Page 10 of Only You
“Um, I’m making lasagna. It should be done soon. I hope that’s okay,” Remy says, his eyes on me with uncertain thoughtfulness, like I might tell him I hate it or something.
Because he doesn’t know.
Because we haven’t seen each other since we were kids. “Sounds good,” I say, still having no idea where to put my goddamn hands.
I clear my throat and push one of the unruly little fuckers through my hair, my other hand just uselessly twitching at my side.
And then Remy does something that comes totally out of nowhere.
He laughs. A full, beautiful, hearty laugh. It’s so unexpected that it startles a laugh out of me, even though I have no idea what we’re laughing about. Which only makes him laugh harder. Which of course, does the same to me. I have tears leaking out of my eyes as I wipe at my face and finally ask, “What’s so funny?”
He tries to quell his laughter, failing for quite a while, then wrapping an arm around his stomach and shaking his head. “It’s just... Why is this so awkward? Have you even been in such an awkward situation?” He’s still laughing, and the sound is perfect.
I don’t remember him laughing much when we were kids, but when he did, I know I felt like I’d won the lottery.
“I don’t know,” I say honestly. “We’ve known each other for so long. It shouldn’t be weird.”
He starts to calm his laughter a tiny bit, still grasping his stomach from the full-on belly laugh. “It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other though.”
That sobers me up a little as I nod, not worrying so much about my hands anymore. “So what have you been up to in the past ten years or so?”
“Twelve,” he corrects, and I let out a low whistle.
“Time really does fly.”
He nods in agreement.
“Principal at twenty-four is almost unheard of, right? I mean, that’s like really young.” I hope I don’t sound like an asshole, but he takes my curiosity in stride, tilting his chin up high and proud.
“Well, I graduated from high school two years early.” I can’t hide my shock, not that I should be surprised. He was alwaysreally smart. Hell, he helped me with my homework, and I was three grades above him. “And then I graduated from college in just under three years.”
“Damn, Remy. That’s impressive,” I say with pride, even though I have nothing to do with it whatsoever. If anything, I’m sure I held him back.
He looks bashful as his cheeks pink up, and he lifts his shoulder, trying to dismiss just how impressive it is. “I was offered a teaching job right out of college and was lucky when the principal job came up last year. I jumped at the chance, and no one else really wanted it.” He gives me a shy grin. “And I’ll be twenty-five in a couple of weeks.”
“September 15th,” I say, the date floating back to me effortlessly.
His eyes shine with surprise. “You remember my birthday.”
It’s not a question, but I still dumbly say, “Yeah.”
His smile is small, but I don’t miss it. He looks quite pleased which makes me puff up a little. “What about you? What have you been up to?”
I grab the back of my neck with my hand, and I don’t miss the way his eyes roam over my bicep, his gaze an intimate caress I’m not really sure what to do with. I’m sure he’s just surprised by the amount of ink on my arm, but I can’t say I hate the way he admires it. “I didn’t go to college. Barely finished high school but did.”
He smiles. “And what do you do now?”
I like that he doesn’t seem to judge me about not going to college. I have to admit his résumé is a little intimidating. “I’m a mechanic.”
“That’s fantastic,” he says, his eyes lighting up, and he looks genuinely happy for me. “I remember you always being fascinated by cars.”
I smile at the memory. “Yeah, guess that never faded.”
“So, it seems like things are going pretty well.”
“They are,” I say honestly. “And it’s never boring, that’s for sure, with Kellan and his family around.”
“They seem like a lot of fun,” he says, and I can’t help but notice that neither of us are going too deep into this conversation.
