Page 57 of Revelry
“We should watch one together sometime.”
He popped a brow. “You think we could actually make it through a movie?”
“We could try,” I clarified, knowing the chances of me lying next to him for longer than sixty seconds and not taking his clothes off were pretty slim.
“When was the first moment you realized you wanted to be a fashion designer?”
At that question, a huge smile lit my face. “Oh, that’s easy. My grandma has sewed all her life. Now provided, she nevereverthought about fashion, only necessity. She made all my mom’s and aunt’s dresses for school when they were growing up, did the same for me until I begged her to stop in the third grade,” I added with a laugh.
Anderson smiled, too, carefully guiding me over the rocks as I continued.
“She used to give me lessons when I would stay with her for the summer, though, and I slept on a tiny little twin bed set up in her sewing room. It was amazing, laying there every night looking around at all the thread and fabric and machines and needles. After her and my grandpa went to sleep, I would pull out her book of patterns and flip through them. Over time I found myself wondering what would happen if you changed this or that, if you stitched this way or added lace here, if you pulled the waist in more, if you cut the V deeper. I guess it bloomed over time, but it all started with my grandma teaching me how to sew God-awful dresses out of school bus printed fabric.”
I almost felt like I was back there, in grandma’s old sewing room, thinking all I was doing was passing my summers by when really I was shaping my entire future.
Anderson squeezed my hand where it hooked over his arm. “I’d love to see some of your sketches sometime.”
“The only man to ever see my sketches is Adrian, so I might have to ask him first,” I said as we stepped down a little closer to the river. A bright pink was spreading over the sky, illuminating the rocks and the rush of the river.
“That’s the one you call all the time, right? Your best friend?”
I nodded. “He’s the first person I call when I have an idea for a new line, but unfortunately he hasn’t gotten that specific call in more than six months.”
I grew quiet and Anderson pulled me to a stop at the river’s edge, each of us looking out at the water. He dropped his hold on my arm and slid his hand down until it held mine.
“Keith?”
I just nodded again.
We didn’t talk about him much, not that we needed to, but whenever I did feel the need to, Anderson was always there. He listened, he didn’t judge, and somehow he never seemed jealous, either. I’m not sure I would feel the same if he were talking about an ex of his.
“Do you ever miss him?”
“Every single day.”
It was the truth, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
“Not in the way that I want him back,” I clarified. “Just in the sense that he was a part of my life for so long. I love him, I care about him. I want to know he’s doing okay. I wonder how his practice is going, or how his friends and family are. They all dropped me when everything happened... I don’t know. I just feel like my whole life has been uprooted, like I’ve been doused with a bucket of ice water. It’s been awakening, amazing, and terrifying all at once.”
Anderson took in a long breath, letting it go nice and easy. “Well, I think you’re brave,” he said. “And strong.”
I smiled up at him, but now he was shaking his head.
“But you are so wrong about what it feels like to have a bucket of ice water poured on you.”
I laughed. “Oh, yeah? What, are you the expert on that subject matter?”
An evil grin spread on his face and he pulled me closer, cupping my backside in his large hands. At first I was turned on, but when he waggled his eyebrows, I realized I was in trouble. “You could say that.”
I tried to pull away, but it was too late. He hoisted me up and over his shoulder, pulling my boots off my flailing feet as I laughed and squealed, pounding my baby fists on his muscular back. He smacked my butt playfully, stepping carefully out of his own boots while balancing me on his shoulder, and then he went tearing into the river.
He was a bit unsteady on the rocks and once the water hit his waist, he tumbled forward and we both went under. It was a shock to my system, the water so icy cold I couldn’t think, couldn’t process. The laughter was gone and my entire body was on fire. We both popped out and my breath finally came back just as Anderson tossed his head back with a loud laugh.
“You brat!” I swatted his arm playfully, wiping my drenched hair away from my face. “It’s freezing!”
“Is it? I didn’t notice,” he teased, eyes on where my nipples were showingexactlyhow cold it was through my light sweater. I feigned offense, hand going up to whack him once again but I moved too quickly, losing my balance. I stumbled back, not finding grip, and before I could register it, the current took my feet right from under me.
My body dipped fast, the rush of the water strong and relentless. For a split second I panicked, but Anderson’s hand was around my wrist almost as soon as I fell, and he tugged me back, pulling me into his chest. I clung to his soaked sweater, fisting my hands in it, eyes trailing slowly over the muscles of his arms, his chest, until I was gazing up at his cobalt blue eyes.
