Page 12 of Remember Me

I pouted out my bottom lip. “You’re no fun.” That was a lie if I’d ever heard one before. Alyssa was lots of fun. Whether we were working together and fighting about paint colors during the day or making up at night, I had more fun with this woman than any other person in the world.

“We’re there to support your friends, not find a new place to fuck.”

“That’s what you think,” I muttered, noting the time on the map. “Wait, are we driving for another twenty minutes? If I had known how far they lived, I would’ve told them to hitchhike to the airport.”

“Aiden,” Alyssa warned. “They’re apartment is on the way. Would’ve been stupid to drive past them.”

“Really? I think it would’ve been fun to wave. Maybe taunt them a little bit.”

“You’re insufferable.”

“And yet you chose me.”

I rested my hand on her thigh, palm up in offering. She looked down at it for a second and then clasped her hand in mine.

“I did, and I always will.”

She squeezed my hand as if I needed reassurance that she’d always pick me. We were inevitable. Soul mates even after death. She was stuck with me in whatever life she lived and if she thought she could do anything to stop that, she was sorely mistaken.

“Oh, there they are,” Alyssa said, waving through the glass to our alleged friends standing on the side of the road. If it weren’t for the sleek, modern condo building with the ridiculous ocean view behind them, they’d look like hitchhikers.

Wait a minute…

“Isthiswhere they live?”

Alyssa nodded, a smug smile of satisfaction on her face. “Told you it was nice.”

I pulled to a stop, admiring the contemporary architecture. It wasn’t as insane as the kind of places I was used to building with my father, but it was clean, stylish, and in a clearly expensive and sought-after neighborhood. Admittedly, it was probably one of the best places you could live without being obscenely rich, not that I’d tell them that.

“I thought they were just influencers?”

“Justinfluencers?” Alyssa snorted. “Thea has one of the most listened to podcasts in the country. They aren’tjustinfluencers. They’re a powerhouse and perfect for each other.”

“Kind of like you and me.”

I glanced over at her as I eased the car to the side of the street beside our friends.

She turned to me with a soft and certain smile, and that face. I wanted to propose to her again, but I held back. Mainly because I did it at least once a month just in case she changed her mind.

Alyssa seemed to be under the impression that she didn’t need a ring or a change in last name to be mine. Unfortunately, I was selfish and wanted every last piece of her.

Knock. Knock.

“Hey guys!” Jackson said, tapping the car window, interrupting me. I guessed I’d just have to wait another day before popping the question again.

“Watch the damn glass!” I yelled, glaring at my heavy-handed friend from behind the wheel. He didn’t care. He was too busy smiling like a fool with his girlfriend beside him. Jackson was an idiot before he started dating Thea, but apparently after had made him worse.

I was already regretting my decision to pick them up based on how excitedly they were looking at the car. Correction:Ihadn’t decided to pick them up... Alyssa had.

She thought it would be nice to catch up, play the friendly couple, and do the whole nostalgic reunion thing. I, on the other hand, wanted to drag her into the backseat and fuck her until the rest of the world forgot we existed.

I pressed the button to pop the trunk open to make space for their luggage.

“Where are your suitcases?” Jackson asked through the car, and I rolled my eyes.

“They’ve already been dropped off at the airport.”

“Oooh, fancy pants,” Thea cooed as Jackson pushed the trunk down forcefully making me cringe. He wasn’t supposed to do that, it’s fucking automatic, but if I yell at Jackson then Alyssa might not let me finger her on the flight and I sure as hell wanted to finger her.

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