeks had lost most of their fullness. Her shoulders were poking out of her T-shirt. The three palpitations replayed in my mind. I felt like I was coming out of my skin. What was happening to my girlfriend? What wasn’t she telling me? I wasn’t sure but I knew who would have zero problems telling me their opinion on the matter.
I squeezed Anna’s bony knee. “Is it okay if I use your bathroom? I don’t want to wake your family.” Anna’s room used to be right next to Silas and Lemon’s. But when they added on, they gave her a massive suite with her own bathroom where the carport used to be.
She offered me a warm smile. “Of course.”
