Page 5 of Fragments of You

“Well, no time like the present.” He gives me one last long look before tugging open the door.

In the matter of a split second, his posture goes from relatively relaxed to so rigid I wonder if his back might snap in half. Confusion is the first thing that hits me, but it’s nothing compared to the absolute shock that strikes me when I hear a voice that most definitely does not belong to either of my parents.

A voice I was completely convinced I would never hear again.

And just like that, it all comes flooding back.

Every memory. Every touch. Every moment that I buried so deep I was sure nothing could uncover it comes boiling to the surface with a rush of heat so fierce that my skin burns like it’s been touched by actual fire.

No matter how still I will my feet to be, they move of their own accord just the same. Felix startles when my hand grazes his back, though I hadn’t even realized I reached out to touch him in the first place.

I hesitantly step around him, needing to see with my own eyes, needing to know that my ears weren’t playing tricks on me, all the while praying like hell they were.

The instant sky-blue eyes hit mine, it’s like I’ve been transported to another time. A time when I stared into those eyes and saw my entire future laid out before me. A time that feels like so long ago and yet like it was yesterday, all in the same breath.

And then I do something I should have done the first time Nash Ketter found himself on my doorstep. I grab the door and slam the damn thing right in his face.

Chapter Two

Paisley

Four Years Earlier

“PAISLEY! NASH! GET your sexy asses in this pool this instant!” My best friend Iris splashes in our direction, squealing when Garrett, another of our classmates, lifts her from the water, giving us a show of her barely there, bright yellow bikini.

“Maybe later,” Nash calls back, one hand wrapped around mine, the other holding the neck of a fifth of whiskey, which dangles precariously from his fingers.

I got here late because my parents insisted on a post-graduation dinner to celebrate. I obliged only because I love my parents dearly and would do almost anything to make them happy, even though deep down all I really wanted to do was be here with Nash and all my friends, most of whom came almost directly after our graduation ceremony.

Nash, as I could tell the instant I arrived, was clearly one of them if the dent he’s put on that whiskey bottle is any indication.

“Later?” I question, surprised he didn’t pick me up and toss me into the water the second we walked outside. Nash is nothing if not the life of every party, especially when you get him and Felix together. Those two can cause quite a ruckus when they’re drinking.

“Let’s take a walk.”

“Okay,” I softly agree, knowing I’d rather be alone with him anyway.

I gaze up at his profile as he leads me away from the party, taking a long moment to appreciate just how beautiful he looks under the twinkling lights that line the pathway to the gazebo. His dark hair pushed haphazardly away from his face. His skin, already summer-tanned from working outside, even though it’s only late May, thanks to the warm southern sun. And when he glances down at me, feeling my gaze on him, I have to stifle a gasp of appreciation as his eyes—an icy blue that reminds me of a bright, cloudless sky—meet mine for the briefest of moments.

I swear, sometimes, when I look at him, I forget how to breathe. Like right now, for example. I mean, he’s always breathtaking, but tonight, I don’t know how to describe it. It’s almost like I’m looking at him for the very first time all over again.

Maybe it’s the nostalgia of the day, having spent nearly the entirety of graduation reflecting on memories, looking through old pictures, knowing that after today, everything changes. We aren’t children anymore. There’s an incredible freedom in that but also an obvious fear of the unknown.

“How much do you think Iris’s parents are going to regret agreeing to host this party?” Nash asks, leading me inside the gazebo that’s lit up with the same twinkling lights as the pathway.

Taking a seat on one of the benches, I stretch my legs out in front of myself.

“On a scale of one to ten, about a million.” I snort. “How Iris got them to agree to host two hundred of us, I have no idea. I mean, telling her no isn’t their strong suit, but this is extreme, even for her.”

“I saw not one, but two people puking in the bushes when I was out front waiting for you to get here.” He plops down beside me, lifting the amber bottle to his lips.

“You think that’s bad... I walked in on Felix and Hannah Larson getting pretty hot and heavy in her parents’ bedroom when I went up there to get Iris some towels.”

“Why am I not surprised.” He chuckles softly, taking another pull from the bottle.

“He’s your friend.” I remind him, softly nudging his shoulder with mine.

“Sometimes I wonder why.” He runs a hand through his hair, further rustling his thick, shiny locks.

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