Page 66 of Ember Meadow
The roar of the rain and blasts of thunder are all I can hear as I pull up to the Old Cabin. I almost don’t hit my brakes fast enough to see the pickup truck in front of me, parked in the gravel drive.
Miles is back.
Chapter 25
Am I Okay?
My heart skips abeat, sending a rush of excitement through me before I remember I’m mad at him.
Miles kissed me and then ghosted me. Miles was an ass to me when I got here, and for a while after. Miles wasmarriedand didn’t tell me.
The soft glow of light shines through the windows on the front of the house. I debate going in or not. If I go in, I’ll be soaked and risk getting hit by lightning or something ridiculous. If I go in, I’ll have to see Miles. I’m not sure I’m ready for that.
Movement at the front door catches my eye. Miles is standing in the door frame, looking serious as always in his signature outfit of a black t-shirt and jeans. He yells something that looks like my name and steps towards the porch steps.
The rain soaks his hair and shoulders as he runs out to my car. He shields his eyes from the downpour. He opens my door and I slip out of the car quickly. Icy rain drops sting my skin as Miles puts an arm around me, guiding me to the covered porch. His body shields me from the rain a bit, warming my side.
We run towards the direction of the porch, my boots covered in mud by the time I get there. It’s not until I’m up the steps and out of the rain that I look up, right into Miles’s golden brown eyes.
About two inches from my face.
“Are you okay?” He says, searching my face. Am I okay? Not when he’s looking at me like this.
His black waves fall over his forehead a bit. I’m not used to seeing him without a backwards baseball cap or cowboy hat. I immediately melt inside in his presence, like ice cream on a hot day. We are breathing the same air and it feels a little too intimate for how confused I am about him right now. Too close proximity.
I step back a step, putting some distance between us. Disappointment flickers on his face as he fights the urge to step back towards me. He stays rooted in his spot, shoving his hands into his pockets as if he’s restraining himself.
“I’m fine,” I start, “I couldn’t make it back to my cabin with the rain, so I stopped here until it passes.” He nods, sagging with relief. “What areyoudoing here?”
Miles is here, at the cabin at night. With absolutely no reason to be here. In the middle of a thunderstorm.
He pauses for a minute, looking down at his boots. “I was looking for you. When you weren’t here, I started on the floors again.”
His gaze finds me again. I nod, pressing my lips into a thin line. A flashback of the last time we were on this porch passes through my mind. His lips on mine, my hands bunched up in his shirt. I wish I could go back to that moment. Before he left without a word. Blissfully unaware of anything he was hiding from me.
I wish I could just grab him by the shirt right now and pull him towards me. Feel his short beard brush my cheeks, run my fingers through his hair. It’d be so easy.
I stare down at my feet, hoping he can’t somehow read my mind. My hair is plastered to my head. I brush a couple of wet strands off of my face, more dark brown than red in the rain. Miles clears his throat, his eyes darting over to the door, and I feel like I’ve given myself away.
“Well, I’m here now. What can I do for you?” I ask.
“I was hoping we could talk.”
“Now you want to talk to me? Okay, let’s start with why I haven’t heard from you in a week.” I cross my arms, looking at him expectantly. He shifts on his feet a bit.
“I’m sorry for not calling.” His gaze fixates on me as he reaches for my hand. The pressure of his fingers on my palm is a calming presence.
I pull my hand out of his grip, not ready to move on from my frustration quite yet. It’s bubbling to the surface after brewing deep down all week long. “I thought you were different. For some reason, I thought maybe this time it didn’t have to be a physical attraction. I actuallylikedyou. Can you believe it? I can’t.” Miles’s eyes widen, his jaw going slack. “But you saved me a lot of time, actually, so I should be thanking you. This was a great reminder why I don’t do relationships.”
“I know you don’t do relationships, Katie. I know that. And Ionlydo relationships. That guy you met in Utah? That wasn’t me. That’s the only one night stand I’ve ever had in my life, and I hated that I couldn’t see you after. It was like a knife twisting in my gut for weeks. So trust me when I say I’m truly sorry for doing the same thing to you.” The pain in his eyes is so real, I reel back a bit. His cheeks warm slightly, as if he didn’t mean to say that but couldn’t hold it in.
“You could have seen me after, I left you my phone number,” I say softly.
“No, you didn’t. You left me a note, but there was no number on it. I would know, I looked everywhere on that thing and it wasn’t there.”
Holy shit. This whole time I just thought he didn’t call because he didn’t want to see me again.
“Oh,” I say as he steps closer to me. Always chasing each other absentmindedly like magnets, attracted without thinking about it. If I take a step, he follows. If he takes a step, I crash into him.
