I lean down and whisper in her ear, “He’ll soon learn that losing you was the biggest mistake of his life.”
I see her shiver, and I hope it’s because she enjoys feeling me close to her. I wonder if she can sense how much I miss her. I see Grant walking our way, and I straighten back up and put some space between us.
“Hey, I need to head out,” Grant says. “Hazel lost a tooth, and I want to see her before she falls asleep.”
“I can give you a ride home,” I say.
They look at me like I’ve interrupted something private between them. I realize too late that I’ve offered before I even know if she needs a ride.
“I mean, if you need a ride, I can… There’s room in our car.”
“I can call a car service,” Blair says.
“It sounds like I don’t have to feel guilty for taking off, then?” Grant asks her. She tells him she’s fine and hugs him goodbye.
“I have a driver,” I tell her. “It’s no problem at all.”.
I want to take her home. I just want a little more time with her. I tell her it will also give her more time with Sophia since we rode together. She hesitates, as though struggling with the implication that she might be taking advantage of the situation until Sophia walks up and tells her she was excited to hear from Grant that we’re giving her a ride home.
eleven
. . .
BLAIR
The silencein this car is killing me. We’ve said nothing to each other since we dropped Sophia off and I gave him my address ten minutes ago.
“So, do you like?—”
“Do you remember?—”
We both start talking at the same time and then laugh.
“Do I remember…what, exactly?” I ask him cautiously. This feels like stepping into our sticky past.
“It’s actually who. That big guy who used to help load all the golf bags onto the carts. Henry, I think his name was?”
“Yes! I haven’t thought about him in years! He was so nice, but also the weirdest person I’ve ever met.” I turn to face him, and he’s already adjusted in his seat to face me.
“He’s a motivational speaker now.”
“NO! You’re lying.”
“Swear it. My buddy Jake is into all that self-improvement stuff. I saw him onstage.” He tells me about his yearly trip with his buddies and how, two years ago, Jake made them all go to an “Attract Your Ideal Mate” session. Wyatt saw the poster board sign for the session in the room next to his, and it was Harry.
He pulls up a photo from his phone and shows me, and I’m taken right back to senior year. God, we had so much fun. We were so close. I didn’t think I would love anyone else but him. It’s fascinating how completely blind you are as a young adult. You really believe you know everything, and you can’t realize how much you don’t understand yet. How much life you absolutely haven’t experienced.
That deep thought has me shifting to face forward in my seat again.
“What made you think of that?” I ask him. It’s a pretty random reference, considering all of the memories from our past that he could have chosen from—or of high school in general.
“I think about that time more than I should.” He stares straight ahead, but I see him lick his lips and swallow like he’s nervous.
“We don’t need to walk down memory lane, Wyatt. We were best friends. I don’t regret being with you, but it’s all in the past. We’ve moved on. We’re different people now.” I wave him off because I thought I’d moved on, but in this car with him, after feeling his hands briefly touch my body a few innocent times tonight, every memory is bombarding me.
“What if I haven’t?”
“Haven’t what?” I look at him, confused.
