One night on my way to have dinner with Reid’s parent’s, I stop by the liquor store on the corner before their neighborhood for some wine. He’s coming home soon, and as much as I want him all to myself, I know his parents have missed him too. So, we’re getting together to work out a plan so that we can all see him.
Finally.
Over the years, Reid and I have stopped at this store a dozen times. I never have the nerve to go inside. I’ve definitely never been here by myself. I don’t even like waiting in the car when I’m with Reid. It’s just a store. A store that looks very different and far less intimidating during the day than it did that night nearly five years ago.
The only empty parking spot is on the side of the building, so I pull up and turn in. Both my hands involuntarily grip the steering wheel until my knuckles are white. My pulse is drumming in my ears. I force myself to let go of the wheel and take the keys out of the ignition. Deep breaths.
The car door creaks open, and I ease my way out. The sun is shining. Birds are chirping. Around the corner of the red brick wall, I hear two men laughing and then the crank of an engine and muffled rap music. There’s nothing to be afraid of. The black SUV has been long gone—if it was ever even there to begin with.
It’s hard to believe a figment of my imagination could haunt my dreams, but bright blue eyes and lifeless bodies crept their way in to my slumber for months after that night.
If I close my eyes, I can still see him, the shadows of him at least. I can feel him, as if he’s still standing there. Here. Right behind this building. He’s part of the reason I am who I am today. He’s part of the reason I chose to learn to save lives for a living. I should’ve helped him. I should’ve stayed. Curiosity gets the best of me, and I have to peek. I have to see if it looks the same as in my dreams. I need to know if it was all in my head or if he’s still out there in the world somewhere—still full of pain, still full of anger.
The moment I round the corner to the back of the store, it all comes rushing back. Flooding. Like the dam has just been broken. A chill runs up my spine at the memory.
I need to grab my wine and get the hell out of here. Every time I bring up the night that ultimately led to the beginning of our relationship, Reid blames it on the alcohol and tells me I dreamed it all up. He laughs and tells me with an imagination like mine, I should write novels. He might be right, but that doesn’t stop the eerie feeling I’m getting right now as I stand in that same parking lot.
Today is the day Reid comes home.
I must have played the scene over a hundred times in my mind as I tossed and turned and hugged my pillow tight last night: what will I wear, what will I say, how will he look, will he be excited too?
Reid’s parents offered to drive to the airport, since we all knew I would be too wound up to form a complete sentence, much less drive. Brynn and Ryleigh followed behind us. Once we get there, the Judge and Mrs. Landry wait for Reid outside his gate while I stay hidden downstairs. Each of the four of them hold a sheet of paper with one letter of his name printed on one side as they watch for him to exit the plane.
As I wait for them to find me, my entire body is shaking, my palms are sweaty, and my heart is pounding fast. I look out among the sea of faces, a balanced mixture of excitement and regret. People begin spilling from the wide aisles of white, tiled floors into the baggage claim area where I wait. Judge Landry’s familiar voice bounces off the sleek marble, overshadowing the soft, classical music playing overhead. I ignore the curious glances of strangers as they approach the carousel where I am currently sitting sideways on top of a camouflage duffel bag. As it makes its third trip around the circular conveyor belt, I am unable to sit still any longer.
Then I see him.
I swear my heart could sprout wings and fly right out of my chest at the sight of him. All the sounds of the busy airport disappear, and all I hear is the sound of my breath as my chest heaves with each swell of my lungs.
Reid stops dead in his tracks the moment he spots me. He shifts his weight, dropping his carry-on bag to the floor. As he watches me, a wide grin slowly spreads across his flawless face. I can’t take my eyes off him even though I’m about to make my fourth trip around the back side of this luggage merry-go-round. When the belt finally brings me to the front, Reid is standing there waiting.
I smile, but it doesn’t seem worthy of the happiness I’m feeling. “Hey stranger.”
He takes a step forward and walks with me as I move. “That is a beautiful sight. Why don’t you take that fine ass off my bag and show me you love me?”
Gladly. I hop off the bag and into his arms. He picks me up and squeezes me tight as he nuzzles his face in the crook of my neck and inhales deeply. His body is hard and warm and... home, and he smells deliciously masculine. He lifts his head and looks into my eyes.
“I want to kiss you so fucking bad right now, but I’m afraid once I start, I won’t want to stop,” he whispers.
“Kiss me anyway,” I whisper back.
My words have barely reached his ears when his lips are on mine, his tongue commanding the attention of my own. His hands slide up my thighs and under my butt as the kiss deepens.
Brynn clears her throat, snapping me out of my lust-filled trance.
Reid moves his mouth from mine but keeps his face planted directly in front of me. “See what I mean?”
The entire ride to his house, he keeps one arm draped over my shoulder, holding me close against him. He entertains conversation with his parents but never takes his hands off me.
“Your father thought we could go to dinner,” his mom says as we pull in the Landry’s driveway. Reid’s childhood home is the kind most kids dream of growing up in. Set back from the curb, the stately red brick walls and perfectly manicured lawn look like a picture pulled from the pages of a magazine. Tall, white, concrete columns spaced evenly across the long front porch and arched windows stretching as tall as the pine trees in front of them look proudly out into the secluded neighborhood.
“I kinda thought we’d just hang out at our apartment tonight,” he says, glancing at me.
She looks over her shoulder with a combined expression of both condemnation and love that only a mother can pull off. “You probably haven’t had a decent meal in ten months. Now, humor your mother and come to dinner.”
I giggle at the low groan that escapes him as he swallows hard and looks over at me. “Do you mind?”
I shake my head. There’s no way I’m arguing with the mom look.