Page 50 of After Midnight

Two teenage girls blink up at me, their eyes going wide.

“A-are you Sebastian Harris? From LGC?”

My lips lift into a smile. On the rare occasion that I do get recognized, I never mind taking a moment to chat with fans.

“In the flesh.”

One of the girls bumps the other one and whispers, “I told you!”

Her friend bumps her back and holds up her phone with a shaky hand. “Could we take a picture with you?”

“Sure.” I grab her phone, making her draw a startled breath, then squish myself up next to them, smile at the camera, and snap a quick selfie. Then I hand the phone back to the girl, who still looks a bit shocked. “How’s that?”

She and her friend push their heads together, staring down at the photo with wide eyes. Then she looks up and says, “It’s perfect. Thank you so much.”

“Anytime.”

A scanner comes available, and Remi steps toward it. I follow her, noting she still looks tense, and she’s not saying anything. She starts scanning items, and I reach out to put a hand on her waist, but she steps back suddenly.

My brow furrows. “Hey. What’s wrong?”

Her blue eyes flick toward the girls, who are still whispering behind us. “Are you okay being seen like this?” she asks. “Like . . . with me?”

I’m not sure what my face does, but I must look confused, because Remi explains, “I just thought you’d want to . . . I don’t know, keep this private or something.”

Her cheeks are turning a bit pink now, and it’s way too fucking cute.

“Rem,” I say, and the nickname finally draws her gaze to mine. “I don’t want to keep anything about you hidden.”

She bites her bottom lip, hesitating at the scanner, and this time when I put my hand on her waist, she doesn’t pull away.

“But I’d understand if you don’t want to be seen with me.” I glance over my shoulder, and one of the girls immediately lowers her phone, making it super obvious that she was either recording me just now or taking photos.

Remi shakes her head. “No, it’s not that.”

My lips lift into a smile. “So, we’re good?”

With a small nod, she says, “Yeah, we’re good.”

“Awesome. Now let’s hurry up. I’m starving.”

We finish scanning everything from the cart, and Remi gives me a sideways smile when she sees the extra chips and candy bars I threw into the pile. Before she can pull her card out of her wallet, I guide her gently out of the way and tap the reader with my credit card.

“You bought last time,” I tell her. “This one’s on me.”

She slides her wallet back into the black purse slung across her shoulders. “Okay. Thanks.”

Together, we carry our paper bags out to her Jeep and load them into the back. Then we climb in, and as Remi starts the engine, I take a second to just look at her.

“What are you staring at?” she says as she guides the Jeep out of the parking lot and onto one of the busy roads.

“You.” My fingers find her cheek, and she leans subtly into my touch, though she keeps her gaze on the road. “I’m trying to memorize you.”

She bites her lip again, and I get the urge to do the same thing, to trap her lip between my teeth and never let go, but we’ll have to wait until she’s not driving for that.

“You don’t have to,” she says finally, voice soft, almost tenuous. “I’m right here.”

I’m right here.