Page 70 of The Do-Over
THEA
Thea awoke to the sunlight shining in her bedroom window.
The familiar ache in her body brought her memories of what had happened last night to the surface. Rob Honeycutt in her bed, his mouth on hers, his hands on her, moving with her as if no time at all had gone by—
She closed her eyes. But I shouldn’t have let it happen!
Things had been over between the two of them for a long time. She could believe, after last night, that they would be friends after this. The unpleasant note they had left things on all those years ago had been effectively rewritten. But that didn’t mean they could just pick up where they had left off.
Did it?
She didn’t think so. Too much had happened. Their lives were in different places now. What, was she going to have a long-distance relationship, at thirty-five years old, with a man who lived in another state? Was she going to ask him to give up his practice in Chicago and move back to a town he had always hated? She couldn’t do that.
She pressed her palms to her face. What was she even doing, thinking about these things? It wouldn’t have happened at all if it hadn’t been for Rob’s memory loss. If he hadn’t been thinking of their relationship as something current rather than something that had been over a long time ago, he wouldn’t have turned to her for comfort.
She turned to the side. The place in her bed he had occupied was empty, though she could still feel the lingering warmth of his body. She sat up slowly, wondering what had made him go.
Was he thinking the same thing she was? Had he also awoken and decided that they had made a mistake, that it shouldn’t have happened?
Even though they were the same thoughts she herself was having, Thea hoped that wasn’t the case. She didn’t want Rob to regret their being together.
I’d better go find him and talk to him.
She got out of bed and grabbed her bathrobe from the hook beside her closet, realizing with faint embarrassment that she was still naked. Maybe it was for the best that he had gotten up and left the room before she’d been awake. They’d definitely saved themselves some awkwardness.
She cinched her robe around her waist and went out into the kitchen.
Rob was standing at the window, staring blankly out. He didn’t turn or acknowledge her when she came in.
Thea’s heart fluttered. What did this mean? Was it a show of regret? “Good morning,” she said hesitantly.
Rob turned to face her and smiled. “Hey,” he said.
There was something reserved in that smile. He didn’t look purely happy. “Is something wrong?” she asked him anxiously. “I know last night was unexpected—”
“Oh.” He hurried over to her. “Nothing’s wrong about last night,” he said quickly. “Don’t worry about that. Last night was—last night was great, Thee. Really.” He cradled her face between his hands and looked into her eyes.
The words felt genuine. “It was good for me too,” she murmured. “It’s been a while.”
“I felt that,” he said. “How long it’s been, I mean. Even though I can’t really remember the time, being with you felt like something that’s been missing from my life for a very long while.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.
She closed her eyes and melted into his touch, wondering if she was ever going to be able to resist him. She’d just been thinking that being with him had been a mistake, and here she was giving in, making the same mistake all over again.
Then he lowered his hands.
“The snow has melted,” he said. “That’s why I was looking out the window like that. The roads are clear.”
“Oh!” Thea hurried to the window and looked out. Sure enough, a lot of the snow was gone, melted into gray slush. As she watched, a car drove by.
Which means Rob is no longer stuck here.
He could leave now. And he probably would. There was no reason for him to stay now that the roads were clear. There was no reason he needed to be here.
“Do you want—” Her throat felt thick. She cleared it and tried again. “Do you want me to take you to the hospital? For scans?”
“I don’t know,” Rob said. “Do you think I need that?”
“Well, it’s up to you. I’m certainly not a doctor.”
