Softer. Warmer.
Older.
I pause, hand still on the cooler lid, and glance back over my shoulder.
She tilts her head slightly, studying me like I’m the interesting one here. “You’re just going to grab a beer and leave without saying hi?”
There’s a hint of amusement in her tone. Like she knows exactly what just happened. I let out a slow breath and turn back fully, pushing the cooler lid closed.
“Didn’t want to interrupt anything,” I say.
“You’re not.” She lifts her bottle slightly. “Just hiding.”
I huff out a quiet laugh. “Yeah. That obvious?”
“A little.” Her lips curve. “You’ve never liked big crowds.”
That stops me. Because she remembers that.
I step a little closer, leaning back against the fridge this time, putting a safe amount of space between us. “You always were observant.”
“Still am.”
There’s a beat of silence. Not awkward. Just… charged. And I don’t like that.
I clear my throat. “You look—” I cut myself off before I finish that sentence the wrong way. “Different.”
Her smile deepens, like she hears the part I didn’t say. “I hope so.”
I run a hand over the back of my neck. “Yeah. I mean—college’ll do that.”
“Not just college.”
Something in the way she says it makes my chest tighten. I glance at her again—really look this time—and it hits me all over again.
She’s not a kid. Not even close. And that realization is exactly why I need to get out of this garage.
I push off the fridge. “I should—uh—get back out there. Your dad’s probably wondering where I went.”
“Garrison.”
My name again. I stop. She hops down from the ladder, landing softly on the concrete, and takes a step toward me. Not too close. Just enough.
“You always do that,” she says.
“Do what?”
“Avoid things.”
I raise a brow. “That so?”
“Yeah.” She takes a small sip of her drink, eyes never leaving mine.
I let out a low breath, half amused, half uneasy. “You think you’ve got me figured out?”
“I think…” She hesitates, just for a second. Then— “I think you don’t give yourself enough credit.”
There’s something about the way she says it. Like she thinks she knows me. I’ve never seen her act this—forward. But I cannot afford to read more into this situation than what is actually there.
