even looking to see if he turns around. “We’re a disaster, Adam. You almost broke your hand last night and everything I see tells me that this …” I wave my hands frantically in the air, keeping my back to him, “it’s just a fucking mess. We’re a mess.”
“We were twenty and stupid. Our relationship was never perfect. You can’t expect it to be, but there were a lot more good times than bad. You just haven’t gotten to the good stuff yet.”
I walk out of the apartment after grabbing my purse and the wedge sandals I bought at the mall earlier in the day. The straps are uncomfortable in the heel and dig into my skin, but I bought them to match the yellow dress with the zipper that is still digging uncomfortably into my back. Damn me and my pride for trying to prove Kelsey wrong.
Ten blocks into my walk, my ankle that is still healing begins protesting against the pain of the wedge sandals. I take them off and throw them in the nearest garbage can. I have no idea how long I walk after that, wandering aimlessly around Denver in nothing but a summer dress that’s too lightweight for the weather and bare feet.
By the time the sun begins to set, I’m in a park I don’t recognize with a dead cell phone and no idea how to get back to the apartment. Not that I’m sure I want to.
I can still see his amber colored eyes flashing with desire. My mind replays every scene. Every word spoken. I shiver, crossing my arms against my chest, and rubbing my hands on my shoulders and upper arms. I tell myself it’s because I’m cold, but I’ve never been a good liar.
The mountains are in front of me at a distance that makes them appear absolutely breathtaking. I can see the glaciers on the top and I know that if I were to hop in my car, I could be glacier sliding in two hours. I could be at my favorite cliff in an hour. Not that I’ll go anywhere with tender bones, a setting sun, and no car.
What was I thinking? Why did I let him get so close? Why do I stay? It’s not my home, and yet Adam has the answers. I know he does.
But I’m so exhausted. The small flashes of memory I’ve gotten are so different than the man I dream about. How can he be so completely different? He drinks too much, he swears even more, and he can go from laughing to yelling in the blink of an eye.
But his touch. One simple touch and I want to fall into his arms and never leave. One taste of him and I still haven’t fully cooled off from the heat it sent through my body.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, and try to press it all to the back of my mind.
Feel me, Amy.
“Damn it!” I jump off the bench I’m sitting on and spin around, trying to find anything that looks familiar enough so I can figure out how to get home.
“Amy?” I turn back to the vaguely familiar voice.
Standing in front of me, hands in the pockets of his perfectly pressed khaki pants and dry-cleaned and starched light blue dress shirt, is Tyler. The boy who cheated on me. The boy who looks more like a man than he did the last time I saw him. “What are you doing here?”
I look around the empty park and wonder how he found me. There’s a row of townhomes down the street and businesses line the other side.
I shrug. “I don’t know where I am.”
He takes another step forward, a friendly but cautious smile on his face. “Do you know who I am?”
I roll my eyes and sit back down, suddenly not in a hurry to go anywhere. “Yeah, Tyler. I know you.” He lets out a slow breath and sits down next to me on the bench. It feels familiar, and even though Tyler cheated on me and I never talked to him after that, I’m not mad. Probably because I don’t think I ever truly cared for him. His kisses certainly never left my head spinning.
“What are you doing here?”
He nods to a coffee shop on the corner. It doesn’t look like anything special.
“I was walking to get a coffee. Want to join me?”
I frown and look around the neighborhood we’re in.
“We were twenty and stupid. Our relationship was never perfect. You can’t expect it to be, but there were a lot more good times than bad. You just haven’t gotten to the good stuff yet.”
I walk out of the apartment after grabbing my purse and the wedge sandals I bought at the mall earlier in the day. The straps are uncomfortable in the heel and dig into my skin, but I bought them to match the yellow dress with the zipper that is still digging uncomfortably into my back. Damn me and my pride for trying to prove Kelsey wrong.
Ten blocks into my walk, my ankle that is still healing begins protesting against the pain of the wedge sandals. I take them off and throw them in the nearest garbage can. I have no idea how long I walk after that, wandering aimlessly around Denver in nothing but a summer dress that’s too lightweight for the weather and bare feet.
By the time the sun begins to set, I’m in a park I don’t recognize with a dead cell phone and no idea how to get back to the apartment. Not that I’m sure I want to.
I can still see his amber colored eyes flashing with desire. My mind replays every scene. Every word spoken. I shiver, crossing my arms against my chest, and rubbing my hands on my shoulders and upper arms. I tell myself it’s because I’m cold, but I’ve never been a good liar.
The mountains are in front of me at a distance that makes them appear absolutely breathtaking. I can see the glaciers on the top and I know that if I were to hop in my car, I could be glacier sliding in two hours. I could be at my favorite cliff in an hour. Not that I’ll go anywhere with tender bones, a setting sun, and no car.
What was I thinking? Why did I let him get so close? Why do I stay? It’s not my home, and yet Adam has the answers. I know he does.
But I’m so exhausted. The small flashes of memory I’ve gotten are so different than the man I dream about. How can he be so completely different? He drinks too much, he swears even more, and he can go from laughing to yelling in the blink of an eye.
But his touch. One simple touch and I want to fall into his arms and never leave. One taste of him and I still haven’t fully cooled off from the heat it sent through my body.
I take a deep breath, closing my eyes, and try to press it all to the back of my mind.
Feel me, Amy.
“Damn it!” I jump off the bench I’m sitting on and spin around, trying to find anything that looks familiar enough so I can figure out how to get home.
“Amy?” I turn back to the vaguely familiar voice.
Standing in front of me, hands in the pockets of his perfectly pressed khaki pants and dry-cleaned and starched light blue dress shirt, is Tyler. The boy who cheated on me. The boy who looks more like a man than he did the last time I saw him. “What are you doing here?”
I look around the empty park and wonder how he found me. There’s a row of townhomes down the street and businesses line the other side.
I shrug. “I don’t know where I am.”
He takes another step forward, a friendly but cautious smile on his face. “Do you know who I am?”
I roll my eyes and sit back down, suddenly not in a hurry to go anywhere. “Yeah, Tyler. I know you.” He lets out a slow breath and sits down next to me on the bench. It feels familiar, and even though Tyler cheated on me and I never talked to him after that, I’m not mad. Probably because I don’t think I ever truly cared for him. His kisses certainly never left my head spinning.
“What are you doing here?”
He nods to a coffee shop on the corner. It doesn’t look like anything special.
“I was walking to get a coffee. Want to join me?”
I frown and look around the neighborhood we’re in.
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