Pieces of Summer

She hates things out of order, and she hates things not in sync. It’s one of her quirks that drives her family crazy, but I like it about her. It keeps things interesting. It’s also the reason I can’t fathom how she tolerates my home when we have to go there.

“Why the hell wouldn’t you just paint white over the two blue dots instead?”

She gives me a look like I’ve sprouted a second head.

“Because there’s no way to match the white up exactly with the other white. Time has changed it. I’d have to paint the entire room, of course.”

Of course.

Smiling, I pull her to me, brushing my lips against hers.

“Thank you for not making fun of me for being weird,” she murmurs against my lips, letting me hold her to me.

“Thank you for being weird,” I tell her, loving the smile she gets.

“I just hate the feeling of things being unfinished. You know? It felt like those two dots were waiting on two other dots to join them.”

“Yeah,” I tell her, agreeing, even though I personally would have never noticed the marks. “I know.”

Getting out of my own head, I drop my arm around Whit’s shoulders, but she barely acknowledges the action. I can’t say I blame her for being mad. I’ve been an asshole. She sure as hell hasn’t deserved it. And I still haven’t touche

d her the way she wants to be touched since Mika came back into town.

That changes tonight. Hopefully.

I’ve moved on, after all.

I left Mika so she could be the fucking princess she deserved to be. It’s not my fault she’s here now, but I can tell she doesn’t plan on staying. I can also tell—even if I was stupid enough to get sucked in again—that she doesn’t want anything at all to do with me.

The only thing that didn’t make sense was why she bought the bowling alley. At least until Whit finally said she asked Mika why she’d bought it on the first day she’d met her, and Mika said it was unfinished business or closure or something.

It makes sense. Mika can’t stand leaving anything unfinished, and we spent a lot of time planning out that bowling alley.

She came back to Hayden for closure. Maybe I need it too. We definitely don’t fit together. Never did. Mika writes murder/mystery; I ink skin all day. I love it. It’s exactly what I needed. I get to design and create, then I get trusted to permanently leave my mark on someone’s flesh. Mika tells the world stories.

She was supposed to heal the world.

Regardless, we don’t fit together now any better than we did then. I made the right decision by moving forward and giving her the freedom she deserved, not tethering her to my hell.

If anything, we’re more opposite than ever before. Whit is the right thing for me for right now, and I need to do better at being the right thing for her until this thing between us runs cold.

“You came to a carnival light show?” Blake’s voice has me spinning around, pulling Whit with me. She forces a smile for his sake, but I can tell it’s fake.

“Yeah. Whit loves these things. Figured I’d bring her.”

Whit’s stiffness ebbs ever so slightly after she hears that, and she slides her arm around my waist.

“What’re you doing here?” I ask him.

He shrugs. “Taking out a hot little number. I’ve had to fix her friend’s car twice. She came in the garage with him to get it the last time, and I hit her up about the light show. It’s weird. I swear I’ve seen her before, but I don’t know from where.”

“It’s summer,” Whit says tightly. “People come and go every summer. It’s possible she’s a seasonal.”

“Possibly. Still think I’d remember a girl who looks like her. Just her ass alone is memorable.”

Whit mocks a gag, slowly loosening up, and Blake chuckles while pocketing his hands.

“It’s seriously bugging the hell out of me as to where I’ve seen her before. And she even admitted I seemed familiar too.”