Back to Me (Carolina Rebels 1)

“Yes, we did. We had Mrs. Tuttle for English our sophomore year! You probably didn’t notice because you were too busy shoving your tongue down Kelsey Watson’s throat.”

Okay, so that’s why I don’t remember. Kelsey Watson and I liked to make out in between classes and Mrs. Tuttle always took a bathroom break before that period, so we had the opportunity. The waitress caught the tail end of what Meredith said because she was walking toward our table. She places our food before us and quietly leaves.

“Even so, tennis is still how I ended up noticing you.” She doesn’t say anything, but I grin. “So, you paid a lot of attention to me before we met?”

Meredith rolls her eyes. “Kind of hard to ignore you when you and Kelsey Watson were trying to eat each other’s faces.” I laugh, but immediately stop when she adds, “I think I’m going home.”

I nearly choke on my chicken. “What?” Panic swarms me at the thought of her walking away again. Why in the hell does she want to leave already? She can’t! I just got her back. No way in hell.

“For the weekend, Noah. Mom doesn’t know what to pack for me. You’ll be out of town anyway, so I thought I could fly home and pack up my clothes. I’m tired of having to buy new stuff.”

I take a long gulp of my drink, the panic still clawing at me. Maybe Meredith isn’t the only one with issues. She’s coming back. It’s only for the weekend. Get a fucking grip, Noah! Clearing my throat, I manage a calm voice. “Okay, yeah. That sounds good.”

She eyes me for a moment like I’m not fooling her, but she doesn’t make a comment. “I’ll probably see if I can get flight out tomorrow since I don’t have to work, and then I’ll come back Sunday night.”

“Seems like a good plan. Hope is probably anxious to see you and hear more about your job and me,” I finish, flashing her a grin. There’s still an uneasiness about this mini trip, which is ridiculous. I can’t help it. Yeah, I was okay with her leaving before, but she still left. How is it still able to fuck me up when I have her back?

“Are you okay with this, Noah?” Meredith asks, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Why wouldn’t I be?” The waitress drops off our check and I reach into my back pocket for my wallet. “You’re going home for the weekend, and I won’t be here anyway, so it’s no big deal.”

“All right. Let’s go, so I can change and get to work.”

I’m paying with cash, so we leave it on the table with the bill. I take her hand as we walk out of the restaurant. Wanting to get us back to normal, I start talking. “Winter can be mild here, so you shouldn’t need anything heavier than a coat or hoodie and maybe some gloves. It won’t start getting cold for a little while, though.”

“Will it snow?”

Her question makes me laugh. “If it does, people freak the fuck out. They don’t get it often enough to know how to handle it, I guess. I think ice is more often the case instead of snow.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but I’ll miss the snow.”

“Really?”

Meredith never really cared for the white fluff, and based on what Hope would tell me, she more often than not spent any time off in the winter months somewhere warm. In fact, I think the longest time she’s spent in the house she owns in Pittsburgh is the months after she returned home to rehab her injury before she came to North Carolina.

“Yeah, weird, right? It just doesn’t quite feel like the holidays without it. What is Christmas usually like with you since it’s during the season?”

“We get three days off. Sometimes, I’ll fly home; sometimes, I don’t. This year, I’m going to try with it being my nephew’s first Christmas. We’ll see how it goes.” It’s still September and way too early to be thinking about the holidays.

We arrive at my apartment, enjoying a comfortable silence as we ride the elevator up to my floor. My brows pull together in confusion when I see a box sitting outside of my door. Meredith rushes toward it, picking it up, and throwing me a smile.

“What is it?”

She tries to shrug casually. “Just something I ordered.”

“Not going to tell me?”

“Nope.” She heads to the bedroom without looking back.

My phone vibrates and I check my texts as I take a seat on the couch.

Marc: I’m bored. Want company?

Me: Come on.

“Have fun with Marc.” I tilt my bead back at the sound of Meredith’s voice behind me. She’s standing behind the couch.

“Have fun at work.”