Page 100 of Somewhere Only We Know
“Thank you.”
The words zapped me in the chest. Even though she had said as much in text, it was an entirely different thing to hear it. Especially since the last words we exchanged in person were so hurtful.
“Thank you for the photos you published,” she continued. “They were beautiful. You’re… what did you say to me that day? You’re incredibly accomplished, Jack.”
The zap was now sending warmth through my entire chest cavity. “The subject made it easy,” I said, swallowing hard. There was so much to tell her. How seeing her be so brave on that stage—putting everything on the line, taking control of her career—how that had changed the entire trajectory of my life.
How she taught me that pursuing your dreams was worth it. That your dreams could change and that change might be hard. But you should still try. Because anything short of that wasn’t a quality life.
She brushed her hair back from her face, and my eyes followed her every movement. I was so greedy for all of it.
“I’m so proud of you,” she said with a smile. “You did it.”
Wow, I wanted to kiss her then. I crossed my arms to stop myself. “Youdid it. You gave me that challenge. You gave me the story. You gave me—” and I couldn’t keep going anymore. My voice cracked with the overwhelming emotion of it.Everything.
But she knew what I was trying to say. She had always been able to see the heart of me, even when I wasn’t able to. She reached out and touched my arm. “Jack. The feeling’s mutual. You were right. I was scared. I needed someone to tell me that. To help meseethat.”
Even though I actually knew this, had seen it confirmed on live television, I was shocked by the intense pleasure I felt at having itconfirmed. The way she was looking at me… could it be possible that she still had some feelings for me? After everything?
I smiled. “You sound awesome up there. You’re doing some cool stuff.”
She threw her head back and laughed. “Ooh, am I Jack-approved now?”
“You’ve always been,” I said without thinking.
Even in the dim lighting, I could tell she was blushing. That small sign bolstered me and I reached for her hand—my fingers gently lacing with hers. “I’m proud ofyou.”
She looked down at our hands and gave mine a tight squeeze. I held my breath. “That’s nice. But I’m starving and we should go eat after this,” she said.
I laughed. “Of course we will.”
“CATHERINE!” A man’s voice boomed through the bar and we pulled apart.
Catherine rolled her eyes. “I have to go.” The familiarity of the words, the shortness of our time together, came back like a spectral presence lingering between us. “Wait for me?” she asked.
I nodded. “I’ll be here.”
Her eyes flashed and before I could react, she reached up and kissed me. Hard. It was the kiss of an outlaw, of a soldier back from war. I gladly submitted, letting her wrap her arms around me, feeling her body lift up as she stood on her toes to reach me.
“Um, I hope you don’t have a girlfriend,” she said breathlessly when we broke apart.
I shook my head with a laugh. “No. Not yet.”
We looked at each other for a long time.
“New city, new start,” she finally said. Her brow furrowed in thought for a second. “Let’s pretend that kiss didn’t happen.”
I bit back laughter and she lifted the curtain to step outside. But she stopped mid-step. She turned and looked at me with an odd expression. Her gaze moved from my face to my chest. My T-shirt.
“UCLA?” she asked, eyes lifting back up to mine.
Right. “There’s a lot to catch up on.”
It was like a light came on within her—she started to glow and radiate with a warmth that filled me with the most unfamiliar feeling. Pride. In myself.
We held that moment for one absolutely perfect second before she ducked out.
It came back then—every single feeling from that day one year ago. I had moved on, figured my stuff out. Pretty sure Catherine did the same. Even if it had been the most intense day of my life, it was still one day.
