Page 26 of When Hearts Remember

I thought I’d be sad. Crying even. After all, he was my first boyfriend. Dayton was good to me even if it was strange toward the end.

But instead, I feel a million times lighter. Like I can pirouette around the stage effortlessly, with the grace and talent I’ve seen from Lil’ Tay and the other dancers.

My lips split into a grin as I run down the street, not caring about the bystanders pointing at me or the cabs honking their horns when I dash across the crosswalks just as the light turns red.

I don’t even know where I’m going until I find myself standing in front of the building with dark columns and intricate carvings of ravens in flight.

Ravenswood Library.

It’s Friday and I’m not supposed to be here. Keeper drops off the journal on Fridays. But excitement flutters through me, sending little bursts of electricity through my nerves, all pointing to one impulse.

I want to see him. Keeper.

I want to tell him I broke up with Dayton. It feels important he should be the first person to know. I want to find out if his hair is black or brown, or if he’s a redhead like me. Does he have a confident swagger or a shy demeanor? Is his voice raspy or a rich baritone?

Sweat beads the back of my neck as I stare at the familiar wooden door, the swoosh, swoosh, swooshof my pulse obliterating all rational thought.

He’s in there. He’s got to be.

Swallowing, I push the door and step inside, my heavy breathing sounding loud in the quiet space. I head straight toward the DVD collection in the basement. My riddle for him last week had a twist in it. The answer wasn’t a book, but a film, my favorite movie of all time. I wonder if he’s figured it out yet.

The fluorescent lights flicker on and off as I tiptoe down the narrow stairs. Soon, the DVD and music rental room comes into view.

People huddle over computers, a few folks with headphones covering their ears. Is he the lanky guy standing by the corner in the black T-shirt, browsing the new releases? Or the balding young man sitting on the floral couch, looking at his laptop? The room spins—or it’s the excitement causing the blood to rush to my head.

“Miss, do you know where the romance section is?” a deep, raspy voice sounds from my right and I jolt.

Turning around, my breath stalls as I stare at luminous gray eyes affixed to a handsome face I’d recognize anywhere. The guy I bumped into in front of the building a few months ago.

Ares, the god of war.

He’s wearing a gray dress shirt which molds to his muscular chest and showcases his sexy forearms. His eyes rove over my face and I wait for a spark of recognition.

But nothing comes.

Dummy. Just because you remember handsome faces doesn’t mean you are unforgettable.

Keeper will recognize me on sight.

I shake myself. “It’s down there in the far right corner.”

“Right. Picking up something for a friend. Thanks.” Ares walks off as I stare at his backside like an idiot.

The encounter is a bucket of ice water doused over my head. I look around, and the room has stopped spinning.

What the hell am I doing here?

Keeper is a trusted friend, and we have set rules. If I break them, I’ll lose the friendship.

You are unforgettable, remember that. And I’ll always remember you.

His beautiful words from the entry I reread every day on my phone.

He’s the only person who thinks I’m unforgettable. I can’t lose this connection.

Cold sweat dots my forehead and I quickly rush back up the stairs, hoping Keeper hasn’t seen me yet, and we can continue our clandestine relationship longer.

Once I’m in front of the building, I whip out my phone and text the number assigned to me by the Anonytext app.

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