Page 46 of Fall Twice

My heart tugs at that thought, in a favorable way too.

“Lena! Small world,” Johnny calls out.

My head whips in the direction of his line of sight, and Lena is a beautiful image. She has a cute-as-fuck beanie hat on her head as she walks toward us with a shy smile.

“Hey, Johnny. Small town, small festival, what are the chances?” She finds this coincidence amusing. Her eyes land on me, and she attempts to maintain her soft smile.

I mouthhellobecause when our eyes connect, I’m suddenly not capable of speaking. But then I blink and quickly throw a question out. “Where’s Oscar?” I look behind her to see nobody trailing behind.

“With a friend. Only a few weeks at school and already getting invited over for playdates. He’s in demand.” Her polite smile doesn’t fade.

“That’s great.” I’m happy for her, as she was worried about him adapting. “I’m sure you will need a separate calendar to keep track of Oscar’s busy social schedule.”

Everyone around us may as well disappear because the world feels like it’s stopped.

“You thought you would check out your new favorite celebration?”

She nods. “Yeah, there’s someone selling yarn, and I thought I would attempt to make a scarf or something. Keep my hands busy.”

When her eyes stall, I realize that she let it slip that she has a reference imprinted in her head of how to use her hands in other ways. It causes me to smirk.

“You’re here alone?” I wonder.

“No. I’m supposed to be meeting a colleague who is fast becoming a friend. We were going to take advantage of Oscar being at a friend’s and try the new brewery for a drink.”

“Oh. That’s…” A disappointment, as I was hoping to prolong this surprise encounter.

The clearing of a throat draws our attention to Johnny. “You know, Prudence could use a hand here. I think I’ll stay put for a little bit.” Johnny gives me the eye.

Grabbing my opportunity, I quickly jump in. “Sounds good.” I look back at Lena. “Can I walk with you until your friend comes?”

She rolls her lips in as she smiles to herself. “Sure.”

Prudence, who is still with a customer, doesn’t notice, and I give Johnny a confirmation with my eyes that I’ll be back.

The moment Lena and I are walking side by side, I feel the pull to bring her closer. Not just now, either.

“I feel like this place is a fantasy,” she comments as she looks around.

“They put on a good show, huh?”

“What’s Christmas like?”

I let our arms touch. “Well, it’s all the seasonal holidays, so a mix of celebrations, and it’s quite possible the number of lights may cause the entire state’s electrical grid to crash.”

She stops and turns to me with a wide smile. “And this is where you ended up drinking gingerbread lattes and teaching students?”

“And here you are in the same place.”

It feels like there’s a magnet keeping us close to one another, yet we don’t touch; we continue to walk, unable to keep our distance.

“You had a good week?”

“It was okay, and you?”

I scoff. “Same old, same old. Students who piss me off and impress me all in one go, my mother calling every day, and I should probably cut the caffeine.” She nods in understanding, but I want more, and I touch her arm to stop our stroll, which surprises her. “The thing is… that life kind of sucks. I had a shitty few years thanks to cancer and a fiancée who I thought I loved. I’ve been turning the wheels of life ever since. But then—”

Her finger lands on my mouth to shush me. “Don’t say it,” she warns me. “Don’t confuse lust with something else. Or the fact we have a history, so it’s easy to get attached to the familiar.”

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