Page 63 of Here and Now
“Holy shit,” Miles says from behind me.
The tree we have in our backyard is split almost down the middle. “That was really close to the house,” I say, just looking at it, wondering how the tree is still standing.
“Yeah, it was. We need to call a company to get that taken care of. We’re not due for another round of storms, but I don’t know how long that’ll hold.”
I nod. “Okay, do you know anyone?”
“Of course. I’ll call now.”
He takes me around to the front of the house, pulling his phone out and making a call. Whoever is on the other end of the line causes him to laugh. Miles then explains the situation and replies withyesandof coursea number of times. After he disconnects, he gives me a smile.
“Can they help?” I ask, hoping for a good answer.
“Yes, but not until tomorrow at the earliest. Look,friend, I’m just saying that staying here tonight isn’t a good idea. Do you want to call Hazel? See if you can stay there if you’re not comfortable staying with me until it’s fixed?”
Great. I really don’t want to stay at the coffee shop. The back room is good for maybe a few hours, but the couch is lumpy, and there’s no way I’ll be comfortable.
However, I absolutely think staying with Miles is a huge freaking mistake. I like him.
I like him a lot and that’s stupid.
I don’t trust myself.
I don’t trust my judgment, or the fact that I’ve sung this song before, and the lyrics aren’t going to change. There might be a new melody, but it will morph into something else and I’ll be broken by the bridge.
No, I have to stay strong.
I need to say no and that I’ll just spend the night in the spare room at the coffee shop.
“We’ll stay with you,” I say instead.
Because I’m an idiot.
Because I clearly have no self-control and I’m just ... dumb.
He grins. “Good. Too bad we had the boys break the fort down. I bet Kai would’ve liked to have another night in there. It’s fine, I’ll rebuild with him.”
And I’d like a night in his fort.
Oh dear God. Where the hell did that come from? Because he said he’d rebuild a fort?
I need to put a stop to this.
Hazel’s it is. I can’t stay with him because he’s scrambled my brain.
Once again, I open my mouth to tell him my change of heart, but I think about Kai and how much safer it is to stay there. “He’ll like that.”
“Come on, I’ll start cleaning up the front, and you can grab whatever you guys need.”
“You said tomorrow, right?”
Miles’s eyes meet mine. “At the earliest. I’ll call tomorrow and push him, I promise.”
“I don’t know about that,” I say in disbelief. “I’m starting to think you’re planning this.”
He laughs. “You know, if I can control the lightning, then I’m bordering on Godlike. If that’s the case, you’re totally going to fall in love with me.”
I shake my head. “I was talking about the fact that the guy can’t come until tomorrow—at the earliest.”
