Page 62 of The Now in Forever
Ed’s eyes are focused on the road, his finger tapping against the steering wheel, but I can see the gears spinning. “A race. Hmm.”
When we get back,Nathan and Robin are in the kitchen prepping food. Robin is cutting a watermelon, and Nathan is pouring vodka into a pitcher of lemonade. As we walk in, Robin sets down her knife and wipes her hands on a tea towel with an illustrated map of Fortune Falls on it, walking directly to Anh and pulling her into a big hug. She motions for me to come over, and we envelope Anh in a group hug.
“You guys.” She squirms in the middle. “You’re going to crush me.”
Planting a kiss on her cheek, I move away. Robin kisses her other cheek and goes back to chopping watermelon. “We’re going to start the grill in an hour or so, and then as soon as it gets dark, we’ll start a fire on the beach. Nathan thinks we should be able to see the fireworks from here.”
“Nice,” Anh says.
I take my bag upstairs, not sure where Ed disappeared to. He’s perched on the edge of his bed as I pass his door, tapping furiously at his phone, his brow deeply creased.
“Hey.”
He puts the phone underneath him on the bed, a move I recognize from when Chad and I were together. Ice fills my veins. Is he hiding something?
“Everything good?” I ask, trying to keep the tremor out of my voice. I don’t want him to think I’m paranoid and insecure, eventhough I clearly am if after one whole day of hooking up, I’m already sure he’s hiding something from me.
He nods. “You know, I’m pretty beat from the drive. I think I’m going to take a little nap.”
“Want company?”
He walks over to me, leaving his phone on the bed, puts his strong arms around my waist, and brings his lips to my ear. “If you keep me company, I definitely won’t sleep.”
He gives me a soft kiss and pulls away with his hand on the door.
“Okay. Come find me when you wake up. Hey, what do you think of Anh’s suggestion?”
Ed yawns. “Which one?”
“About racing with our books?”
He shrugs. “We can think about it.”
After he closes the door, I pick up my notebook, trying to write some more and shake off the antsy feeling I have about our interaction. He’s just tired. But who was he texting that he didn’t want me to see? Maybe it's a habit to not show his phone to anyone. Everyone is like that, right? After changing into cut-off shorts and a bright-blue tank top, I make my way to the porch. Robin and Anh are sipping drinks, and Nathan is grilling burgers.
Robin smiles when she sees me. “There you are! Where’s Ed? We thought you two may have snuck off together.”
“He’s napping.”
Nathan is nodding. “Yeah, dude is a pill when he’s tired.”
My heart lifts. See, he was just tired and cranky. He’s like that with everyone. My whole body feels lighter.
Robin stands, grabbing a glass. “Drink?”
“Yes, please.”
Anh shifts in her seat. “When are we going to have our book club meeting?”
Robin laughs. “Um, when you actually finish one of the books.”
Anh’s mouth is hanging open. She looks at me. “You told her.”
“I didn’t.”
Anh looks back at Robin. “How did you know?”
Robin hands me my drink, and we all sit together at the table on the porch. “Because when you used to actually read the books, you had a lot more to say about them, your thoughts on them didn’t sound like CliffsNotes, and—this is the one that really did it—you were always so agreeable. I would say I think Poppy is a little selfish, and you would say totally. If you had actually read the book, you would never agree, at least not so fast.”
