Page 54 of A Smooth Operator

She smiled. "I miss you too."

"Yeah?" I couldn't believe she was giving me this, letting me see this.

"Doesn't mean I want to spend time with you, Remi."

"I reckon not." I popped the can of beer and took a long drag. "I have a few things to say. Can you let me finish before you…you know, you can ask questions after?"

"Sure."

She leaned against a wooden column and looked at me. She wasn't showing me anything. She was blank.

"I find you very attractive. I think you're fuckin' sexy, and whenever I'm with you, I want to be inside you."

Her eyebrows went up.

So, maybe that wasn't the right thing to open with. Fuck. I got a chance, and I was screwing it up. I set the beer down and wiped my hands on my jeans.

"I'm sorry for what I said about you. I didn't mean one fuckin' thing. Mar saw you at CVS getting Plan B, and I freaked out, remembering that I didn't even check in with you after coming inside you without a condom."

She continued to listen patiently, her eyes on me. She wasn't looking away. She was truly listening.

"I started to panic that someone saw us together." I closed my eyes. Now, I had to tell her things that would not help me, but they were honest, at least. "I didn't want anyone to know because I couldn't imagine us having something long-term. And I knew my mother and sister would throw a hissy fit."

She drank some iced tea. She was following my instructions. She was listening and not interrupting me.

"I was wrong."

This got a reaction from her. I wasn't sure if it was scorn or surprise.

"I should've told the world how lucky I was that I was getting it on with you. You were not a dirty secret. According to my father, you had more reason to keep my sorry ass hidden than the other way."

She cleared her throat. "You told your father?"

"Yeah. I told him everything. I asked him if he'd have a problem if we dated, and he said he would, and not because he thinks I'm not good enough for you. I'm too shallow and too busy tryin' to be a Drake or whatever I think that means. He thinks you deserve better."

I ran a hand through my hair. This was harder than I thought it would be. She wasn't giving me any signals that told me whether I was doing well or not.

"You're not a leech, and I'm so sorry that word even came out of my mouth. You're a smart, independent, strong woman. I'm so proud of you. I should've told you that every day instead of—"

"You did tell me, Remi," she interrupted me softly. "You did. When we were together, and you forgot you had to be Remi Drake, and you were just my Remi, you did."

My Remi! I liked the sound of that.

"The truth is, Echo, I was a better person when I was your Remi than my own." My eyes filled with tears and her gasp told me she noticed. "You made me better. You took care of me, and I didn't take care of you."

I stopped talking, trying to rein in my emotions.

Echo broke the silence. "Remi? Why are you here?"

"To say I'm sorry, Echo. I'm so fuckin' sorry." I cupped her cheeks with my hands and kissed her lips lightly because I couldn't help it. I needed to feel her, skin to skin.

She pulled away. "No touchin'."

I didn't stop. I couldn't. I stroked her cheeks with my thumbs. "I miss you so fuckin' much it hurts."

She put her hands on my wrists and removed them from her face. "Why are you here?" she asked again.

"Because I want a chance."

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