“Don’t smother him! What if he runs? We all know Eli isn’t finding another man good enough for him anytime soon,” Jess jokes, ruffling my hair as she plops down on the other side of the table from us. Kyle gives me a smirk as he follows her, waving at Rowan.
“My bad, I didn’t know having standards was acrime,” I shoot back.
“Was it standards, or the inability to accept affection?”
“Jessica!” Mom chastises, finding her own seat directly across from mine with Dad beside her.
“Ignore her,” Carrie says, appearing from thin air with Jeff behind her. “He was clearly just waiting for you, Rowan.”
She has no idea how seriously Rowan is taking those words.
He smirks, extending a hand to her and Jeff as they greet each other.“I consider myself incredibly lucky that Eli thought every other man he encountered before me was too boring for him.”
“You must be very fun, then,” Carrie giggles.
“Car!” Jeff yells at the same time that I say,
“Dude!”
Rowan laughs, pulling my chair back out for me to sit as Carrie takes a seat next to me.
“So,” he starts. “How was everyone’s flight?”
Rowan’s question breaks the tension, and everyone chatters away at once. I find Rowan’s eyes darting back and forth, clearly finding it difficult to keep up with the steady flow of conversation.
“It’s always like this,” I whisper.
Rowan nods.“I can see why you were so overwhelmed.”
“You’re telling me.”
“Ky, I dare you to snort this sugar.” Jeff grabs the jar from one of the two condiment racks situated on the tables, and I roll my eyes.
“If you don’t, I get to shop at that antique store we passed on our way in,” Jess adds, and Kyle pours a line of the sugar onto the table in front of him before promptly snorting it.
“Now, how do you know how to do that?” Dad asks, and everyone busts up laughing.
Rowan is dragged into a conversation revolving around the repair of the old car Dad bought on eBay, and I feel Carrie’s finger poke at my thigh.
“I’m glad it all worked out, Eli,” she whispers. “I told you—love at first sight.”
I just grin, leaning my head onto her shoulder. She tenses briefly at the rare show of affection from me, but relaxes moments later, soaking it in.
I find it kind of funny how unaware everyone around me is. How no one here knows what Rowan and I do about our past life.
They see us and see their previously detached son who finally found his person, and the slightly socially awkward boyfriend. They see a miracle.
Little do they know—it’s probably fate.Probably.
And I’m not keeping it from everyone on purpose. It’s mostly because I wouldn't knowhowto explain it. Not only would they probably think I’m crazy, but aside from the one vision I had and the happy memories Rowan has, we know nothing else.
We have no clue what actually put us on that bridge, or if we both died when we hit the bottom. Though we both decided it’s not important—we are content never knowing.
As long as we have each other now, it doesn’t matter.
I do wonder, sometimes. I hold a guilt I can’t shake, a pain that’s lingered ever since that day at the festival—and I do wish I could rid myself of it.
But I digress.
