Page 71 of Not You Again
I like you, he repeated to himself. And then, because talking to Carly had become so easy, the words slipped out. “I like you, too.”
She gave him a small smile, then reached behind his head and pulled him in. He found the idea of one kiss impossible, though, and moved closer. Adam’s hands found her face and he deepened their connection. How was it that her lips felt so damn good against his? He hardened as she wrapped her arms around his back.
“You two aretogether?” Mayor Franco’s voice was so close that they pulled away. “Or is the impending doom getting your gears going?”
Adam swiped a thumb along his lower lip, where Carly had just been. He looked over at the mayor, who wore a velvet maroon suit and a cowboy hat.
“Ceremony is about to start.” Mayor Franco adjusted her bolo tie. “So either get a room or stop stealing my thunder.”
Adam forced himself to laugh. Carly gave Adam a playful nudge and said, “A room doesn’t sound so bad...”
He had to agree with that. But before he could do anything about it, there was atap tap tapon a microphone.
“I know the mic is working, but I wanted to make sure everyone’s paying attention to me.” The mayor waited for laughter, and some came, so she continued. “I’m just joking but also, totally serious.”
On either side of the mayor were couples—all in septuagenarian-plus territory. As the mayor stood in front of them and espoused the joys of lasting love, Adam couldn’t help but think about his own wedding. It hadn’t been at the Clio Farm, but a local winery. They’d been married under a canopy of hanging green vines while a live cellist played softly. Adam’s dad had sobbed through almost the entire ceremony and been so moved that he couldn’t deliver the wedding speech he’d written.
As Adam surveyed the couples, he wondered how many of them had almost called it quits. Or maybe some of them had, and this was a second or even third marriage. If they were all this old and could still find love, then maybe he would, too, someday.
“Here.” Carly handed him a red cloth, then pointed to his eyes. Which is when he realized he’d been crying. When the hell had that happened?
“Thanks,” he mumbled as he dabbed the tears away.
Was Carly able to read his thoughts and see that he’d been thinking of his own wedding and the life he’d lost?
He should try to find clues as to how to bring back Shireen, shouldn’t he? But once again, Mayor Franco interrupted his thoughts. “You may kiss your partners!” the mayor shouted into the microphone, and the couples did exactly that.
As the ceremony ended, the music cranked up, and Carly handed Adam a glass of champagne from a nearby display. He was about to tell her that they should sober up to visit the library, when a woman with teased, dyed blond hair and big hoop earrings pushed her way through the crowd toward Carly and Adam. She held her hand out to Carly for a handshake. “Name’s Ashley. Julian High Class of 1972. Is it true what they’re saying about the eclipse—once it disappears so will we?”
“We’re all high school sweethearts.” A man with a thick gray beard held hands with another man—judging by the suits, they were recently remarried.
“And best friends!” a petite woman with a short-cropped haircut chimed in.
“Best time of our lives was high school,” Ashley said. “And not just because of our dating, though that certainly helped.”
“Technically, Roger and I got togetheraftercollege,” the gray bearded man said.
“I was dating Kelsey.” Roger pointed to a tall, distinguished woman in a pashmina. “Dennis was dating Ashley.”
“I’m the only woman for Dennis.” Ashley reached back and squeezed Dennis’s hand.
“And if we hadn’t broken up, you’d never have gotten together with Kelsey,” Dennis said.
Kelsey stepped up and gave Ashley a kiss on the forehead. “I’m the only one whodidn’tgo to Julian High,” she said. “Iwent to a private all-girls school in San Diego. But I found my way into this group when I’d come home on the weekends.”
“We’re actually on our way out.” Adam gently guided Carly around the group.
Adam’s head swam with all the interpersonal relationships he’d just been thrown, so he was eager for a break. But before they could properly escape, Dennis and Roger stopped them.
“We just want to know how much time we have left together,” Roger said and gripped Dennis’s hand tighter. “It took us so long to find each other before the loop, and we aren’t ready for our lives to end just yet.”
“I wish I had an answer for you,” Adam said. He couldn’t imagine how hard their lives had been. Julian was a small town; half of the place was liberal and the other conservative. And while marriage for them was legal here, it didn’t mean that everyone supported that. Julian’s politics were part of the reason why Adam’s kiss with Casey had happened under the bleachers, in secret, and only once. He’d venture to guess it was also why Casey had moved to San Francisco, where he could be out and open without as much fear.
So what Adam wanted to be able to tell Dennis and Roger was that they would happily continue in this loop for all eternity with each other. But no one knew what waited on the other side.
Maybe sensing his hesitation, Carly jumped in. “Before the loop, none of us knew how much time we have, right? So maybe it’s best to go back to that way of thinking. If we can all live like there’s no tomorrow, then maybe we won’t have any regrets, no matter what happens.”
No regrets. And what if there really was no tomorrow? He’d spent so much time chasing after the life he’d had, that he hadn’t seen what was waiting in front of him. And now there was Carly. Was he really about to forgo this opportunityto be with her, on the off chance that they might find some valuable information in the next few hours? He didn’t want to waste another moment by not holding her, and tomorrow (if they still had a tomorrow), they could pursue leads on Shireen in earnest.
