Page 27 of The Way Home
Jeremy popped up until he was sitting on his knees with a gleam in his eyes. “Yeah, really?”
“Really. I just need to get dressed and brush my teeth.”
Jeremy gave me a high five, our hands smacking loudly together. “Hell, yeah! This is going to be great. Thank you!”
He hopped out of the room, leaving me chuckling in his wake. Getting out of here was probably a good idea for both of us.
I stared at the clothes I packed, not sure what to wear, but decided to go casual. It wasn’t like this was a date or anything, because it absolutely was not. Once I was dressed in my faded blue jeans and hoodie, I went out to the living room and found Jeremy wearing an extremely tight navy henley shirt that did nothing to hide his muscled arms and chest. Of course, he paired it with skinny jeans that did the same glorious work for his bottom half. It was hard not to stare, but at least I managed not to drool.
Jeremy did the full up-down on me, even though my rather unmuscled body was covered by my loose hoodie and straight-leg pants. When he read my hoodie, he smiled. I had to look down to see which one I’d picked out. It had a picture of Pluto, the former planet, not the dog, and it read, ‘Pluto, still a planet in my heart.’
“God, you’re cute!” Jeremy said with a soft laugh and a shake of his head.
My chest warmed at the compliment and how easily it fell from his lips. Another one of those things that would spoil me for anyone else. He set the bar high, and he did it without even trying. “Thanks, I guess. It’s just a silly science thing.”
“So what? You like science, and I like hearingyoutalk about science. You get all hyped about it, and it’s adorable. There’s nothing wrong with that.” Jeremy winked and made the butterflies in my belly wake up again. Though they never fully went dormant around him.
“Welp.” I popped my lips with all I could say without blurting out something really sappy or ridiculous.
Jeremy simply laughed and nudged my shoulder. “Come on, let’s go. I’m dying to see if Sal’s Pizza is still open. I’ve had the biggest craving for their cheeseburger pizza. I haven’t been able to find one anywhere else.”
“You know you could just order a cheeseburger, I’m pretty sure you can get those anywhere.”
Jeremy drew in a loud gasp and put his hand to his chest. “How dare! It’s not the same thing, and I will fight anyone who says otherwise.”
I held my hands up in surrender. “Please accept my sincerest apologies for insinuating you could have a cheeseburger by itself instead of some monstrous hybrid situation.”
“It’s not monstrous, it’s chemistry, darling. You should appreciate the combining of different elements to make something entirely new.”
Pursing my lips to hide my smile, I said, “I hate it when you use science against me.”
When he got to the driver side of his car, he looked over the roof at me. “You know you love it.”
Sigh. I did, actually. And just like that, it felt like we were right back to that first summer together. I’d fought it for so long. Being in his presence had only brought pain at the missing what we once had and knowing it could never be. In this moment, though, I couldn’t figure out why. After letting my defenses down and letting him in, I felt safe with him. But then we were in this little bubble alone. What would happen when we leave, and he goes back to his hundreds of lovers, and I try to find someone who could never compare to him?
Settling into the passenger seat, I slid a glance over to him. Jeremy seemed perfectly content and happy, and damn, if it didn’t make me want to feel the same. Perhaps, for now, I could let go of whatever the future might bring and simply enjoy being in the now with him. We had so much more than just a sexual connection when we were younger. I loved spending time with him. Then… and now. And, damn it, didn’t I deserve to enjoy myself for once?
“You okay over there?” Jeremy asked as he started the car.
“Yeah. I think I am.” I leaned my head back against the seat and felt my lips curve upward.
Jeremy drove down the long driveway and his hand landed on my leg, giving it a light squeeze. I let his hand stay there, enjoying the touch, knowing he wouldn’t try to slide it up, pushing for it to be something other than a mere connection between us. Jeremy might flirt or tease, but he never pushed.
Eventually, I moved my hand to rest on top of his, not locked together, just as a way to hold that connection. We finally pulled into town, and I had this strange stirring seeing the familiar buildings and streets, especially with Jeremy at my side.
I’d gotten away as quickly as possible after high school, needing to put space between us so I could breathe. When we came to the cabin for the holidays, we didn’t usually come this far into town, staying closer to Pathfinders Lake.
“Wow. Everything looks the same,” I said softly as I stared out the window.
“Mostly. I think there’s been a few changes. Oh! Remember the arcade we used to go to?”
One side of my lips tipped up. We spent a lot of time at the arcade that summer. It was one of the few places to go in town, aside from the church. “Yeah, I remember.”
“Well, I hate to tell you, but JP is gone.”
Our favorite games had been the dark two-player kind that had curtains around them to help immerse you into the experience, like the oldJurassic Parkgame where you were supposed to drive the jeep while you shot at the dinosaurs giving chase.
We would load it full of credits and let the raptors tear us to pieces again and again as we made out in the semi-privacy of the enclosed game. We never had any hope of getting on the best scores list, but we couldn’t possibly care less about it. Not when we came out of the game with lips swollen, and hair mussed.There was no hiding what we’d been up to in it, but we were too young and hormonal to give a shit.
