Page 102 of Pieces of Me

“She’s helped you a lot, right?” I shrug. “I figure, it can’t hurt to ask what I can do to help you in the same way.”

“Holden…” I lose my footing, and the towel, when Jamie—in all her naked glory—throws me against the counter. She’s already unbuttoned my jeans when she asks, “Do we have time for a blowie?”

“No,” I laugh out, smacking her hand away. “Mia said to be there on time. She’s cooking so…”

Jamie drops her hand and rolls her eyes, mumbling, “Fine,” as she picks up the towel, dries herself off. “But when we get home. Your dick. My mouth. Best friends.”

41

Holden

Jamie giggles as she sits in the passenger’s seat, tapping away at her phone.

“Who the fuck’s got you smiling like that?” I ask.

“Dean.” The tapping continues. “He’s sending me these memes.”

I glance at her quickly, my eyes narrowed as I pull into Mia’s driveway. “Maybe don’t look so happy when you’re texting him.”

She drops the phone to her lap. “Aw, are you jealous?” she teases, reaching up to stroke my hair, maybe even my ego.

“Yes,” I admit, coming to a stop. I face her, adding, “Why isn’t he sendingmeany memes?”

Jamie busts out a laugh as she pushes open the door. “I’ll create a group…” she trails off, and I follow her eyes to Mia’s front porch.

“Mom? Holy shit!” As ridiculous as it is, I rush out of the car and hurry toward her. I haven’t seen her in months now, the longest we’ve ever gone, and I missed her. Sure, we spoke or texted almost daily, but it’s not the same. I race up the porch steps and hug her tight, lifting her off her feet. “I thought you weren’t coming back for another two weeks!”

She laughs as I put her back on solid ground, her smile matching mine. She looks different. More tanned. Fresher. As if shereallyneeded that time away. “I wanted to surprise you!” she tells me, just as Joseph and Benny open the door. I greet Joseph with a quick handshake while Benny climbs onto my back.

“Did you cut the trip short, or…”

“We’re going back,” Mom says, shaking her head. “I was just missing…” she trails off, her gaze locking on the porch steps.

Jamie stands at the bottom, chewing her bottom lip as she looks between all of us. “Jamie, you remember my mom,” I say stupidly. Of course she does. I motion to Joseph. “And this is Joseph.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she tells him, slowly climbing the steps.

Mia and Leo exit the house now, and Mia says, “You’ve met Dad before.”

I look at Jamie, seeing her eyes widen just slightly. “I have?” she asks quietly.

Confused, I switch my gaze between Jamie, Mia, and Joseph, again and again. “Yeah,” Mia says. “He was with me when I visited you at your work.”

“Right.” Jamie nods. “I forgot about that.”

For seconds, we just stand in awkward silence, and I’m not really sure why. “Well, it’s good to see you again, Jamie,” Mom says, her voice soft, her eyes the same. “Holden told me you were seeing each other again.”

Seeing each other?Those three words don’t really do what Jamie and I have justice. I mean, she’sliving with me. I’ve spoken to Mom many times about Jamie in the past month, and she’s always seemed supportive of us. Maybe I read her wrong.

Maybe it’s harder for my mom to forgive Jamie, especially since she was the only one left to pick up the pieces when Jamie took off.

After a beat, Jamie looks at me, and then my mom, and she smiles, but I know it’s fake. Maybe she’s nervous like I was with Gina. Only with Gina, I had time to prepare. Jamie didn’t. “It’s good to see you, too, Mrs. Kovács,” she says.

Benny slaps his open palms on my head, breaking the tension. “Can I show you all the presents Papa bought me?” he asks, leaning forward to try to look at my face. “They got me lots of puzzles!”

“Sure, buddy.”

I wait for everyone else to re-enter the house and hang back with Jamie a second. “Are you good?”

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