Page 4 of The Way We Are

Growing up, Savannah hated her dimples. Like every girl in our neighborhood, she was ten going on twenty, and since she believed her dimples made her look immature, she did everything in her power to cover them. It was a pointless endeavor. She doesn’t just have those little creases that emerge when she smiles. Her dimples are permanently embedded in her cheeks, growing more mesmerizing each time she smirks.

“A dimple in the chin reveals a devil within, but a dimple in a woman’s cheek reveals a special treat.”

Savannah’s hand darts up to cover her mouth when she smiles brightly. “I can’t believe you remember that.” She stares at me with wonderment in her eyes, her smile growing for every second that passes in silence. “God, Ryan, how long has it been?”

“Nearly five years,” we say at the same time.

She peers up at me with glistening eyes, her shock uncontained on her gorgeous face. “Five years, and you still remember it like it was yesterday?”

I nod without hesitation. It’s also been five years since I’ve tasted her lips, but I still recall how delicious they are. Her mouth has the same rich, all-encompassing smell of her skin. Even the fumes pumping out of my rusty old motor can’t cover her intoxicating scent. She smells as delicious as she always has. Like a perfect, untouched rose.

“Just put the fucking cables on already. I’ve got shit to do.”

Hearing her boyfriend's vicious snarl, Savannah startles. Her jump is so violent, she stumbles on the cables weaved between her feet. When I reach out to catch her, the earlier zap from her touch turns into a full-blown electric surge. It races up my arm, kickstarting both my heart and my libido. The girl of my dreams is right here, in my arms, directly in front of me.I’d be a fool not to take advantage.

Spurred on by a mass rush of adrenaline roaring through my veins, I lower my hands from Savannah’s arms to her waist. Her breathing quickens when my thumbs brush the bare skin on her smooth hips. I wait for her to move, to deny my advancement. She does no such thing. She just peers up at me with the same pleading, doe-eyed look of innocence she had the last time I kissed her.

If I had known the kiss we shared under the maple tree in my back yard five years ago was going to be our last, I would have made it more unforgettable. I would have made sure a million years couldn’t erase it from her mind. But I didn’t know. I had no fucking clue. I’m still clueless as to why she went from visiting my house every weekend to never seeing her again.

It appears as if it wasn’t just her financial status that had a significant overhaul, so did her entire life. Lifelong friends were forgotten, childhood pledges canceled without warning, and memories tainted by sullied thoughts. Savannah didn’t just walk out on me all those years ago; she walked out on herself.

Savannah has money, wealth, and popularity, but she isn’t half the girl she used to be. She likes to pretend she's happy, but her eyes don’t reveal that. They show she is as lost as I was when I rocked up to her thirteenth birthday party five years ago only to be turned away. I had the invitation, the present—I even had a freshly laundered shirt. I just didn’t have the girl.

A rare moment of clarity breaks through the excitement thickening my veins. With a hesitant smirk, I help Savannah back onto her feet before my eyes drift to my engine, pretending I didn’t hear her disappointed sigh. I want to ask her why this is the first time in years we’ve talked. I want her to fall to her knees and beg for forgiveness for throwing our friendship away like trash. But more than anything, I want to pretend this afternoon never happened.

Watching someone you’ve missed from a distance is easy, but having them so close you can taste them on the tip of your tongue... that’s just cruel. It's like leading a horse to water and expecting it not to drink. It’s impossible.

I stop fiddling with the jumper leads on my battery when a wingnut bolt is placed in my line of sight. “There's nothing wrong with your battery, Ryan. Someone just tampered with it.”

When my eyes lift from my battery to Savannah, she smiles a tight grin. “I thought maybe you were using car troubles as a ploy to talk to me. I guess I was wrong. You much prefer watching me from a distance.” Her words are throaty, choked through the remorse clutching her throat.

The tears threatening to fall from her eyes glisten in the late afternoon sun when she pivots on her heels and stalks to Axel’s car.

“Savannah...”

I want to say more, but I’m honestly lost for words. Five years of silence gave me plenty of time to devise what I planned to say when I saw her again, but that all went to shit the instant her eyes locked with mine. I’m not a blubbering teenage boy with communication issues... until I’m in Savannah’s presence.

After pulling the charging cables off Axel’s battery and dropping the hood, Savannah locks her tear-welling eyes with mine. “It’s fine, Ryan. I don’t blame you for keeping your distance. You see fewer cracks from afar.”

Stealing my chance to reply, she slips into the passenger seat of Axel’s car. Within seconds, it rockets out of the parking lot, leaving Chris and me standing in a dust cloud.

I take a few moments to gather my bases before my eyes swing to Chris. He's toying with the connectors of my battery, his confusion as apparent as mine.It’s a pity I know him better than that.

“Did the screws come loose?” I ask, suspicious.

Chris tucks his chin into his chest, hoping to hide his deceit. I don’t need to see his eyes to know he's lying. I’ve known him since we were in kindergarten. I can smell the dishonesty leeching from his pores.

“Chris...”I growl. “What the fuck did you do?”

He finishes screwing on the wingnut Savannah handed me before lifting his eyes to me.

“You’re an asshole,” I say, seeing the honesty in his eyes. “Savannah was right. There’s nothing wrong with my battery. You fucked with it!”

He waves his hands in front of his body, faking virtue. His acting skills are shit.

When I punch him in the bicep, he chuckles, "Hey, this wasn't all me. Brax had a hand in it too.”

“Don’t worry, he’ll get his,” I warn before heading for my driver’s door.

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