“Who is ready for a drink?” my uncle Matthew says, clapping me on the shoulder. “You look like you need a drink,” he tells me.
“What is wrong with everyone? I’m fine,” I retort, as everyone slowly makes their way out. As soon as I step out in the sun, I look around to see if I can spot Addison. “I’ll be right back,” I say and don’t even wait until anyone says anything, and by anyone, I mean Jenna.
I walk toward the barn, hoping like fuck she doesn’t follow me. I’m about to take a step into the barn when my phone beeps in my pocket. Grabbing it and bringing it out, I see an email come in.
I read the tagline as requested and put the phone back in my pocket. I walk into the barn and see a couple of people running around. My eyes roam around the room as I spot her in the corner telling someone something. She points at something and the man just smiles at her. She laughs as he turns and walks away, and I have to clench my hands into fists before I walk to her.
“Addison,” I call her name loud enough for her to hear me. She turns her head toward me, the smile on her face fading as I close the distance between us. She takes a second to look around before she puts her shoulders back.
“Can I help you with something?” she asks me, not walking away from me. The minute I get in front of her, the smell of her brings back all of the memories of that night. As I look at her, I can’t help but think my memories of her are way off base because she is even better than I remembered.
Oh, you can help me with something all right, my head screams as I take her in. Her blond hair is definitely longer than it was the last time. Her brown eyes are also a touch darker than they were.
“Can you help me with something?” It comes out harsher than I want it to.
She looks around me and I can see her eyes are doing a scan of the room, nervously. Even her hands begin to shake. “I’m here for work,” she says softly. “I need this job.” The way she says those words, I have to think there is something behind it. It is said with an almost desperation in her voice. I count to ten while I think of what she said, letting her words sit before anything.
I hear voices coming even closer. “Okay, then, how is tomorrow?” I ask her. I don’t know if I’m asking her because regardless of what she says, we are going to have a sit-down tomorrow.
“Um, I guess,” she responds, wringing her hands before she walks over to a side table and picks up her phone. “What’s your number?” she asks me, looking down at the phone the whole time.
I take my phone out of my pocket and press my code to open it. Once it’s open, I click the email icon. I open the email I got before I walked in here. I press the phone number in the email. The phone rings in her hand. “What? How?” she asks shocked, pressing the decline button.
“It’s what I do,” I inform her. “Now, my place or your place?” Even though I don’t have a “my place” right now, but I’m hoping she says her place.
“No,” she snaps. Her voice goes a bit too loud, and heads turn to look our way. “Neither.”
“Fine, we’ll meet at a neutral space,” I tell her, not wanting her to get in trouble or lose her job.
“I leave tomorrow to go back home,” she says softly, her voice almost in a whisper.
“I’ll text you, and we can see where we can meet.” I stare at her in the eyes, the same eyes I got lost in that one night.
“Sounds good.” She nods before she looks over my shoulder. “Your girlfriend is looking for you,”
she says before she turns and walks away from me. Her dress swishes from right to left as she quickly exits the room to go to the back somewhere.
“Hey,” Jenna says as she comes and puts her arm around my waist. “You ran off.”
“Yeah, I was looking for the bathroom.” I say the first thing that comes to my mind, and it sounds like a bunch of bullshit.
“Oh, where is it?” she asks me.
“I got sidetracked talking to one of my cousins,” I fib to her and spot a server walking around.
“Can you tell me where the restroom is?”
“Through those doors.” He points at the doors off to the side. “I can show you.”
Jenna smiles at me before she turns and follows the guy out of the room. I let out a huge breath that I was somehow holding. “I need a drink,” I admit to myself as I turn to walk and then see Avery running in my direction. Her laughter is infectious, and I could listen to it for the rest of my life.