Page 53 of Remember Me

“Anyway.” I continued haughtily. “That’s what it’s like, Flo. Is Flo short for Florence, by the way? I forgot to ask last time.”

Flo pushed away from the table. “It’s actually short for Florie. Weird, I know. Flo just stuck, I think, because of that t.v. show with the waitress at Mel’s Diner.” She started walking away. “Let me know if you need anything, girls.”

“All right. Spill,” Remi demanded as soon as she was back behind the counter. “Tell me everything.”

I shrugged. “There’s not really much to tell. Hayes is doing this cute little elf thing, where he leaves the elf sitting around with candy or something representative of our relationship. Today he called in to work for me and left me a bubble bath elf, with a note telling me to relax. So that’s what I did.”

“You took a bath?”

“Fell asleep in the tub, I relaxed so hard. And then I woke up to Hayes. One thing led to another, and…” I licked my lips.

“And…?”

I licked my lips again.

Remi looked at me in confusion.

Rolling my eyes, I licked my lips again, this time very suggestively.

“Oh! You dirty girl!” Remi’s voice was loud enough to turn heads.

“Shhh!”

“Nice. And how do we feel about this blessed event?”

“Confused.” I tossed my fork to my plate. “Remi, afterward, I remembered something. It was just a flicker, really, but it was disturbing.” I frowned at the memory and Remi reached over to squeeze my hand.

“Whatever it was, you can tell me.”

“I know. It just…I don’t…it doesn’t have any context. It makes no sense. What if I’m letting myself get bothered over nothing?”

“You can’t obsess over that. You have to work with what you’re given or ask someone to help you with the context. One positive is that it may mean your memory is on the way back. What was the memory?”

“A woman’s face. Serena Hansen, from UT. You know her?”

Remi shook her head. “Is that it? Just her face? That could mean anything…maybe you were in a class together, or you saw her in that café you went to all the time.”

“No. She had this expression. Cunning. Crafty. VeryI’ll-get-you-my-prettykind of vibes. And the timing. It’s too strange for me to ignore.”

“Maybe. I think you need to talk to Hayes about it.”

I exhaled breathily, but didn’t reply, and we shifted topics.

We were talking about Christmas plans when Remi’s face went blank. Beneath the blankness, though, I could see pink riding her cheekbones, and a glitter in her eyes that hadn’t previously been there. Turning, I saw Levi. Lifting his hand in a wave, he headed toward us.

“You know Levi? I asked.

Remi swung a guilty look in my direction. “I met him at the same party you officially met Hayes. He’s been a thorn in my side ever since.”

Levi reached us and reached out to tug at Remi’s ponytail. “Remington! Fancy meeting you here. And Birdie. So glad you came back.”

“Get lost, Levi,” Remi muttered.

“Remi!”

“Aww, it’s okay. She loves me.” Levi shoved in beside her while I watched with interest.

Nudging Remi in the ribs with his elbow, he snagged a fry from her plate and popped it in his mouth. He stared at her while he chewed, a smile playing around his lips as her lips pressed into a thin line.

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