Page 49 of Sunsets & Slow Dances

The relationship I was building with Chloe would have never happened without Nadia. When she told me to just be Chloe’s brother, it immediately shifted my way of thinking. It was such simple advice, yet I had been completely blind to it. I got so caught up in the responsibility of being her guardian, I completely missed what my original role had always been to her. Of course, I should start there, and it worked.

Chloe and I hadn’t seen much of each other the past couple of weeks because my schedule had been so demanding, but when we did, things were so much better between us. We were laughing and talking. She’d even started texting me throughout the day. Sometimes, her messages were funny GIFs. Sometimes, she was asking me about homework or if she could go somewhere or do something. Mainly, her messages read as a roast battle, except I wasn’t roasting back. A large portion of her ‘material’ was centered around me being a ‘boomer’ which I wasn’t. Every time I pointed that fact out to her, she’d reply by saying, that’s exactly what a boomer would say, which she thought was hilarious.

I wish I’d been able to spend more time with her, but it had been impossible. She always had plans with friends on the weekends. During the week, we started at seven and ended at seven. The job site was over an hour away, so I was lucky if I got home before bath and bedtime for Matty. Thankfully, my mom volunteered to take over drop-off and pick-up duty for the kids. It was nice having the backup. I’d never had this much support before, even from Felicity, in fact, especially from Felicity. If it did actually take a village, I hadn’t had one with Matty so far in his life.

I had a small community in Phoenix at the gym where I trained and also through my work in construction, but as far as a reliable support system with Matty, I’d pretty much been on my own. No one in my close inner circle had kids, or at least onesthat lived with them full time, so they didn’t really understand my lifestyle and responsibilities. Here in Firefly, I had a ton of backup.

The closer I got to Nadia’s house; the stronger my body’s visceral reaction became. My fingers opened and closed on the steering wheel as my heart began to beat in an irregular pattern. I wasn’t sure if it was from nerves or excitement or both over seeing Nadia again after two weeks that felt like two months, two years even.

When I found out that the final materials for Nadia’s project had arrived, I volunteered to work weekends and nights to finish the job since Hank still needed me on bigger projects for the foreseeable future. I told myself that I was doing it out of the goodness of my heart, or even just because I hated leaving anything unfinished. The truth might be a little bit more self-serving. There was a good chance Nadia would be home if I worked on nights or the weekends.

I knew that being back here would bring back memories, but I didn’t think it would transport me back in time so literally. It felt like I’d hopped in Marty McFly’s DeLorean or in Bill and Ted’s phone booth. There wasn’t a single spot on this island where I didn’t share a memory with Nadia. Everywhere I looked, there she was.

When I pulled up to the house, my phone buzzed. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw that it was a text from Harlan confirming lunch with him, Miles, and Dawson at Southern Comfort today.

“Shit,” I cursed under my breath.

My friends had been trying to get together since I’d been back, but our schedules hadn’t worked out. I’d agreed to this lunch before I volunteered to work on Nadia’s house. Now that my plans had changed, I didn’t want to go into town to meet the boys at Southern Comfort because I wanted to spend everysecond possible with Nadia. I wanted to, but I’d been in town almost a month and hadn’t seen them, so I didn’t cancel. I texted back that I would be there.

When I got to the door and knocked, I heard Peanut’s nails clicking on the floor as he yapped.

“It’s just me, Peanut,” I assured him, but it did nothing to calm him down.

Thirty seconds passed, Peanut was still barking his heart out, but there was no answer at the door. Nadia’s Mazda was parked out front, so that meant she must have been out with friends. Or she’d broken her resolution. It was Saturday morning, which statistically had the most walks of shame.

I had a key from when I’d been working on her house earlier, but since I hadn’t spoken to her myself, there was no way I would let myself in. Also, academically, knowing she could be coming home from a one-night-stand and being there to witness it were two very different things.

Giving it one more shot, I made a fist and pounded on the door a little harder.

After about thirty seconds, I was turning to leave when I heard Nadia shushing Peanut and instructing him to sit a beat before the door flew open and every thought in my head evaporated. Nadia stood in the doorway with her hair in a messy bun on top of her head wearing only a white terrycloth towel and nothing else. I watched a drip of water run down her neck and her chest then slip between the rounded mounds of her cleavage.

It had been so long since I’d seen Nadia naked, but I could still close my eyes and visualize her body. I could see every curve, every dip. I remembered every freckle, every scar, every perceived imperfection that made her perfect.

“Callum!” She clutched at her towel. “What are you…”

She didn’t finish her question because her phone rang. But even if she had, I wasn’t sure I would’ve been able to answer.I was having difficulty trying to form words. My brain wasn’t working. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t speak. I couldn’t even breathe.

“Sorry, uh hold on.” She turned and hurried into the kitchen, where her phone was charging on the counter. “Hey. Yeah, I am, yeah. Sorry, I overslept. I’m coming, I promise. I’ll be there in ten. Okay. Yeah.”

As she was talking, I let myself into the house and closed the door behind me. I bent down and scratched Peanut behind his ear. He leaned into my touch. When she set the phone down, I stood and noticed her hand was shaking.

She turned back to me, holding the towel in the center of her chest, securing it in place. She was breathless as she asked, “What are you doing here?”

“Working.” I stood. “All of your materials came in. I said I could work weekends and nights to finish the projects.”

“Oh, okay.”

It might be my imagination, but I thought I saw a tiny hint of disappointment flash in her eyes. Was she hoping I was here for another reason? Did she want this visit to be non-work related?

“Elaine said she called you,” I told her.

“Oh, right. Yeah, she left me some messages, but I haven’t checked them. I’ve been sick all week. Today’s the first day I’ve felt human.”

“Oh, shit.” My eyes dropped to her nose, and I saw that the rims of her nostrils were red and a little flaky, evidence that she’d been blowing her nose regularly. I hadn’t noticed it because I was too busy being distracted by her being naked and wet. “The Phlegm Diaries.”

Every year, like clockwork, on the third or fourth week of January, Nadia came down with a bad cold/flu that took her out for ten days. Never more, never less. And every year, she usedher couch time to rewatchThe Vampire Diaries, so I nicknamed her annual illness The Phlegm Diaries.

Her cheeks flushed as she gazed up into my eyes. “You remember?”

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