Page 26 of Moving Forward

I nod so I don’t have to tell him the truth—especially since I’m not sure what the truth is. If anything, I’m hot. The warmth bubbling underneath my skin is like my own personal space heater.

“Then you should get inside.” He holds up a hand to stop me when I start to take his sweater off. “No, you keep it. It looks better on you, anyway.”

I blush and immediately turn away, praying that the glare of the lights from the house hides it.

“Are you doing anything tomorrow morning?” he asks.

“It’s almost morning, isn’t it?” I reply, trying to sound sly. I’m obviously failing. My voice is shaking because I know what he’s asking and I’m stalling. I don’t want to have to say yes or no. I do anyway. “No, I’m not.”

“Early morning?”

“How early?”

“I’d pick you up around five.”

“Very early morning,” I admit.

He chuckles beneath his breath. “I’ll bring coffee. Does that make it better?”

It doesn’t matter what he brings. My answer would be the same. “Yes.”

###

Thankfully, I manage to avoid the festivities inside. The rest of the family has arrived, judging by the commotion. As I creep down the hall to Ellie’s bedroom, I can only hope she’s downstairs with them, reconnecting. But when I push open her door, I find her on her bed beneath the covers. I’m not sure if she’s asleep.

I bring Cain’s shirt up for another smell, relaxation spreading through me. Who says I should have to take it off? I remove my bikini top and bottom and put on a pair of pajama shorts in case one of the guests accidentally stumbles in. I fall down on the bed and squeeze my eyes shut. If I’m lucky, I won’t spend the entire night replaying tonight over and over and over like I’ve been doing since the moment Cain said Bye, Max.

I focus on those words. The way he said my name—it was like he’d said it a thousand times already. Like he cherishes my name. Maybe cherishes me.

And maybe, just maybe, I’m okay with that.

“Max?” Ellie whispers into the darkness.

I turn over onto my side so I can see her. She’s facing me, her eyes bright in the dark. “Yeah?” I ask warily.

“I’m sorry.”

“I know, El,” I tell her, even though I’m not sure if she really is. She’d said that last time and here she is tonight, acting just as miffed.

Silence fills the air. The things she hasn’t said yet hang in the air between us. “What else?”

She sighs. “I’m just . . . next time I’ll try harder to be nice. I know you don’t make many friends anymore, so I guess he has to be pretty special for you to be spending time with him. Just don’t forget what he did, okay?”

“I won’t, Ellie, I promise.”

“And you guys are just friends, right?”

“Only friends,” I reassure her.

“Okay,” she says slowly, unsure. Clearly I didn’t sound as convincing as I thought. “You’ll tell me if anything happens or changes between you two?”

“Nothing will,” I promise.

If only I wanted to keep that promise.

###

“Why is your alarm going off this early?” Ellie groans, rolling over and pulling a pillow over her head.

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