Page 19 of Promise Me Nothing
He nods, lifts his arm so it rests on the back of the bench, his fingers resting just inches from where I’m sitting, and tilts his body towards mine.
I’m shocked at how my body seems to want to mirror his, tilting just slightly to the side to face him a bit more.
“I’ve been gone for a few years,” he says. “Even lived near the ocean, too. But there’s something about the way it smellshere,” he says, shakes his head and looks back at the water. “It’s just different.”
“It’s the smell of home,” I say, giving him a soft smile. “You can’t ever replace that.”
It feels strange to give him an answer like that when I don’t have my own smell of home. But instinctively, I know what he’s talking about. I just wish I could find it for myself.
We sit in silence for a few minutes, and I realize then that I’ve totally calmed down, for which I am incredibly thankful. The last thing I want is to be a sweaty, gaping mess right now, especially next to a guy who looks like he should be on a billboard somewhere selling you literally anything.
I would totally buy it, too.
“How long are you in town?” he asks, breaking me from my trance of staring at the water as it crashes against the shore and then rushes back out again.
I shrug. “I’m not sure yet. Not long, though.”
“Can I take you out?” he asks.
I look to him so quickly I’m surprised I don’t give myself whiplash.
“What?”
“To grab a drink or something,” he adds.
I’m already shaking my head. “Oh, that’s okay. Thanks for the offer though.”
His brows twitch, as if my answer caught him off guard. There’s a long pause. “How about a coffee?”
I shake my head again. “Thank you. But I’m just here to spend time with my brother.”
At that same moment I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Pulling it out, I see Lucas’ name, along with a text asking if I’m okay.
“Speak of the devil… look, I have to go.” I stand, only half looking at him again. Sometimes it’s just too hard to look at someone that gorgeous in the face. “Thanks for the chat, and for sharing the bench.”
Then, before he can say anything else, I spin on my heel and power walk my butt back to Bennie’s.
"Sorry,” I say when I finally slide back in to my seat across from Lucas and Paige. “I just needed some fresh air.”
I realize how stupid it sounds. Especially since we are literally sitting on a rooftop deck, sucking in all the fresh air we could want. But it’s also true.
“No worries. Just wondered what happened,” is all Lucas says, but he looks a little concerned.
Paige, though, is focused on something on her phone. In fact, as her mouth drops open and her eyes grow wider, I wonder just how important it might actually be.
“Holy. Shit,” Paige whispers, frantically responding to something. Then she looks at Lucas. “You’ll never believe who just got back in town. Even if I give you a thousand guesses, you wouldn’t get it.”
Lucas rolls his eyes, clearly not as impressed with whatever this newest piece of gossip is.
“The best thing I could possibly do right now is tell you that you’re not allowed to let me know who it is.”
Paige smacks him in the chest, then returns to her texting, her thumbs flying across her screen without breaking stride. “Not funny.”
Lucas rubs his chest, but smiles and reaches for his drink. “Alright, Paige. I’ll humor you. Who is back in town?”
“Wyatt. Calloway.”
At Paige’s admission, Lucas freezes, his glass nearly to his mouth but not there quite yet. Paige is looking at her phone, seemingly getting live updates while Lucas looks… well, I can’t really tell. But, definitely not as calm as he looked a moment ago.
