Page 56 of Unforgettable

“I don’t know about other boyfriends,” he teases me, brushing his hand past my semi-hard cock. “But mine does.”

* * *

After Oz and I managed to tear our lips away from one another in the changing room, we decided to take the suit shopping a little more seriously and walked out with two complete outfits.

By this stage, Oz’s family was used to Oz and me and how attached at the hip we were, but Maddy was now reserved and cautious, and I felt shitty about it.

I couldn’t help but wonder if she and Oz would talk in depth when they were alone about what she said. And whether she would reiterate her worry to him, or if she would heed her own advice and reserve her judgement.

It wasn’t my business, and as the day progressed, Oz and I fell back into our usual interactions, the worry and trepidation unable to hold a candle to the undeniable bond between us.

For now, I was going to enjoy myself, sitting down for a late lunch with my “boyfriend” and his family, imagining him dressed up to the nines, looking more like a whole meal than a snack.

But like a slap to the face, the universe was determined to remind me how and why this whole arrangement was going to blow up in spectacular fashion.

“So, Reeve,” Mrs. Walker starts while everybody else looks at the menu. “I remember you mentioning your parents’ finance company. And Oz saying you’ll eventually work for them.”

“Umm, yes,” I answer hesitantly. “That’s right.”

“In Connecticut?”

Her accusatory tone makes reading between the lines easy. She’s asking if I’m leaving, and, more importantly, she wants to know when and what that means for her son and me.

It’s a valid question—albeit slightly invasive—and something I should’ve seen coming.

I feel all five pairs of eyes boring into me, waiting for my answer. For the first time since knowing him, Oz doesn’t come to my rescue, and when I glance over at him, the look on his face tells me why.

His lips are pressed together and his eyes are a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. As if my answer makes any difference to the truth of our situation.

There is no other option but to lie, because telling his family I’m leaving and “breaking their son’s heart” is bound to make me a lot less likeable. Even if it isn’t the truth.

I make a show of placing my hand on Oz’s knee while maintaining eye contact with Bethany. “I’m undecided on when I’m leaving,” I lie. “And Oz and I are going to see where we’re at when that time comes. Long distance might be something we’ll try.”

Her eyes dart to her son’s. “I didn’t take you for someone who would be in a long-distance relationship.”

His back stiffens because, if I know Oz, all he hears is an attack in her tone. It’s unmissable, actually, and for what, I’m not sure. But, just like me, a lifetime of insecurities makes defending yourself your default reaction.

“I’ve never been in a relationship,” he says calmly, but the pulsing vein in his neck gives his frustration away. “So, I’m not sure what type of relationship person you think I am.”

Mrs. Walker is a very smart woman, and Oz’s tone of voice isn’t lost on her. Her eyes dart between him and me, and I see the moment she goes against the grain and chooses not to fight with him in front of me, and my body deflates in relief.

“I just meant, for something so new, you two look really happy together.” She smiles at me, and even though it physically hurts to hear her describe us as really happy, I thaw a little, for Oz’s sake, at her sincerity. “I would hate to see something like distance ruin that.”

Her honesty catches us both off guard, and Oz turns to me, his blue eyes boring into mine. He looks as despondent as I feel.

We’re not supposed to look really happy together.

It’s fake.

We’re not supposed to look really happy together.

It’s a lie.

We’re not supposed to look really happy together.

Because we’renottogether.

“Yeah,” I say, responding to Mrs. Walker but still looking solemnly at Oz. “Me too.”

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