Page 48 of Find Me in the Rain


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I feel naive that I assumed he knew. How stupid that we’ve lost all this time, all these memories.

But what if he’s only here now because of Jack, not because of me?

I look up, finding his red-rimmed hazel eyes actively searching mine.

“I’m so sorry that you had to do all of this alone. God, Laura, I’m so sorry. I want to know all about him. What’s his favorite color? What’s his favorite NHL team?” He chuckles, and I smile that he can’t help but slip a little joke into the serious moment.

His hands trail down my arms, his fingers finding mine. I continue to smile up at him, so overwhelmed with everything going on.

“It’s okay. Jack and I turned out all right.”

My phone buzzes, and I pull it out. There’s a text from Char.

Josh and Jack took the car. I got us an Uber. It’ll be here in five.

His thumbs are stroking over my fingers. “But I’m here now, Lu. I don’t want to go anywhere. Is this why you have been so distant since I got here?” His eyes shift, a hidden fire igniting behind them.

My stomach twists. “Well, yeah. I thought here you were, acting so confident and cool, just flaunting the life you built without us. To be honest, it’s going to take me a minute to adjust. I’ve been hating you for years.” I laugh, feeling almost embarrassed that all this time apart shouldn’t have happened. “But, I don’t want you to be here because you feel like youhaveto, Alec. I want you to be here because youwantto be.”

He inches closer to me, his voice lowering. “Laura, if I didn’t want to be here with you, I never would have invited you to that party, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have picked a fight with Cam. Seeing his hands on you, his body on yours, made me primal. He’s lucky that you were there to stop me. Fuck, Lu, I’ve been trying to get your attention this entire time. When I saw you at Fireflies, I thought about how lucky I had been that I ever got a chance to date a girl as beautiful as you, inside and out. I’m here because the moment I saw you again, I saw nothing else. Then, your gorgeous eyes wouldn’t get out of my mind. Your smile is in every dream I have. I can’t get you out of my head, but to be honest, Laura, you never really left.” He continues to inch his face toward mine, slowly closing the already-short distance between our lips.

His warm breath caresses my lips, inviting them in.

Suddenly, ice sprays all around us, and a teenager takes off, away from us, laughing. Alec involuntarily jerks, wanting to skate after him.

Laughs rattle out of me—maybe from nerves or maybe because my heart and brain are fried and this is the only emotion left.

Alec turns back to me, smiling. His eyes drop to my lips for a second before moving back to my eyes. His voice is clear, confident. “Go out with me.”

I scoff. “What?”

He takes my hands again. “I said, go out with me. I want to take you on a date. A real date. Not like the late-night McDonald’s trips we used to take as kids. Like, we both get dressed up, I get us a car, we go to a nice dinner, and maybe we end it with a good-night kiss.” He bites his lip as his eyes caress mine. “Definitely a good-night kiss.”

My cheeks instantly warm. I know that this is just Alec, the boy I used to love and know. But dear God, he’s a lot more now.

He’s just in a hoodie and sweats, but he looks like he stepped off a photo shoot. Not to mention, those damn cheekbones, and for fuck’s sake, that jawline. I mean, come on, God, spare some of the good parts for the rest of us.

He smiles, those perfect white teeth shining down on me. “So, what do you say, Laura Young?”

I’m still struggling to release all the pent-up anger I’ve had all these years. It’s hard to let that go in a matter of minutes, but it’s anger for nothing. He didn’t know about Jack. I can’t punish him for that. I can’t punish myself for that.

I nod my head at him, sucking my bottom lip between my teeth. “What time?”

He doesn’t think, just reacts. He reaches out, grabbing my cheeks, and places his soft, supple lips on my forehead, breathing me in. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

He leans back, leaving chills in his wake. He takes my hand, intertwining his fingers with mine, and he pushes off, guiding us to the entrance. “Wait, Lu, do you want to bring Jack?”

The conflicting feelings are back. Just because Alec wants to take me on a date doesn’t mean we are going to live happily ever after. I need to see how tonight goes before I set Jack up for any level of heartbreak.

“I thought tonight could be just us.” I smile up at him, hoping the universe is finally on my side.

We walk up to Charlotte, who looks torn between punching him in the face and hugging him. I guess I have to catch her up on a lot.

Her arms are crossed. She puts her hand out, stopping us, her focus mainly on Alec. “Look, I hope that whatever is going on here lasts. Because that little boy is what makes this world spin. And if you”—she pokes Alec in the chest—“mess this up or hurt her and him, I promise you, I will break your fucking legs so that you’ll never be able to skate again.”

She backs up, and he opens his mouth to speak, but she cuts him off. “I love Laura. She is my family. But she has one weakness in this world. And it’s you. Do not fuck this up, Alec, because I won’t be able to handle helping her pick up the pieces. I watched you destroy her once when you ignored her letter, I can’t do it again.”

He releases my hand, giving Charlotte his full attention. “I’m sorry to you, to Laura, to Jack. I didn’t know, Charlotte. I had no idea Laura was pregnant. I never would have left. I can’t stop thinking about what I’ve missed. His first steps, his first Christmas, birthday, everything. And I missed out on all these years with the most amazing woman I’ve ever met.”