Read Online Don’t Forget to Remember Me by Kahlen Aymes - Free Book Online Page B

you call…or text, as
the case may be.”
    “Sounds weird.”
    “You’re the queen of texting. We do it
constantly.”
    “Really? Hmmm…” Ryan smiled and nodded. I
shoved the remaining two thirds of my burger at him. “Want
this?”
    He smiled and picked it up. “Like you needed
to ask.” He took a big bite and I grabbed another onion ring. It
felt easy being with him even though I barely knew him. He picked
up the soda and took a pull on the straw. “Don’t worry, I don’t
have cooties.”
    I laughed. “Something tells me I would have
your cooties by now if you did.”
    His lips parted in a big grin.
“Definitely.”
    “So…are you going to tell me about us?” I
asked hesitantly. He sat back a little and met my eyes. Ryan didn’t
seem in a rush to answer, like he was considering what to say.
    “We’ve known each other since our freshman
year in undergrad.”
    “Ellie told me that much.
But we share food and cooties , so…what else?”
    He smiled and took another bite, and
shrugged. “Like I said, we’ve known each other a long time. We
don’t think we should tell you too much. It will be safer for you
to remember everything on your own. Can’t you just trust me?” His
comments were light and offhanded.
    “That’s just it.” I rubbed
my wrist and his eyes followed my movements. “I do trust you, even
though I know nothing about you, but I’m curious . You can’t know how frustrating it
is not to know about your own life.”
    “I told you today, we’re close. You’ve been
my best friend since the minute we met, okay?” He plopped the last
little bit of the hamburger down on the wrapper and went to the
sink to wash his hands.
    “How did we meet?” I asked. He was telling
me some of it so I decided to keep on until he put a stop to
it.
    “In Psych 101. Waste of academic effort. You
couldn’t stand that class.”
    “Really?”
    “Yeah. I didn’t like it either, except we
used to write notes on each other’s notebooks. I can’t tell you too
much or you’ll laugh and hurt yourself.”
    I couldn’t help but smile at the expression
on his face, but then he turned serious and looked intently into my
eyes. I had a strong urge to touch him and wished that he would
come closer so that I could.
    “Hmmm…so best friends, huh?”
    He licked his lips and looked away.
“Yep.”
    “Like how?” I kept pushing, watching the
emotions flit across his face. He had a very strong brow and jaw
line, a perfectly straight nose. My heart sped up as my eyes fell
to the full lips.
    “Are you feeling okay? Does your head still
hurt, honey?” Ryan asked.
    “No, it doesn’t. Why won’t you answer me?” I
persisted with a frown.
    “Julia. Let’s just concentrate on getting
you better, hmm?” He scooted closer and brushed his thumb along my
chin, electricity shot through me like a rocket. “There is plenty
of time for finding out about the past.”
    Ugh! “Why won’t you
tell me? Were we pals? Friends with benefits?” His eyes widened and
he drew back slightly. “Distant acquaintances?”
    “No, no and no .” He stood up. “Ready
for that walk?”
    “Tell me. Then I’ll walk.”
    “Julia, you’re going to be
the death of me. What part of we don’t want to influence
your memory don’t you understand?” His voice
was coaxing and gentle, melting around me like honey.
    “What’s the big deal? Was it so bad?”
    “No. Not bad at all.” He
sighed and sat down again, taking my hand in his. “Like I
said, we’re close . Can’t you leave
it at that, please? You’ll remember soon and then it won’t be such
a mystery.”
    I looked down at the hand holding mine. Ryan
rubbed his thumb across the top of my fingers.
    “Hey,” he said softly and
squeezed harder when I wouldn’t look at him. We sat like that for a
few seconds until he sighed and finally spoke. “When I left for
medical school, you told me that I was the most important person in
your life. It was the same for me, and
that