Page 34 of Midnight and Mine

But I also jot down unrelated items.

I don’t think I’m happily married.

Drake acts guilty of something. Were we fighting? Is that why he brought me lunch? To try to make up?

Scott is so attentive, when his fingers skate over my skin, it ignites an explosion of goosebumps. I find myself wanting him to hold my hand and wanting to hear him laugh.

That memory of having sex on the couch was incredible. I wonder if it was real. Scott said my memory of the couch was correct. I try to search that memory back to the forefront, so I close my eyes. Can I see anything else?

Instead of pulling up the memory, I drift to sleep and dream of Scott kissing me. Except it doesn’t feel like a dream. He’s so real I can taste him, and I wake up coated in sweat. Damn, he’s a good kisser, and that wink at the end promised more. Was it a dream or a memory? I guess it’s possible that we dated at some point before I married Drake.

Quick, heavy steps come from the hallway, and two women burst into my room. “Wynter. Oh my God,” they both say as they come toward me. Taking turns into hugging me and pain like glass shoots through me. Do I care?

No.It’s like the lever of the dam that had been holding back my tears is pulled, and they rush out like white water rapids. “I remember you. I remember you.”

“Vanessa fiddles with her golden tight curls. Well, I don’t think you could forget this hair.”

“You’re beautiful and don’t fish for compliments.” We burst out laughing. “Thank you for coming.” Even with only fragmented memories, I feel content and reassured that I’m not alone.

“Where else would we be?”

“With your husbands? Boyfriends?” I ask.

I point to the picture on the shelf. “Is that Mark?” Jess tucks her lips in as she nods. “I dreamed about the day he died in the hospital, except it was real. God, I am so sorry I can’t remember him, but I feel the pain I felt.”

“It’s okay. He’s always with us.”

“Scott slipped and told me you’re married to Maverick. That’s crazy. The Maverick I remember is so brooding and fucking built.”

Jess throws her head back, cackling. “So, you remember hot guys? Yes, Maverick and I are married… very happily I must say.”

Vanessa, ever the girly girl, searches my drawers for nail polish. “Aww, here it is. A blast from the past—Funny Bunny nail polish.”

“Is that from Easter fifteen years ago when we tried to convince my mom I was prim and proper?” I ask as she beats the little glass jar against the heel of her hand.

Their jaws slack before they finally scream and get up to dance around like Elaine from Seinfeld. “Yes. Yes. That’s a memory.”

I guess it is. Maybe being in my childhood home will be good for me. Just then, Scott stands inside the door jamb. His body drips with water beads, and his hips are draped in a floral towel. His sculpted torso and that deep V travels underneath the towel starts my synapses firing all over my body. He’s a freaking gorgeous man.

“I love it when you ladies laugh. What’s so funny?” he asks, and I can’t possibly concentrate on my memory when my center is pulsing at the sight of him. He seems to notice something in my eyes and says, “Like the towel?”

I smirk. “What kind of towel would you prefer, Mr. umm, Mr.—”

“Plain. Any plain color.”

Vanessa runs to Scott and pulls him deeper into my room. “She remembered about the Funny Bunny nail polish. Do you remember when she went through her goth stage and wore black nail polish, and her mom was horrified? Not exactly church-like in a small town.”

“I do. I kind of like that wild side of Wynter.”

My skin reddens, almost stinging at his compliment. I tuck my chin into my chest as I gather myself. The room feels supercharged with ionic particles, zipping and zapping between us. Unspoken words and lingering glances. “I better get dressed. Then I’ll take you downstairs, and you can sit on the porch. I know how you ladies love to drink your sweet tea and swing.”

When he leaves, we giggle like schoolgirls. “God, he’s hot,” I say aloud without thinking.

Jess says, “When your parents let me live here for a few years, he was wiry and hadn’t fully come into his own but now look at him. Shew!”

“We have pretty hot husbands,” Vanessa adds.

“Speaking of husbands… Am I happily married?” My voice shakes with guilt and indecision.

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