Bo stood and held out his hand. “Come on,” he said, tipping his head toward the door.
I slipped my hand into his. The room was so chilly, the warmth of his skin felt heavenly. I rose, letting him lead me out the door and down the hall.
We stopped just inside the doorway to a tiny yellow kitchen. “You met Mom, right?” His mother turned from the sink to smile at me.
“I introduced myself to her,” she said, smiling. Then, to me, “Are you feeling better?”
“Yes, ma’am. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Come back any time,” she offered kindly, turning back to the sink.
Bo tugged on my arm and we left through a door off the kitchen. It led to a back porch where a washer and dryer sat to one side and a huge trunk-style freezer sat to the other. The exit from that room led to the back yard, which was apparently where the driveway ended, as there was an old blue Volvo station wagon parked right in front of the door.
“Mom’s car,” he announced, as if by way of explanation. “She works nights.”
He opened the passenger door and then closed it once I was safely inside. When he slid behind the wheel, I asked, “Does she have to work tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Is she going to be late?”
Bo shrugged. “Just a little, but she already called. It’s no big deal.”
Great! What a way to make a first impression on his mother.
The trip home went by way too quickly. Much to my surprise, Bo didn’t live very far from me at all.
When he pulled into the driveway, Mom’s car was already there, which was a shocker.
“Here we are,” I said, turning to Bo. “Thanks again for…well, everything.”
“So, do you mind my asking what happened with you and Connors?”
I smiled at the scathing way he said Drew’s last name. “We broke up,” I answered simply.
“Why?”
My smile died. The way he said it made it sound almost like a complaint, like something he couldn’t understand.
I tried to sound casual. “Things change. Feelings change, that’s all.”
“Good. I didn’t want it to have anything to do with me.”
For some unfathomable reason, that hurt.
“I’m not good for you, Ridley. Not like I should be, not like you need me to be.”
I was confused. He acted as if he really liked me, but now, here he was trying to convince me that he’s not right for me again.
“Don’t worry,” I said, opening the car door. “It had nothing to do with you.”
I got out of the car and closed the door on my lie. I caught myself before I stomped off petulantly. Instead, I took a deep breath and bent down to look at Bo through the open window.
“Thanks again,” I repeated, trying to appear nonchalant when I felt anything but that. It was impossible to feel nonchalant about something that was crushing my chest.
When Bo said nothing, I walked quickly to the house, rushing to get inside before the tears that welled in my eyes fell and embarrassed me further.
As I was opening the front door, I heard Bo call from the driveway, “See you tomorrow.”
I didn’t get much sleep that night either.
********
The next morning, I woke up surprisingly alert and energetic. Not surprisingly, my first waking thought was of Bo. His scent, his eyes, his voice, even his name hummed through my veins. It was as if my body was as consumed with him as my mind seemed to be.
It has to be done if I’m gonna heal her.
Throwing off the covers, I ran into the bathroom, turned on the light and looked into the mirror. I almost wanted to see a rainbow of colors across my face, as if that would make the memory of those troubling words less bothersome. But, much to my consternation, there was no swelling, no discoloration, no evidence at all that I’d been brutally punched only twelve short hours before.
I opened my mouth wide and wiggled my jaw left to right, front to back. There was not even a twinge of pain.
“Huh,” I said to my reflection. I know I didn’t imagine the excruciating pain, nor did I imagine passing out and waking up in Bo’s room.
It has to be done if I’m gonna heal her.
Shaking my head, I tucked the disquieting thoughts into a dark corner in the back of my mind, deciding instead to be grateful that I hadn’t spent the night in surgery getting my jaw wired shut.
After getting ready in record time, I got in my car and headed for Starbuck’s. I’d have plenty of time to make a coffee stop, especially since the shop was so close to the school.
The drive-thru was packed so I got out and went inside. When I stepped through the door, a gush of pleasure and relief washed over me. It was so intense and so unexpected, I literally had to stop to catch my breath.
I looked around at the many faces inside the tiny store. I recognized several people and, if the way they were looking at me was any indication, my outburst from the day before had only gotten juicier over night.
It wasn’t until my eyes collided with Bo’s unforgettably absorbing ones that I realized what I was so excited about, what my blood and my body had known even before my eyes could confirm it.
We stood facing each other, separated by tables and bodies, music and laughter, but we might’ve been the only two people in the world. My heart strained against my ribs as if someone had tied satin threads to it—threads that were tethered to Bo, threads that were insistently pulling me toward him.
I leaned back against the wall beside the door, pushing away from Bo as hard as I could, determined to resist. As I watched him, unable to tear my eyes away, one side of his mouth tipped up in a knowing grin and he took a step toward me.
Like a predator, he made his way through the crowd, stalking me with his eyes. With every step that brought him closer, my anticipation grew until it was almost unbearable, at fever pitch.
He didn’t stop until he stood only inches from me, his body so close our chests would touch if I inhaled deeply enough. I couldn’t take a deep breath, though. My lungs had seized and I couldn’t breathe at all.
Bo bent his head and whispered at my ear, “Breathe.”