We order and then chat while we wait for our food. I find that I am famished. And I am slightly fidgety. I’m seated between Gavin and Reece and across from Quinn. Every once in a while, Quinn catches my eye. His gaze is sparkling and mischievous at all times. It’s like he is just waiting for something to amuse him.
Every time he stares at me, my cheeks catch on fire.
And Reece notices this, too. She stares at me once, in confusion and then in realization. Not long after, she excuses herself to go to the bathroom.
And then pauses.
“Mia, do you need to go?” From the way she is staring at me, I decide that I’d better go whether I need to or not. I hurry after her and when we reach the bathroom, she turns to me.
“What are you doing?” she demands. “I can see the tension between you and Quinn. And I saw you flirting with Gavin. Seriously flirting, not his usual BS flirting. I’m not trying to interfere, but Mia, you’re supposed to be relaxing so that your memory can come back. I don’t think that adding complications to your life is exactly what your doctor meant.”
Reece means business. Her cheeks are flushed and I think she’s ready to stamp her foot or something.
“Calm down,” I tell her. “It’s not what you think. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. I’m so confused. All I know is that they’re both sexy as hell. And I like them both for different reasons.”
“You never used to like Gavin in that way,” she tells me. “Seriously, you didn’t. I always wondered why, because he’s cute and funny, but you never did. You said it was because you’ve seen him in diapers.”
I stare at her.
“Well, see, that’s the thing. I don’t remember seeing him in diapers now, so that’s no longer a problem. To me, he’s a brand new guy who is sexy as hell and twice as funny. I don’t remember anything. All I know is that he makes me feel safe. And trust me, right now I really need that.”
Reece nods. “I can see where that would be important to you right now. But what about Quinn?”
I smile at the mere thought of Quinn.
“He’s sexy as hell, too,” I tell her. “What girl wouldn’t be interested in him?”
Reece smiles now, knowingly.
“That’s true,” she admits. “Everyone loves Quinn. Back home, he can’t go anywhere without getting a girl’s phone number shoved into his pocket.”
“Hometown football hero?” I guess. There’s just something about him that screams that.
Reece nods. “Pretty much. And back home, Friday night football games are huge. The whole town turns out. Everyone loves Quinn. And the likeable thing about him is that he isn’t very conceited about it. He’s just a normal guy who happens to be gorgeous. He’s always been that way. It’s probably why I used to be totally in love with him.”
She grins now. And I have to smile, too. Oh, to be her. Going from being in love with Quinn to Dante. Rough life. I mention as much to her and she grins again. Every time she smiles, her eyes sparkle. I like it. She’s ornery-sweet, not ornery-bad ass like I’m told that I am. Maybe it’s why we get along. We’re opposites.
“Dante is the one for me,” she shrugs. “For the longest time, I thought it was Quinn. But one look at Dante pretty much changed that. You were here when it happened. You just don’t remember it.”
I sigh.
“What are you going to do?” she asks me now. She glances in the mirror and messes with her blonde hair, pushing one tendril behind her ear. “I’ve never seen Gavin actually serious about someone. I’ve seen him with a lot of girls, but they were never girls he would like to keep. You’re different. You have to know that.”
I sigh again. Because I think I do know that. I know it from the tender tone he had in his voice on his boat. I know it from the soft expression he has in his eyes when he looks at me. I know it from his smile. And I know that I never, ever want to hurt him.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admit. “I really don’t.”
Reece turns to me.
“I think you should just wait it out,” she tells me wisely. “Go on with life and deal with things as they come. Maybe you should just hang out with both of them and see what happens. I think that’s what I would do.”
My shoulders slump. I can’t help it. I’m not good at waiting. Hence my hatred for the words soon and eventually. Reece wraps an arm around them, bolstering me up.
“It’s going to be fine,” she announces. “Seriously. You’re an amazing, funny, sweet person. Everything will work out for you.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Sweet? You’re the first person who has described me in that way.”
She giggles. “You are sweet. It’s deep down because you try to hide it. But you are a sweet person, Mia. And those of us who know you, know that.”
“Then you’re the only ones who matter,” I tell her stoically. “The ones who know me, I mean.”
“Exactly,” she nods. “We’re the only ones who matter. Family doesn’t have to mean blood, Mi. We’re your family. And even though your parents give you a hard time, they love you, too. They just don’t understand you.”
I nod. And there is a hard lump that has swelled in my throat and I don’t even know why. Reece hugs me again.
“Wanna go back out?”
I nod, not trusting my voice.
And when we walk out to the table, I am surprised to find Elena draped over Quinn’s arm. Her voice is stickily sweet and her boobs are pressed against him.
Instant rage rushes through me, hot and red, but I tamper it down.
Quinn doesn’t belong to me.
