Page 57 of Autumn on My Mind

He clears his throat into the sudden silence. “I don’t hate⁠—”

“Your exact words back then were ‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life,’” I cut him off. My voice is soft now that the blaring music has stopped. “That’s what you said. ‘The worst thing I’ve ever heard in my life.’”

“I don’t—it’s not—” He breaks off, sighing. “It’s just—a lot of banjo⁠—”

“Then don’t listen!” I say as something sharp rips my lungs, making it hard to breathe. “Why are you listening if you hate banjo?”

And when his gaze finally meets mine, his eyes seem greener than usual. “I don’t hate it,” he says. “But it was on shuffle, Berkeley. Coincidence.” His throat bobs as he swallows, and then he looks to the side where our parents are still outside the truck. “Let’s get out of this.”

I don’t believe in coincidences—not like this, anyhow. And yet…

Believe him, my mind whispers. Everything will hurt less if you believe him.

So I swallow my protests and nod, because I cannot carry with me the knowledge that we’re going through our lives humming the same songs under our breaths.

“Yeah,” I breathe. “Okay.” I clear my throat and face the window, and then, pitching my voice much higher and speaking as loudly as possible, I say, “Go away!”

Dom lowers his voice too and barks, “Leave us alone. We’re clearly busy.”

“I don’t think so,” Alvina says. “I want a word.”

And then, audacity of audacities, she opens the truck door. The dying light of the evening filters faintly into the back seat, less noticeable than the cool breeze I feel even through the blanket.

“Vee,” Daryl says quickly—he has a cute nickname for her?!—“We can’t invade.”

It’s a good thing he says this, because his words cover up my squeak of terror. My mind has gone completely blank, adrenaline the ruling faction in the Kingdom of Reese, and my heart is racing wildly.

But Dominic?

Somehow, incredibly, Dominic stays cool and steady and composed. As though he’s already taken a moment like this into account, he pulls me closer—so close my sharp breath gets caught between us, no escape. He wraps one arm all the way around me outside the blanket, his other hand moving not over my back but up to my neck, exerting pressure until I tilt my head.

“Come on,” he breathes, the words puffing against my skin. “Pretend we’re kissing.”

“I am,” I breathe back as I relax, letting him guide me.

He pulls my face in, and my lips miss landing against his by a narrow margin; it’s like we’re kissing each others’ cheeks, and my body freezes again, because we are so close.

Alvina says something I’m too dazed to understand, but her voice is growing louder.

“We’ve never kissed this stiffly,” Dominic whispers, and now there’s a note of panic to his voice as his hands tug gently. I can hear it in the silence where the music was blaring before. “Come on⁠—”

I break out of my spell and squish my cheek against his, once again letting him guide me.

And it’s fake. It’s obviously fake. If any part of us is kissing, it’s our cheeks.

Except his hands are moving so naturally over my back and my neck and my half-covered hair, and he’s tilting his head, and mine, too. The air under here is warm and stuffy, uncomfortably so.

But I have no doubt that to Alvina and Daryl, we will appear as lovers in a passionate embrace.

Our charade stretches impossibly long, although in reality it’s maybe only a few seconds; Daryl and Alvina speak under their breaths to each other for a moment, and then the door closes again.

We wait in silence, and although I hear the strains of Alvina’s scandalized voice along with Daryl’s calm, soothing tones, neither of them knock on the window again. It’s only when we hear their car start that I fling the blanket away, desperate for the cool touch of air against my skin.

“That was close,” he breathes, and I nod frantically, trying to catch my breath.

Quiet stillness falls between us, more peaceful now that Alvina and Daryl are gone, and in the waning light I see the rise and fall of Dom’s chest matching mine.

He wiggles his leg and speaks. “You’re still on my lap.” He raises a brow at me. “Trying to make it last?”