Page 125 of Deep In Love
“It’s weird,” I admit, “returning to the real world. But we’ll find a way to weave our lives together.” Her cheeks flush a rosy hue. “There’s no rush or timeline.”
Her shoulders relax.
“Did you want to come up?” she asks, breathless. “I think my room is messy, but—”
“Yes.”
There’s nothing I want more than to see Charlie’s cave, which is no doubt full of crystals and knickknacks. I wasn’t sure how she would feel today—with the tough goodbye and plane flight home—but my girl is a champ and slept most of the flight, her hand tightly holding mine.
Charlie drags me into the apartment building, and the moment she unlocks the door, a blur of hot-pink hair tackles her, nearly taking her to the ground.
They slam into my chest instead, and it takes all my strength to remain standing as Charlie and Amy reunite, yelling over eachother as they try to say everything they couldn’t over the past three weeks.
A goofy grin spreads across my face as I watch Charlie wiggle and squeal, laugh and huff. We’re still standing halfway in the entry, and I usher the two into the apartment.
Dozens of colorful throw pillows decorate an old couch, and the furniture is all mismatched, but it’s homey—a mosaic of Amy and Charlie. Photos of them pepper the walls beside old posters of boy bands and musicians. There’s a shrine to Charles Darwin—naturally—and candles everywhere, illuminating the space in soft light.
It’s exactly what I pictured: slightly messy and overflowing with love.
I’m chopped liver—completely ignored—as I drop our bags in an empty corner and walk around the room, waiting for them to grace me with their attention.
The girls have migrated to the couch, and I’m waist deep in the fridge, searching for a snack, when I hear a loud gasp, followed by a squeal, and then one final gasp.
“You told him first instead of me?” There’s a heavy pause. “Yeah, I heard it. That was insane.”
“I kinda had to,” Charlie murmurs back. My head is still deep in the fridge as I eavesdrop when Charlie adds, “It was epic, Ames. I had this whole speech, and it was under the stars.”
I snort into the almond milk.
Itwasepic.
“…and then he slipped my panties—”
And that is enough sharing for the moment—at least when I’m around. I’m not stupid; I know those two share everything with each other, but I prefer not to hear it.
“Jett gave me something,” I say, startling them both, and drop beside Charlie, who instantly leans into my side.
“Oh. My. God,” Amy screams. “She’s cuddling. Don’t fucking move.” She scrambles around. “Don’t move,” she wails, grabbingher phone and shoving it in Charlie’s face like a mom at a dance recital.
She doesn’t stop until Charlie is physically pushing the phone away, her iconic glare at full force. I kiss the glare—because I can—and Amy starts up again, the clicking sound filling the air alongside her laughter.
“What did Jett give you?” Charlie asks, whacking Amy as she sits back down.
I slip the hard drive from my pocket, twirling it through my fingers. I had contemplated watching it while Charlie slept since it was burning a hole in my pocket, but it felt wrong to watch it without her.
If Jett says it’s our love story, it’s only fair we watch it together. With Amy, too.
I fish out my laptop from my luggage and plug the USB into the computer, and Jett’s face immediately pops onto the screen.
“Blondie! I miss you already.” He winks on the screen, and Charlie laughs, drawing deeper against my side. “I made this special, just for you and Mateo. Love is found in the most unexpected of places, and Doug was able to capture it all on film. I’ll see you guys again soon.”
“Mateo…”
Charlie’s nerves ruminate, and I squeeze her thigh.
Music starts to play—a slow, soft song.
It begins with a video of Charlie and I boarding the boat, her yelling at me to be careful with her bag and its precious cargo, a.k.a her bobblehead and crystals. I’m wearing a lovestruck grin the whole time. The film switches to all of us playing Catan, Charlie staring at me from across the table. The camera bobs back and forth between us before it turns around and Doug says into the lens, “I canfeelthe sexual tension.”
