Page 8 of Her Maine Squeeze

He gazes into my eyes. “You know what. That day at the dorm.”

“It was a long time ago,” I whisper.

“Yeah,” Oz says. “But a day hasn’t passed that I haven’t been sorry. It’s the moment in my life that I regret the most. I didn’t expect to see you, and I was with another girl, and I panicked. Nothing happened with that girl, by the way. I know it probably doesn’t matter to you now, but I felt so bad about the whole situation that I made her leave right after you left.”

I tie my hair into several knots. “Forget it, Oz. It doesn’t matter now.”But that’s a lie.It still matters to me. Far more than it should.

He pulls his wallet from his back pocket. “I wrote you a note that night. I couldn’t bring myself to mail it, but I’ve always hoped I’d get the chance to give it to you. I know it won’t mean as much now, not after so much time has passed, but I still want you to have it.”

He pulls an old, worn piece of paper out of his wallet and unfolds it. Creases are permanently etched into the paper where the folds had been. It’s obviously been tucked away a long time.

“You haven’t gotten a new wallet in over ten years?” I joke, not sure what to say.

“I’ve gotten one or two since then,” he says, “but I always tuck the letter inside. I’m sorry I didn’t give it to you sooner.”

I take a deep breath and read the note.

Lindy,

I didn’t mean what I said. Not even a little. I think you’re the most beautiful woman in the world. I love the way your hairlooks brown indoors but looks as bright as an autumn leaf in the sunlight. I think a lot of people may not notice that, and I feel bad for them. And they may not notice that your eyes aren’t really brown. They have a bit of green in them and a circle of gold right by your pupils. And most of all, I think people may not notice how funny you are, and how your laughter sounds like music, especially when you’re laughing at something I said.

If Luke wasn’t my best friend, I’d have told you all this a long time ago. But he is my best friend, and you’re in Fog Harbor, and I just got an internship at a big architecture firm in San Franscisco—and that’s cool, but it’s also scary, and so far away from everyone I know. So far away from you—and some things aren’t how I want them to be at all. I want too much. I want everything. Fog Harbor, the internship in California, my friendship with Luke, YOU. Everything I want is at odds with something else. It’s a mess, and I don’t know how to fix it. I guess I’m a jerk, like you said that day on the trampoline. I’m sorry, Lindy. I really, really am.

Maybe things will be different when we’re older. I hope so.

Until then—

Yours, Oz

My eyes flicker from the note to his face. He’s staring at me in earnest.

“Oz,” I say, my voice sounding strangled.

“Charley told me you’re not seeing anyone right now. Is that true?”

“Y-yes.”

His beautiful green eyes gaze into mine. “I think maybe enough time has passed that Luke won’t mind so much if I ask you out on a date. But even if he does, enough time’s passed that I don’t care anymore.”

I swallow thickly. “He’d be a hypocrite if he cared, seeing as how he’s marrying my friend in a few days.”

“So, will you?”

He’s just asking me out on a date, right? “Will I what?”

He smiles. “Go on a date with me? I’ll pick you up after the sandwich shop closes tomorrow, if that works for you?”

“O-okay,” I stammer. I fold the note back into a tiny square. No matter what happens next, I know I’ll cherish his letter for the rest of my life.

Chapter Six

The lunch crush iseven crazier than usual, with a line extending from the counter to the door.This is getting out of hand.

Something has to change around here. I can’t keep doing it on my own. In the summer, maybe I’ll hire a high schooler or two to help out. But what will I do in the next seven months?

The bell above the door chimes, and I look up in time to see Oz walk through the door. He’s wearing a green flannel shirt that brings out the color of his eyes, noticeable even from across the room.But what’s he doing here? Our date isn’t until later.

He pushes his way through the crowd and walks around the counter. Then he goes to the sink and begins washing his hands.

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