Page 11 of The One Who Got Away
Every September my mom hauled out the same decorations, as well as the same trip to the local greenhouse to complete the look. Part of me wanted to change the location of the pumpkins to the stairs for something different, but that would just cause another deluge of tears.
She wasn’t ready yet.
“Patience,” I said softly to myself and let myself back into the house.
It smelled of rosemary and the sharp sweetness of caramelized onions. As a teen I’d learned how to cook a few sheet pan meals to fill in for my mother when she worked late. I peeked in the oven and the steam of scents rolled over me making my stomach rumble. I’d originally planned to make ziti, since it had always been Gus’s favorite, but the chicken thighs had been too tempting.
I glanced at the clock and hurried to make some rice. I was doing a second rinse of the Basmati rice when my phone buzzed.
Gus:
Two minutes out
I smiled. He remembered I preferred a head’s up before he arrived.
I tried to ignore the little flip in my belly. It wasn’t a date. But it had been a damn long time since I’d spent time with my best friend. Even with all the years between us, he would forever stay slotted in that spot.
Jessie, from Bite Me, had become one of the most important people in my life, but there was only one Gus.
I hurriedly set the rice on the stove to cook and set my timer since I couldn’t be trusted with that man invading my space for the first time in... God, it had to be over three years.
I’d run into Gus when we’d both been home for Thanksgiving. He’d dragged me over to his folks’ house for leftovers on Black Friday after we’d bumped into each other in line at an electronics store. I did most of my shopping online for my mods and equipment, but I couldn’t turn down the price on a wide screen monitor after mine fried.
Back when I was working day and night on my company’s reimagining of Overwatch. No matter what I preferred, first person shooter games still led the charge in the gaming industry. Besides, it had been the first major game I’d been invited to work on.
A firm knock on the door dragged me out of memories.
I pulled off my apron and hung it on the hook on my way out of the small kitchen to the hallway. I snuck a look through the skinny window and my breath caught at the familiar line of him. He was facing away from the door with a bag dangling from his fingertips. Old jeans hugged him in all the right places. He wore a soft sweater in deference to the cool evening.
I opened the door and he turned, his dimple popped as he grinned at me. He still had his sunglasses on so I couldn’t quite figure out what was going on in his brain, but the smile made a little part of me sigh. I leaned against the jamb. “Hey.”
He stepped closer and for a moment his rainforest scent rolled over me. “Gonna let me in?”
Pants? Bedroom?
All of the above?
“Right. Sorry.” I stepped back and cleared my throat. “You look nice.”
“Figured a holey Linkin Park T-shirt wasn’t the right call.”
I laughed. “You still have that?”
“Of course I do. I had to do forty-seven steps in crutches for that fucking show.”
I laughed and closed the door after him. “It was a great show.”
“You look incredible.”I could feel his eyes on me before he pulled off his sunglasses and set them on the table with his keys like he’d done a thousand times before.
“Thanks.”
“It smells awesome.” His stomach growled and I laughed.
“I had a different plan originally, but I think the red wine will still work.”
“Handy for you, I brought white and red. I wasn’t sure what you liked.” He lifted the bag then rummaged around and pulled out a bag of Albanese gummy bears. “And these.”
I snatched them from him. “Oh, man.”
