Page 138 of Begin Again Again

Byron sighed, pressing his head back into his seat. He’d never thought he could do role play—cringed to think about it—but Beth knew how to pretend in a way that somehow made it fun and real. She made everything fun and real. This Sal stuff—it would be okay. Everything was okay. If he could just tell Beth he loved her and stop worrying he was a pisshead, everything would be perfect.

Beth was in the front yard watering the roses as he pulled into Mrs J’s driveway. She raised her hand and waved. Relief flooded him and he waved back, happy for the first time since he’d left that morning.

Beth turned—probably to shut off the hose—but he rushed out of the Hilux and grabbed her, crushing her to his chest. “Hey, baby.”

Beth shrieked as the hose flipped around, soaking their shins. “What are you doing, you clown?”

“Touching you.” He pressed his nose into her neck. “God, I missed you.”

“You’re saturating us!”

“Only in the legs.” He swung her around, moving them away from the hose. “Better?”

She laughed, and in that moment—her lips so red, her eyes so bright—he almost said it. But he kissed her instead, pressing his mouth to hers like it would give him courage, oxygen, alcohol—everything.

She pulled away, gasping a little. “That’s some fucking hello.”

“You’re some fucking girl.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “What’s new, Horoscopes?”

He expected her to smile, but she pulled back, pinching her lower lip. “Have you spoken to Sal?”

His mood flatlined. “I just spoke to them. Big news, huh?”

“You know they…”

He gently lowered Beth to the ground. “Came here?”

“Yeah.”

He didn’t like Beth’s expression. It was shifty, kind of wound up. Was there more to the Sal thing than them starting an OnlyFans? “Everything okay?”

“Um, well.” Beth tugged her lip, twisting it sideways. “It’s been a big day for lots of things. When it rains, it pours and all that.”

“What do you mean?”

She gestured at the house. “Maybe we should go inside and talk about it?”

“Sure.”

He followed her into Mrs J’s living room. Beth bounced high on her toes, full of what looked like nervous energy. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing!” Beth turned, her eyes wide. “Do you want a ginger ale or something?”

What he wanted was a pint of whatever would get him drunk the fastest, but he nodded. He bent to remove his boots as Beth moved behind the bar and returned with two Strangelove ginger ales. “The couch, maybe?”

They sat, Beth’s hand rising to fiddle with her lip again. Byron’s temples throbbed. He pulled out his keys and gestured to the ginger ale. “I’ll open them.”

“My hero.”

He popped the top on the drink and handed it back, waiting.

Beth took a nervous sip. “I… so Mrs J is coming home early. She called before Sal did and asked me to be out by tomorrow.”

Byron’s mood lifted so rapidly, he felt lightheaded. “Oh, that sucks.”

“It’s not a huge deal. Obviously, Mrs J is allowed to do that, but it was a bit of a shock. Especially when Sal showed up wanting my advice on how to housesit.”

“Sure.” He cracked open his ginger ale. The top flipped over the couch and Pizza pounced on it. Byron smiled at the cat as a terrific idea occurred to him. “Come stay with me.”

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