Page 94 of Someone Like Me
“You don’t feel at home here.”
We both speak at the same time, but when our eyes lock, my mouth hangs open.
“What did you say?”
I heard him. I heard him even though we both spoke quietly, mindful of the sleeping Mayfields. But his words still strike me.
He holds my gaze with his own steady one. “You don’t feel at home here,” he says again, but his time I hear unmistakable gentleness. It stirs something long forgotten inside me.
“What makes you say that?”
Drew’s gaze flicks around the room and back to my eyes. “Your stuff’s here,” he says, nodding to my bins, the meditation bench, and my rolled up yoga mat in the corner. “But you haven’t made this room your own.”
I blink at him, wondering how he can see this so clearly. How would he know the floral print Laura Ashley bedspread isn’t mine? He’s never seen my room. “What do you mean?”
He screws up his brow and turns in a slow circle until he faces me again. “I don’t seeyouhere. It’s like you’re afraid to spread out or leave your mark.”
“You’re right,” I admit, shrugging. “But it’s getting better. I mean, I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but I feel more comfortable than I did at first.”
I’m talking, but he’s not looking at me. He’s frowning at the room like it offends him.
“I’m really grateful for Janine and James letting me stay,” I add, though I’m not sure why.
Drew makes a noise somewhere between a grunt and a huff.Such a Taurus.
“Are you ready to go?”
He turns to face me, and I see him still as though he’s just noticed something. “You look…” His eyes run me up and down. I watch him swallow. “You’re beautiful.”
Smiling, I cross the room, rise up on my toes, and kiss his scratchy cheek. “Thank you. So are you.”
He makes a grunting noise, but I can tell he’s amused. I turn to the dresser and pick up a hair tie. “So, are you okay if we ride bikes? You could borrow James’s. It’ll be fun.”
Drew only hesitates for a second. “If you want to.”
I stretch the tie with my fingers and shake my hair back, preparing to secure it.
“Wait.” Drew stills my hand with his. “Leave it down.”
I turn to face him, eyeing him like he’s crazy.
“It’ll be huge by the time we get there,” I warn.
“Good,” he says, grinning. And how can I resist that?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
DREW
Who needs a car when they could ride a bike? Behind Evie.
I felt weird about borrowing her friend’s bike until we actually started pedaling down the street, Evie leading the way. Now I’ll just have to find a way to thank the guy.
Her ass is heart-shaped. I swear to God. A perfect, upside-down heart.
And her hair sails behind her in the breeze. The day is cool. Fall-like. I haven’t been a free man enjoying the fall breeze in what feels like a lifetime.
But I remember it. I remember being a kid and feeling the rush that always came with that first cool front. How anything felt possible. How a better life was just around the corner.
