AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t realize I’m clenching my hands until it starts to hurt. I try to shake the tension from them, but it’s pointless.
A look around tells me no one is aware of the state I’m in, and I’m grateful.
For the most part. I wish she would notice.
Instead, she’s looking at that guy and laughing. Their knees are touching. She looks so at ease, which I don’t think I’ve seen when it’s just the two of us.
I have no idea who he is, and he doesn’t seem to care who I am. He didn’t introduce himself, and hasn’t looked my way since I got here.
It rubs me the wrong way in combination with the fact that he’s been hogging her attention. I try to think back to the photo that was on her wall, the one that felt like a gut punch. If this is that same guy—
I think someone’s saying my name, and I’m pulled away from my thoughts.
“Miles? Where’d you go?” It’s Autumn, amusement in her voice. “It’s your turn.”
It is so good to see her smile in my direction, even for a second. I know she’s mad at me. I know I fucked up.
I grab a card, and continue to play the rest of this game without a single thought about it.
She eventually wrangles everyone to take photos, until it feels like there are hundreds of polaroid pictures floating around the place. I watch her go around, joking, laughing, telling people where to stand as she clicks away. She’s having a great time, and I’m glad I get to watch her while she’s distracted.
That bright smile of hers turns and walks towards me, and my eyes widen in surprise.
“Get over here.” She playfully grabs my arm, and my instinct is to joke that she's breaking a rule.
I don't. I don't want her to let go.
I follow after her, but instead of going where she points me, I reach for the camera.
“You haven’t been in a single one of these photos.”
“Neither have you!” she protests. “Get over there.”
“I have an idea!” The voice comes from behind us, and it’s her friend, Reya. “Since neither of you have been in any photos, you can both get your butts over there and take some together.” She snatches the camera with a large smile, not allowing room for arguments. I can’t think of a reason to argue with that, especially when Autumn puts her hand on my arm to walk us over.
She bounces over to stand in front of the decorated wall, and I follow without a word. Black and orange streamers create a curtain behind us, surrounded by orange lights, and paper bats.
“Say cheese!”
I do not say cheese when the flash goes off, which warrants a glare from the fairy next to me. I can’t help but smile wider at the sight of it, and then she can’t help it either. It’s an image I don’t want to look away from, with her cheeks flushed a perfect pink. The flash goes off again, and we both face Reya. She takes a picture of that, too.
“Okay, I’m done!” she squeaks from behind the camera. Autumn moves to grab it from her, right in time for her cat to dart past her feet.
“Elaine!” She yells as she loses her balance. Luckily, she falls in my direction and I steady her with a laugh. A laugh I can not, for the life of me, stop once it starts. The beers I drank while feeling sorry for myself are really doing their job.
I can’t even remember what I was feeling sorry about when I look down at the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen to find her giggling back up at me. If there was ever a perfect moment to kiss someone, this would be it right here.
If our lives were normal, if things were simpler. This would be a dream.
I don’t really care when the flash goes off again, but it seems to snap Autumn out of her giddy state. She quickly backs away from me, the smile on her face becoming a thin, polite line. I want to do whatever I can to change that again, to make her face light up.
I reach for her arm, but she jerks away so fast that she bumps into the counter. Two glass bottles meet the back of her elbow and go crashing to her kitchen floor. She gasps, rushing towards the shattered pieces to reach her broom. I do grab her this time, my arm wrapping around her front to pull her back.
A sharp inhale of her breath tells me I’m not the only one appreciating the way she feels against me, but then she's pushing my arm away.
“Please don’t touch me,” she whispers, soft enough that it reaches my ears only.
My heart plummets, crashing like the bottles did, but I remove my arm.
