Page 25 of Rewind

“As a doctor, I’d say it’s not healthy to skip meals like that, but as a man I’m flattered. How about we eat first and then we can talk.”

Amina grabbed her sandwich, grateful for a little more time. She bit into her cheesesteak with grilled mushrooms, onions, mayo, ketchup and provolone. The sandwich was still warm and all the ingredients blended together perfectly. She took a few more bites before returning it to her plate and chasing it down with some water. “Mmm, I haven’t had one of these in years. Mark says…”

Ethan put his food down. “Go ahead. What were you about to say?”

Amina waved her hands. “No, I don’t think I should bring him up. And really, it hasn’t been years, has it? We’ve lived in this timeline before haven’t we?”

“Maybe but I want you to finish what you were going to say. If we talk about what happened to us, we could possibly make sense of all this.”

“I guess.’’ She took another swig from the bottled water. “All I was going to say was, Mark didn’t really care for them. I think he got food poisoning from eating one as a kid and he has an aversion to them. I wasn’t allowed to have one around him.”

“Considering the area we live in, they’re pretty hard to avoid.”

“He couldn’t control what other people were eating but he could with me. I love these things. Me and my grandmother would get a 12 inch with all the extra fixings and split while watching a Sunday Matinee. I know some people may think it’s tacky to sneak food in the movie theater, but it was our thing.”

“That’s not horrible. Whenever my mom would treat me to a movie she would pack snacks for me and her. Being the snotty brat I was, I wanted popcorn and candy from the concession stands like the other kids but I matured and realized she was doing the best she could raising me on her own. She’s always found a way to make sure I didn’t go without even when she had to.”

Amina couldn’t help but smile at how fond Ethan sounded when speaking about his mother. “She sounds like a wonderful woman.”

“She really is. So when I was dying…” His voice trailed off and his eyes wandered off into the distance.

Amina placed her hand on his, encouraging him to continue. “Please, go on.”

“I was worried that I wouldn’t be around to take care of her. But you know what else, I thought about Amina?” He turned to stare at her with an intensity that robbed her of breath.

She withdrew her hand and held it against her chest. “What?” she whispered.

“I thought about you. You know, the day I died was the day of your viewing. When I saw you in that casket, I had so many regrets. I wish I could have stopped that bastard from hurting you. I wish I had made you feel comfortable enough to come to me when you were in trouble. And most of all, I wish I would have told you how I felt.”

Amina gasped and then shook her head. This had to be a dream. “How you felt? What do you mean?”

“We never got to talk much beyond work related issues in our previous life because I assumed you were happy in your relationship. But by the time I realized something wasn’t right, and you were changing right before my eyes, it was too late. You had left and the next thing I heard about you was that you’d died.”

A shiver went up her spine. “You actually sound like you cared that I died.” One of the last thoughts that ran through her mind before she gave into the darkness was that no one would care when she died. Her grandmother was the last person she believed loved her. Not her aunt, cousins or even her own husband.

Without warning, Ethan gripped her by the forearms. “Of course I cared. I hated that I was so helpless to save you. I should have done something. I should have told you how I felt.”

A gasp tumbled from her lips and her heart pounded against her ribcage with such force it felt as if it would burst through her chest. “How…how you felt?”

Their eyes locked and the intensity of his dark gaze made her insides warm. “I don’t know what to call it. A crush? Aninfatuation? Unrequited love, maybe? All I know is when I first saw you, I fell for you, but you belonged to someone else. At the time, I thought you were happy so I wanted to respect your relationship. If I knew then what I know now, things would be different. I know I sound insane confessing to you when we’ve barely gotten to know each other but I want to change that, Amina. Am I wrong to think, you’re attracted to me as well?”

Amina felt like she was in the middle of a dream. Dr. Ethan Han was quite possibly the star of many women’s fantasies, including hers. He spoke of regrets in his last life, but she too had just as many.

She didn’t want this life to be wasted on wondering what if. Amina never considered herself an impulsive person but being held by Ethan, and staring deeply into his eyes, something came over her.

Amina leaned forward and pressed her lips against his. She’d never been bold enough to take the initiative in a kiss before but the proximity of Ethan being so close did something to her psyche.

Almost immediately however, she pulled away, embarrassed that she’d acted so impulsively. “I’m sorry. I don’t know why I did that.”

Ethan ran his tongue over his bottom lip, almost as if to savor the kiss. “Don’t apologize. I liked it. In fact, I’ve been wanting to do that since you first opened the door. And I’d like to do it again.”

He cupped her face in both of his hands and leaned in until his lips hovered over hers. “Tell me you want this as badly as I do.”

She opened her mouth but all that came out was a soft moan. Amina desperately wanted to continue what she’d started but she was too scared to say the words because if they kissed again, she’d wake up and this would all just be a dream.

“Say yes, Amina. I want to hear the word. Say yes, Ethan.” The warmth of his breath tickled her lips.

“Yes, Ethan.”

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