Till Summer Do Us Part(124)

He smirks. “I know.” Then he pops some in his mouth as well. “Follow it up with some Icee—that’s the real treat.”

“You act like you do this all the time.”

“Well, for a guy who doesn’t really do much, I’m not shy about attending a matinee.”

“I can see that.” I turn toward him as ads play on the screen. “Not to bring down the mood, but I feel like we need to talk about what happened at camp.”

“Sure,” he says. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Can I ask what made you change your answer?”

“I had a conversation with Mika,” he says, growing serious. “We talked about our mom and his mental health. I explained to him the roadblock I’ve had with moving on with my life. He told me that he was going to be okay and promised he wouldn’t go to that dark place again, and if he felt like he was going to, he would tell me. So”—his Adam’s apple bobs—“with that behind me, I felt confident that I could move forward in my life too. Sanders actually helped me comprehend that I’d possibly inserted myself into Mika’s life as a crutch and that Mika might not need his brother in that capacity anymore. So we talked that through, and here I am.”

“But do you really think you’re ready for it?” I ask. “Because I don’t want you jumping into something that you’re not fully ready for.”

His lips turn up. “I knew you were going to say that. And I have a response for you. Yes, I am ready, and I’m going to have a lot of fun proving that to you.”

“What do you mean?” I ask.

He boops me on the nose. “Let me figure that out, and you just sit back and enjoy the ride.”

“What does that mean?”

“That means”—he leans forward, cupping my chin—“you relax and enjoy.” He kisses my lips softly and then leans back and tosses more popcorn in his mouth.





“I really wasn’t expecting that twist at the end,” Wilder says as he walks me up to my door.

I pause and turn to him. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Wait, were you expecting it?”

“Wilder, the entire time, they alluded to it.”

“No, they didn’t,” he says playfully.

“Uh, yes, they did. It was so obvious. Honestly, one of the worst twists ever executed.”

His eyes widen. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding.”

“No, I’m not kidding,” I say. “Seriously, one of the worst.”

He shakes his head and grips my hips, the playful man that I knew at Camp Haven taking over. “Wow, I’m going to need to remember this. She’s hard to impress, folks.”

I chuckle and then say, “Do you want to come in?”

He winces. “God, yes, but I’m not going to.”

“You’re not?” I ask, feeling sad from his answer.

“Nope, I’m not. Because if I go in there, I can’t promise you that I won’t somehow find my hand up your shirt. And then if my hand goes up your shirt, that will lead to me playing with your seriously sexy tits, which then of course would lead to so much more, which would be amazing, trust me, but I have a process here. A process that I’m trying to work through.”

“Okay,” I say, my brows pulling together in confusion.

“Don’t worry. It’s a good process,” he says and takes a step forward. He kisses my forehead gently, then continues, “I do have a question for you though. One that I would love for you to answer.”

“Okay. What is it?”

He squeezes me tight and says, “When you were with Matt, what was one thing that made you sad when you were together?”

“Why are you asking that?”

He tugs on me. “Trust the process, babe.”

Unsure of where he’s going with this, I say, “Okay, um, one thing that made me sad when I was with Matt was…I guess he never complimented me, even when I dressed up.”

He nods and softly says, “You deserve better.” Then he leans down and kisses me. He pulls away, takes his phone from his pocket, and hands it to me.

“What’s this?” I ask.

“Going to need a selfie with you for my wallpaper.” He winks, and for some reason, when I take his phone, it’s the first time I notice he’s still wearing the bracelet I made him.

“You’re still wearing your bracelet.”

He glances down at it, playing with the elastic string. “Yeah, of course I am.” He looks up at me. “This bracelet says you’re mine. Why would I take it off?”





Chapter Twenty-Nine





WILDER

Scottie: Just got off the subway, be there soon.

I pocket my phone and stand outside the building, waiting for Scottie. I thought about picking her up at work but then decided to let her meet me. All weekend, I sent her text messages. Making sure to say good morning and good night. Telling her about my day, asking about hers. Engaging in thoughtful conversation. She even sent me a picture of her yesterday, sitting on her couch, looking fucking adorable in her tank top as she fanned her face from the heat.

I told her that I was going to buy her another AC unit, but she told me not to.