Page 46 of Remember Me

“Out of practice. I’m never wrong.” That eyebrow danced upward once again. “Okay, rarely. Throwing water was the first time in three years.” I sighed. “My friend told me I was kind of a bitch.”

With the hand holding the bottle of beer, he scratched his temple. “I wouldn’t say that.”

“It’s okay, really. You can agree with me. I —”

“I thought it was kind of hot.”

I stare at him for a long moment. His expression is open, sincere.This guy is weird.

He laughed again. “Do you do that a lot?”

“What?”

“Talk out loud to yourself. ‘This guy is weird.’ That sort of thing.”

I feel my face heat.Oops.“Maybe?”

“I like it. I’ll always know what’s on your mind.”

We fell quiet and I found myself rolling my bottom lip between my teeth as I covertly watched him. He was different from what I’d expected. Quiet. Good-humored. He wasn’t talking endlessly about himself.

“Tell me about you,” he said. “You’re so quiet over there.”

“I’m a quiet person,” I responded. “There’s not much to tell. I come from near here — Marysville. I’m studying marketing. And I was just thinking that about you, actually — that you were quiet. I kind of took you for as this rowdy, conceited jock.”

It was subtle, but his jaw tightened. “I get that a lot. I’m actually in the last year of my grad program and will be starting my doctorate this fall.”

“Doctorate? So, you’re of the mythical jock-nerd genus...”

He snorted. It was adorable, and I felt something in my stomach turn loose and quiver. “Mini’s got jokes.”

Behind us, the door was flung open and I heard the stamp of feet on the small wooden porch. I recognized that stomp.

“Birdie! Come on, it’s time to go. Shit-for-brains in there just pissed me off.”

“Who’s shit-for-brains?” I asked. I hadn’t realized Remi had come here to see someone specific.

“Levi! Come on, I’ll tell you — oh, damn, am I interrupting?”

“Yes,” Hayes answered, swallowing my ‘no.’

“It’s fine, Remi.” I stood and turned to Hayes, who had risen alongside me. “I’m glad I got the chance to apologize. See you around?”

His tongue darted out, licked his entirely-too-lush bottom lip. “May I have your number?”

I tilted my head to the side, considered. Tempting...but I didn’t want to make things too easy on him. “Tell you what. You come up with it, and I’ll answer your call.”

A slow grin crept over his face and he took another sip of his beer. “Got yourself a deal, Mini.”

“And stop calling me Mini.”

“No problem, Short Stack.”

Rolling my eyes, I flounced across the yard to where Remi was waiting. “C’mon, let’s get out of here.” We walked around to the gate in the fence and let ourselves through, rather than going back through the house.

“You two looked very... cozy.”

I shoved my hands in my pockets. “Nah... he’s not my type.”

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