Page 13 of The Way Home
I stopped a foot behind him, my feet pressing into the dock, trying to withstand the final pull. What was I supposed to do or say?
At last, Jeremy tilted his head back to look up at me. “I was starting to think you ditched me.”
My throat tightened up at the sight of the sun shining off his skin and the way he looked from this angle. My mouth opened but nothing came out. I folded my arms over my chest as a shield and shrugged.
Jeremy simply chuckled and shook his head. “Well, I'm glad you made it. It's been lonely sitting here all by myself.” He patted the spot beside him. “Come on, have a seat. I promise not to bite… this time.”
I had no reason not to, not after coming all this way. Toeing my shoes off and sticking my socks inside them, I inched closer and sat beside him, leaving as much space as possible. The cool water hit my feet, surprising me at first, but then an overwhelming sense of nostalgia came with it.
Jeremy nudged my shoulder with his. “Not so bad, is it?”
A surprisingly contented sigh fell from my lips. I didn't dare look at him, keeping my eyes locked on the water. We sat in silence for a moment, and it could have been peaceful if not for my heart clamoring in my chest.
Jeremy clicked his tongue. “What's going on in that smart head of yours?” When I hesitated to answer, I could feel him shift toward me, and he let out a loud, “Holy shit!”
I turned quickly to face him. “What?”
His eyes were locked onto my shirt. “Don't just ‘what’ me! Not when you’re covered in blood.”
I followed his gaze and realized I smeared blood on my shirt when I crossed my arms a moment ago. The cut on my arm had been a welcome distraction during my walk here, but seeing Jeremy made me forget all about it. “Oh, right. That.”
He got on his knees and lifted my arm. “What the hell happened?”
I tried to pull my arm back, but he kept a hold on it. He would have let go if I'd put any heart into it, but I didn't. Couldn't. Not when it washimtouching me. “It's nothing.”
“Your shirt and your arm don't look like nothing, man. What happened?” The concern on his face was wearing down my resolve.
“Tree branch. I'm fine. It's just superficial, really.”Please don't stop touching me. The thought surprised me, but damn, his hand felt good on my skin, especially combined with the nostalgia of the place and the water licking at my ankles.
“Shit, Riley. If I'd known you were going to fight a tree, I wouldn't have left you. We should probably get back and get it cleaned up.”
Sure. That sounded completely logical, only now that I was finally here, I found I wasn’t quite ready to leave. “Maybe in a bit.”
He arched that brow of his, though I could see a light twinkle behind his eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Not really, no. But… also, I think, yes.”
Jeremy let out a laugh. It was such a beautiful sound, and I found myself staring at him. “Glad we got that cleared up. Whenever you're ready, you let me know. Or I can run back and get some first aid stuff for you.”
He would, too. And it would be a piece of cake for him. Run a couple miles here, back, here again. No biggie. But I didn't want him to leave me yet. “No. It's fine. I'll just use my shirt for now, since it's already ruined.”
I hesitated for a moment, again faced with the idea of being too exposed next to a physically perfect specimen, but I really didn't want to leave yet. With a sigh, I pulled off my shirt and wrapped it around my arm. Admittedly, there was more blood than I was expecting, but it was too late to change my mind. The shirt was done for anyway, just another in a long line of clothing casualties.
I slid a glance over to Jeremy who was watching me carefully. Well… here we were. Two dudes who used to fuck who became brothers sitting in a nostalgic and romantic spot. “Now what?”
Jeremy
Ihad to laugh. Riley looked like one of those sad pound puppies in the commercials asking for donations. Lost, uncomfortable, wounded, and yet a little bit of hope behind his eyes. I wanted to pull him in close and wrap my arms around him. Not yet, though. We weren't there yet, even if I wished we were. At least he wasn't running away. He stayed. Rileywantedto stay.
“Now, we talk. You can't go slinking off and closing a door between us.”
Riley bobbed his head as he kept his gaze locked on the water at his feet. His were completely submerged, while my toes barely dipped into the water. His long legs were on display, and I wished I could run my hands over them.Nope. Focus, Jeremy.
I gave Riley a minute to see if he would start things off, but it looked like it was up to me. “What brings you out here? I thought you didn’t visit the cabin except for holidays.”
He gave me a sidelong look for a moment before returning his concentration on the water. “Like I said…things have been rough for a while. Pretty much all the way around. Jobs in my field are harder to come by than I expected. Housing… well… it helps to have a job, and relationships…”
Riley clamped his mouth shut. I wasn't thrilled to hear about his love life, but if we were going to find a way forward, we had to carve away at this wall between us. “It's okay, Ri, we can talk about this stuff. We're both adults here.”
