Page 116 of From You to Me

“That means you’re not fine at all.”

“What are you? My mood reader?”

“I think I can read you very well, sweetheart. I know exactly what’s going on in there.” He tapped a finger to my head.

I flicked him away in frustration as I met his gaze. “Yet you can’t seem to read me when I screamed at the top of my lungs the real reason that we broke up all those years ago.”

All the light died from his eyes and an instant look of remorse and guilt replaced it. “I know, I’m sorry.” His throat worked in a visible swallow.

It made me feel like crap for snapping at him. “I’m sorry.” I shook my head. “I’m just so confused. It’s hard. I don’t know how to deal with all this.” My words caught in my throat.

He leaned lower and circled his arms around my waist. “I know, it’s hard for me too. I can’t seem to stop blaming myself. The guilt is eating me alive, Evelyn.”

I sighed in his arms, pressing my cheek to his chest. “You’ve got nothing to be guilty about. Neither of us is to blame. It’s just all a weird turn of events and it may be hard now, but one day, I hope it’ll make sense. I hope one day I’ll wake up and know exactly why it all happened the way it did.”

He smoothed his palm to the back of my head as he tightened his grip around me. “I hope so too.”

We stood like that for minutes.

We weren’t sure why, but all we knew was that it felt good.

I reluctantly pulled back because I was really tired and needed to sleep. “I’m going to crash now. I’m really sleepy.”

He ran his thumb over my cheek. “Can I stay till you fall asleep?”

I swallowed as I nodded turning back to get settled in.

A spark lit in my chest as I felt him get beside me inside the covers, his body merely an inch away from mine. “Pink bunny sheets, uh?”

I couldn’t help the chuckle that burst out of me as I darted my eyes to his. “It’s the same question you asked me ten years ago.”

A nostalgic smile crept across his face as he turned on his side, facing me. “See.” He twirled my hair that was resting on my chest around his finger. “Somethings haven’t changed.”

I shook my head, the smile never leaving my face as my heavy eyelids watched the dancing moonlight on my ceiling.

“Sleep,” he whispered, softly as he linked his fingers with mine and placed our hands on the center of my chest.

I nodded as I drifted off. The last thing I remembered was that my hand clutched his harder.

I breathed deeply, confusion masking its way up to my brain as the smell of wood and clean sea water hit me.

What? Where was I?

It felt like a furnace was digging a hole in the center of my cheek.

“Shh, girl. Mommy is still sleeping,” said a deep rumble that somehow vibrated my entire torso. It was followed by a quiet bark and then silence.

Soft, strong strokes pressed down my scalp, adding to the sleepiness on my lids.

I slowly squeezed my eyes open, and the rays of sunlight glared into my eyes. It took a few blinks to get used to it. My nose scrunched as my eyes met the hard rock underneath me, it was painted with deep intricate scales that looked like a shadow.

It took me a moment to remember the events of last night.

Fuck.

Jay was here when I fell asleep.

And it dawned on me that I was all over him, and he was shirtless.

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