“That’s right. He doesn't know he fucked you."
"Oh my God."
"My thoughts exactly. So we can't hate him anymore."
"Oh, I can still hate him. He's still arrogant and annoying. And a prick."
"Well, maybe he's arrogant and annoying, but you liked him enough to sleep with him."
"That's not the point."
“I think that is kind of the point."
“Fuck, so he's not being a dick. He just doesn't actually remember."
Tabs nodded. “I figured you deserved to know."
I ran my hands through the braid over my shoulder, worrying one of the ends like I always did when I was nervous. “Fuck, he really doesn't remember me."
I didn't know why that knowledge hit so deep, leaving something hollow and empty in its place. Somehow him not remembering me now felt like I'd lost something. Like that part of Lachlan King who had seen me at that club, but seen more than just a girl out to celebrate her birthday, the part of him that talked to me about his brother and my parents, he was gone. What we’d shared was gone.
The irritation and pride I had felt for him not ten minutes ago evaporated, and all I felt was weighted down, rooted to the spot, unsure of what to do with myself.
“There's nothing I can do about it, right? Can't get his memories back. But I mean we should do something, shouldn’t we? Are we going to tell him, not tell him, what's the plan?"
Tabs raised a brow. "Would telling him resolve it?"
"Well, it could trigger flashbacks." I coughed a laugh. “I was probably forgettable to begin with, and now we've just made it worse."
"Please, I wish you would stop doing that,” Tabs said. “You are amazing."
"Sure, I'm amazing, funny, smart. But not exactly a sex bomb."
"That's because you don't let yourself be a sex bomb. And I'm pretty sure the way he looks at you indicates he thinks you're a sex bomb."
I frowned at that. “Do I smell weird?"
Her brows lifted. "What do you mean by weird?"
"My scent, is there something off about it?"
She leaned in and inhaled. "Roses. Vanilla. Something else. Lilies? I don't know, I can't tell notes of a perfume. I know you smell great. Why?"
"He was talking about it in the woods on that training day. He said he found me because of my scent."
She lifted a brow. “Really?"
"Right? And then today, he recognized me in my disguise within twenty minutes."
Her jaw hung open. "No one has recognized you in two years."
“I know. I'm annoyed. But he said it was my eyes and my scent that tipped him off, so I need to know if I smell weird."
She leaned back and folded her arms. "Oh, this is interesting."
"Why?"
Tabatha sighed. "Babes, you think I don't know you. You think you did something wrong and he forgot you, but obviously his subconscious hasn’t. It's just a really shitty set of circumstances, and sometimes I think that you don't see yourself clearly."