Page 29 of Playing the Neutral Zone

I pulledinto the parking spot in front of The Orchid Lounge and glanced over to see Scarlett looking over at me, smiling.

“Wait here,” I said, climbing out of the driver’s seat while leaving the car running.I made my way into the restaurant and then returned ten minutes later with a bag of food, which I placed in the back seat.

“Uh, Levi, what are we doing?”she questioned.

“Well, it was going to be a surprise, but I decided I didn’t want to have dinner surrounded by many people, so I did the next best thing.We are having a private picnic over along the waterfront.That was why I reminded you to wear something warm.”

She softly smiled as I backed out of the parking spot and headed toward the waterfront where I parked the car, shut off the engine, and climbed out.I opened the trunk and grabbed two large blankets and the basket of things I’d packed and handed them to her while grabbing the food from the back seat.

We made our way over to an open area where we quickly threw one blanket down on the ground, then both sat down.She started pulling out plates and utensils from the basket, while I opened the chilled bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass.Then I dove into the bag of food and placed the containers on the ground.

After we’d eaten and we’d cleaned up, I poured some more wine into our glasses and leaned back on the blanket as we looked out over the water.Scarlett had grown quiet in the last little while.She’d been talking nonstop while we ate, but now, radio silence and I wondered what was on her mind.

“Care to tell me what you’re thinking?”I asked.

She looked out over the water, thinking, weighing her words carefully like she used to when we first hung out, then shrugged.

“I don’t know.It scares me how easy this is with you again.”

I nodded, knowing exactly what she meant.I’d felt it too; it seemed like no time had passed and that we’d never been apart.“I get that.”

“It’s like the other night when we were on the phone.Even before that, when we were texting.All this time had passed between us, and yet here we were, the same two people.”

“But yet, we aren’t the same two people.”

“I know.”She said, a far off look in her eyes.”

“Does that scare you?”

“A little.Honestly, I thought you hated me.”

I didn’t want to look at her for fear she saw the exact opposite in my eyes.I could never hate her.I figured that out for myself this morning when going back through our old photos.

“Why would you think that?”

“How could I not?You haven’t exactly been warm to me since I got here.Plus, I know you told Scottie you wanted to know nothing more about me.”

I fidgeted with the blanket as I watched a boat in the water.

“Scarlett, I have never hated you.How the hell could I.I was in love with you, and you were the only person I could see myself spending the rest of my life with.Honestly, I did that because I had to protect myself and shoving you out of my life was the way I had to do it.”

“So why were you so cold to me the day I spilled my coffee?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“What’s so funny?”

“Well, let’s see, I really was late, tugging around a six-year-old who has zero concept of time.It isn’t always easy with her, then for that to happen, I guess I just lost my temper.It had already been a trying day.Plus, to be honest, I felt frazzled.You were the last person in the world I’d ever have expected to come to Vancouver, then to top that off, to move into my building, nonetheless.I guess I was in some kind of shock.”

“That makes sense.”She smiled, then glanced at me, her eyes immediately returning to the water.

I reached over and grabbed her hand, gently taking it in mine.“I never hated you.You broke my heart, and I still never hated you.”

“I don’t think I broke your heart, Levi.”She started laughing as she turned to look at me.

“You don’t?”

“No, I don’t.We never really were anything to one another aside from friends.”

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