He’s not mine.
But my heart doesn’t seem to realize that.
Elena glances up and sees me, then sees Reece. Her expression changes drastically as she locks eyes with Reece. She turns into an ice-bitch directly in front of my eyes.
“Hey, farm girl,” Elena says coolly. “I didn’t know you were back in town.”
I start to interrupt, but Reece speaks first. “And I didn’t expect to find you draped across my table.”
Elena smiles, her gaze tunneled on Reece. “I’m not. I’m draped across your ex-boyfriend. Jealous?”
She glances my way now and I feel frozen in place. This isn’t the girl who I spoke with in the hospital. But if I’m honest, I knew that she had this potential for bitchiness. I could sense it. And now she seems poised to strike, like a snake.
Dante breaks in, though, his voice calm yet cool.
“Leni,” he says warningly. I glance at him and he is staring at her, waiting. Expectant. He knows her. He has known her for a long time, so he is patient. Elena looks from him, to Reece, to me.
And then she smiles.
“Hi, Mia,” she says, her voice sweet now. “It’s good to see you. Would you like to come sit at our table?” She motions to her table, which is crowded with a bunch of other girls our age. They are snickering as they watch this exchange. And I realize that there is no place I’d rather be less.
I shake my head. “No, thanks. I’m fine here.”
Elena narrows her green eyes. “Are you sure about that? It might be better for you over there.”
My temper snaps to life.
“How so?” I answer, my own green eyes narrowing. Elena smiles wolfishly.
“You’re the one who said you wanted to be friends,” she reminded me. “I told my girls that and they didn’t believe me. If you don’t sit with us, they’ll think I was lying.”
I can feel the incredulous gazes of everyone at the table. All of them are trained on my face, all of them are waiting for me to speak.
I swallow.
“Elena, I’m happy to try and be your friend. But I won’t be manipulated or used as a pawn. Ever. So, right now, I’m going to stay here and eat my dinner.”
I stare into her eyes and she stares into mine.
And then she smiles, relenting.
“Okay,” she says casually. As though it is no big deal at all, as if she is used to people turning her down. “If you change your mind, though, we’re over there.”
She slides her slender hand along Quinn’s shoulders as she leaves and I want to break it. She smiles down at him.
“Call me,” she tells him.
I see a piece of paper in his hand and I have to assume it is her number.
My blood boils and I think my vision blurs for a second.
“See you later, D!” she calls to Dante over her shoulder.
Elena is barely gone for a second before Reece marches over to Quinn and yanks the paper from his hand. She tosses it into the burning candle in the center of the table. We all watch it burn.
“Not in this lifetime, Quinn,” Reece says. “She’s an utter bitch. You don’t need that.”
Quinn grins, lazy and slow. “Thanks for looking out for me, Reecie,” he says. He looks amused. But his words stir something in me. And I freeze.
“Reecie Piecie,” I murmur. I am stunned because it triggers something in my brain. Something familiar.
Reece stares at me. “Yes,” she says excitedly. “Everyone calls me that. Do you remember?”
And for a second, I do. I see flashes of Reece and me. We’re on the water, snorkeling, I think. She’s screaming, then laughing. The sun is shining on the water and Dante is there. We’re floating and it is peaceful and quiet and I can see why I loved the water. In my head, Reece grabs my hand and the three of us are floating in a circle.
And then the memory stops. I can’t remember anything else.
But I have this piece now, this fragment of my past.
And that’s something.
I nod.
“I remembered something,” I tell them. I sit down and share it. Dante grins.
“I remember that day,” he announces. “You were teaching Reece to snorkel. And I pretended to be a shark and scared the crap out of her.”
Reece smacks at him now. “I’m still not over that!” she sniffs. “You were a jerk.”
“But you love me anyway,” Dante tells her, rubbing at his arm. She smiles up at him.
“That’s because you’re not normally a jerk,” she clarifies. Dante is still rubbing his arm.
Gavin looks at me. “Was that all you remembered?”
And I think he’s really asking, Do you remember anything about me?
I nod. “That’s all. But I think it’s good. A memory came back. So that means that they aren’t all gone forever. Maybe the rest will come back too.”
And while everyone else seems encouraged, Gavin seems a little pensive. And I think I know why. He’s afraid that if I remember how I felt about him before, I’m not going to feel the same about him as I do right now.
And that’s a very valid concern.
I’m worried about the same thing, even while Quinn is staring at me from across the table with such a stormy dark expression. The sexual tension between him and I practically crackles and I want to leap over the table into his arms.
And then Gavin casually lays his arm over the back of my chair and his thumb rubs circles lightly on my shoulder. I glance into his eyes and I find such kindness there, such pure friendship amidst the sparkling dark depths and I gulp.