Page 75 of Rewind It Back

Rio slips into the pantry and comes out with two bags of popcorn. I meet him in front of the microwave.

“My car is parked outside.”

“Is it?” He doesn’t look in my direction, unwrapping the popcorn bag.

“Rio, you can’t—”

“I didn’t pay for it, if that’s what you’re about to say. Frank, my mechanic, he’s a big hockey fan. I told him the situation and gave him tickets for his whole family to our next home game in exchange for getting your car up and running. He left the key in your mailbox.”

That makes me pause.

“But it’s only a short-term fix. He said he doesn’t think it has many miles left. You may want to look into getting something else soon.”

I already knew that, so the confirmation doesn’t take me by surprise or riddle me with panic. It’s a shit situation, but it is what it is. I knew when I sold my car a few years ago for some quick cash and started driving my dad’s old car instead, it would only be a matter of time before I had to replace it.

“Thank you,” I say genuinely. “I didn’t know what I was going to do, so thank you.”

He looks up at me, his eyes and smile equally soft. “Anything for you, Hal.”

I nod towards the kids. “So, how’d you end up watching four kids on a Saturday night?”

He explains who belongs to who from his friend group and how their moms are the same women I met at his house. He tells me about the reservation they had tonight and how their regular babysitter fell through.

“They didn’t invite you to join?” I ask.

“They did. They always do. They’re good about including me, but there are certain times, regardless of how much they involve me in their plans, that it’s obvious I’m the odd one out.”

“Do they give you a hard time about that?”

“No,” he quickly answers with a shake of his head. “No, of course not. It’s a me thing. Sometimes I just get tired of being the single friend. I don’t need to join them on their romantic date night.”

A spark of interest ignites, though I shouldn’t care that he just admitted to me that he was single.

“So...” I attempt to keep my tone uninterested, disengaged, casual. “Have you been dating at all?”

And apparently, I’m a masochist because I’maskinghim to hurt me by telling me all about the women who came after me.

Rio looks at me out of the corner of his eye as he starts the microwave, lifting a brow and silently calling out my interest. Or maybe he’s asking if I’m positive I want to know the answer. But I can’t exactly back down now without seeming sad and pathetic, the girl he moved on from who hasn’t been able to do the same.

“Innocent question.” I hold my hands up. “We’re friends now, remember? Friends ask those kinds of questions.”

He turns, fully facing me with his arms crossed over his chest, and it’s then I realize how close we’re standing. His knee bumps mine when he shifts his weight, his sock-covered toes slide against the arch of my foot.

“I’ve goneondates, but I’m not dating anyone in particular,” he explains. “I’ve gone on lots of dates, actually. But nothing long-term. Nothing serious since—”

Me.

Neither of us has to finish his sentence to know that’s what he was about to say.

There’s a heavy beat of silence that sits between us at the realization.

“Hallie, I’m not going to lie to you. I’ve spent most of the last six years trying to prove to myself that it exists. Love or soulmates or whatever it is that I used to believe in. But after watching everything go down between my parents and then”—he looks at me—“what happened with us...”

His green eyes search my face, hoping to make me understand. Sure, he may have been on a mission to prove to himself all these years that real love exists, but I’ve been doing the opposite. I haven’t dated. I haven’t even looked, and yes, most of that is due to being busy taking care of my dad, but there’s also a part of me that knew I wouldn’t be able to replicate what we had, so what would be the point in even trying?

“Sorry.” He shakes his head, trying to shake us out of this moment. “I’m not trying to make this heavy.”

“It was real,” I quickly admit. “For me at least. It was real. That’s how I know it exists.”

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