Page 20

I figured it’s been a long time, but twenty years?

“Happy Birthday, by the way.” She doesn’t bother disguising the hurt in her voice.

Fuck. I’m really screwing up every which way.

“Thanks. Happy Birthday to you too.”

I don’t know how this is possible, but time has somehow managed to make her even more beautiful than she already was. I can’t help but admire the way the pink strands of hair framing her face complement the warmth of her skin. Or how her face is the perfect blend of ethereal, with cheekbones that look like they were carved by the gods and full lips paired with a distinct Cupid’s bow that makes me want to work up the courage to kiss her.

“Hey, Ren.” Her voice snaps me out of my daze. “What’s that?” She points off to the side, her eyes widening by the second.

I turn to see where she’s pointing, or at least I try to, but she grabs my chin and forces my attention back to her.

“Please tell me that’s not what I think it is.”

“Well, how can I…”

Her fingers make their way from my jaw to the center of my cheeks, and they become prisoner to the surprisingly strong hold she has squeezing them together.

“You didn’t mention there would be…” She pauses, unable to complete her sentence. First comes a visible shudder, then her eyes close and she lets go of my face as her hand creates a tight fist near her mouth where she’s actively gagging.

I bend as discreetly as possible to grab my shirt from the floor, not to draw attention to the fact that the cover I gave her, menial as it is, has fallen off.

“Nope. Hell no. Hell fucking no. There is no way I’m dealing with that.”

I turn to see what she’s referring to.

As much as I would classify Lia to be a fearless person, there is one thing she absolutely does not mess with, and that would be reptiles of any kind. Real or digitally and arguably possessed.

Just as I’m about to reassure her that as long as we keep moving the Pac-Man version of a lizard won’t hurt us, she beats me to it, using all her might to drag me to the door and push us through it.

I’m so impressed with her strength that it’s not until we collectively crash to the floor that I realize I left my shirt on the other side of the door that’s now gone.

Lia rests on top of me, completely naked. Her scent mixed with the way her body feels on mine has me wishing we could stay like this forever.

“Sorry,” she lets out, sounding out of breath. “I really hate reptiles.”

I can’t help but laugh. “How could I forget? I’m pretty sure you fainted freshman year in biology when Mrs. Landers brought her iguana in class.”

“I can’t believe you remembered that.”

Of course I did. You’re hard to forget.

“Anyway. Enough about that. Now that I’ve tackled you into…” Her voice drifts as she takes her eyes off mine and stares straight ahead. “The mall?”

I don’t need to look to confirm.

I know we are not at just any mall, but a version—a replica, if you will—of the mall we spent most weekends walking around when we weren’t working at Memoria. People watching, window-shopping, sampling food from the food court and calling it dinner, we did it all…together.

She gets up from resting on top of me and walks into the first storefront she sees.

I’ve walked through this loop more times than I could possibly keep track of. It’s caused me to become jaded, but with her here it feels new. And for the time being, bearable.

Band tees, and low-rise jeans clutter the clothing racks around us. I can see the excitement build the more she sifts through. She moves over to a small display of accessories and grabs a black plastic necklace. Stretching it, she places it atop her head, bringing it down until it rests perfectly at the center of her neck. “I haven’t worn one of these in forever. This is so early 2000s.”

I take a deep breath in. “That’s because it is.”

“No, I mean, like, all of this.” Her hand motions around us. “It’s like we traveled back in time.”