Page 82 of The Now in Forever
He plants little kisses on the back of my neck. “You’d like Portland.”
“It seems cool. There’s also… Well, this idea is a little crazy, but there’s that bookstore for sale in Fortune Falls.”
“Right,” he says, his voice hesitant.
“I went and checked it out. It’s beautiful, and it has an apartment above it so I wouldn’t have to worry about getting a place on top of buying the shop. I even talked to some people about a business plan.”
“Wow. You’re serious?”
I roll over on my back to see his face. His brow is furrowed.
“It could be really amazing.”
He runs a hand over his mouth, sitting up. “You’ve been busy.”
“What do you think I should do?”
He rolls off the bed, stepping into his boxers long ago discarded on the floor. “Whatever makes you happy?”
I swallow hard and then go for it. “What about us? If I was in Portland, it would be easier, right?”
He shrugs. “I don’t know. I’m not sure that I’m going to live there much longer. But I might. I’m not sure. Right now, I just need to focus on this film, you know.”
I sit up, wrapping the blanket around myself. “Yeah.”
He heads into the bathroom, and I hear the tap running.
When he gets back, he wraps me in his arms again. His breaths are rhythmic and heavy almost instantly, but I’m left awake, staring at the plant in the corner of the room. What if I take the job at the school in Portland, and he moves?
In the dark morning, our bodies find each other again. It’s passionate, and as he kisses me over and over, I can’t help but think it feels a little like it might be the last time.
With the minutes ticking by before my scheduled ride, I pack quickly and shower even quicker.
Ed is in the kitchen in his boxers, making coffee. “Do you want some?”
I check my phone. My driver is on the way. “I’ll get some at the airport.”
He nods. “Look, I?—”
I stop him. “Ed, I get it. This whole Hollywood thing is intense.”
He puts his hand on my hips and pulls me close. “Thisis intense.”
I smile. He’s not wrong.It is. But is it enough?
“I’ll miss you.” I kiss his neck.
He groans. “How am I going to survive without being able to touch you?” He runs his hands down my back. “I don’t know how I’m going to concentrate today. I’m just going to be replaying last night,” he whispers in my ear, sending shivers down my spine.
But a thought tingles in my head stronger than that. “I have an idea.”
His eyes light up. “Ooh, do you think we have enough time?”
I laugh. “No. And that’s not what I meant. Are you still going to the Oregon Book Awards at the end of the summer?”
“Weare, I was hoping.”
“Perfect. I don’t think we should talk until then.”
