Page 43 of The Forever Formula
This spot meant something to me, though. I had a thousand fantasies about it. About being here with Rachel. About things ending very differently the next time around.
“You’re kidding,” she said with a chuckle as we pulled off on the side of the road.
“Not even a little. You game?” I raised my eyebrows, daring her.
She held back a smile but nodded. “Yeah, I’m game.”
We climbed out of the truck, and I grabbed a couple of soft throw blankets from the back. When I looked up, Rachel was already jogging across the big field to the hot springs.
I knew where she was headed. We both knew.
Our pool. The one where we first kissed.
She stopped at the water’s edge, tugging at the hem of her shirt, then paused. “You sure this doesn’t hold bad memories? I did steal your clothes.”
I eagerly shook my head, a big smile on my face. I wasn’t even going to pretend. “Hell no. Anyway, I was thinking tonight we might make some new, better memories here.”
In reply, she peeled off her shirt, and I stood there for a second, staring like a horny idiot. Her curves were killer. Black bra. Lacy. Cleavage that I wanted to bury my face in.
I drew a breath and looked up at the stars, pleading with myself to find some self-control.
Then I followed suit, unbuttoning my own shirt, but paused before I dropped the garment. “Just promise me one thing?” I fixed a very serious look on my face.
Rachel’s smile fell, and she gave me a solemn look.
“Don’t run off with my clothes?”
Her shoulders bounced as she laughed, no doubt remembering my walk of shame in wet boxer shorts. “No promises.”
I shrugged. “Fair enough.”
We watched each other closely as we stepped out of our pants. Her skin was starting to get little goose bumps all over. It was fall now, and the air tonight was chilly.
A few seconds later, we slipped into the warm water in our underwear, giggling and giddy, as if transported back in time.
“This is so weird,” she said, grinning.
“Being back here?” I asked her.
“I guess, yeah.”
I slid closer to her. We had changed so much since we were kids. We used to be roughly similar heights, but now I towered over her.
“Good weird?” I asked.
She bit down on her lip. “Yeah.”
Her voice was throaty, and I knew that voice. She might have changed in a lot of ways, but I knew that voice.
“So, tell me something about grown-up Rachel,” I said.
She smiled. “Honestly? I’m still figuring her out. I thought I had my whole life planned out back in Houston. Being a nurse, living downtown ... it was my identity for the past several years. Now, though? I’m starting to imagine a new future for myself. Feeling it out as I go.”
I wanted to ask if that new future included me, but I wasn’t anywhere near brave enough. There was still a chance Austen was right, and I was going to take what I could get with her while I could get it. I didn’t want any regrets or what-ifs between us when she left.
Rachel tilted her head back, her eyes wide. “The stars are amazing. I’d forgotten how peaceful it is out here.”
The stars were nothing compared to her, though. I didn’t even bother looking up—I just kept gazing at her. She was the most beautiful thing around, by far. The curve of her lips. The soft skin at the base of her throat.
