Page 81 of This Changes Everything

“I did not.” Rory laughed. “I guess the Devil works hard.”

“Not as hard as you,” I teased.

His laugh grew, and his dimple intensified beneath his scruff. “I didn’t do this. If I had, I would have made them play our song, but the acoustic version to try to be subliminal about it.”

“Our song? We had a song? Which one was that?”

He grinned. “I’m not falling for it, Cainey.”

It was shocking to me how quickly we settled back into ourselves, as if no time had passed, as if our history hadn’t been complicated, as if we hadn’t absolutely shattered each other’s hearts multiple times, as if he wasn’t dating a model that he’d met on a photo shoot whom I inadvertently met at his father’s funeral.

Suddenly, we were sixteen again.

“You did, though, right?” I asked. “You made them play this?” I poked my finger into his chest and was reminded by his pecs that, nope, Rory wasn’t sixteen anymore.

“Give me a little more credit than that.” Rory lifted out a driver from one of the bags and tipped the club head toward the other bag. “That one’s yours. I took a chance that you still play with men’s clubs.”

“I haven’t played in a long time. No joke, this is gonna be awful, but luckily, you’ve seen me play at my worst, so I’ve decided not to care.” I grabbed the other driver. “Ooof. These rentals are faaancy!”

“Not rentals. I got them for you.”

“What?” I spun my head around, my face flattened with surprise.

“They were free. Try not to be weird about it.”

“I don’t know, that’s really hard for me.” I smiled.

“I’m aware.” He returned my smile.

Rory dropped his ball on the mat and prepared to swing. He was in his element. I could picture him as a kid, standing the same way, in the place where I fell in love with him. My throat closed. The two groups of rowdy adults that flanked us on either side were watching with their phones out. I smiled awkwardly at one of the girls next to us. When she waved, I waved robotically back, not sure how else to handle the situation. Rory hit the ball, and we heard a chorus of whistles and whoops. He then stepped away from the mat, making space for me to take his place.

Oh no. This is . . . intimidating. It’s the Long Drive all over again.

I lined myself up with the ball.

Okay, calm down, Ellie. Calm down. It’s just Rory. It’s just a shit ton of strangers with their phones out. Calm. Down. Ellie, for the love of God, calm—

I was distracted by Rory quietly laughing to himself. He was holding his club against his chest. His smile warmed the night with nostalgia. My back straightened, and a slow smile crept across my face.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He laughed again, pulling on his jaw with his hand, trying to stop himself. “Just go.”

“Rory?” My voice lowered, and my eyes narrowed.

“I just . . .” He squeezed his eyes shut and let out a shaky exhale. His shoulders were shaking.

“Tell me.” I shifted my stance so I was leaning against the club with one hand, and the other hand landed on my hip.

“I just . . . I know what’s gonna happen.” Rory’s hand went to cover his eyes, exposing his perfect smile. He could no longer control his laughter.

I started laughing, too. “And what do you think is gonna happen?” I asked accusingly.

His eyes were lit up, and we shared a smile, knowing we were both thinking the same thing.

“Promise me, if you shank it, to hit the divider and not any of my twenty fans. I need that round number for my ego.”

I scoffed. “Okay, Instagram-verified-three-million-followers Rory Bloody Campbell, I’ll try my best not to maim or injure one of your twenty fans.”