Somewhere Only We Know(76)

Then something felt different.

The air was charged in a particular way, like when someone turns on a TV in a quiet house—you can feel it before you hear or see it. I peered out from under the brim of my hat. What was it? It was tugging at me, insistent.

My eyes skimmed the room, but it was hard to see with the dim lighting.

I stopped on a dark figure in the arched entryway. The familiarity of that silhouette zapped me. That buzz in the air amplified by a billion.

I dropped my guitar onto the floor, the thud reverberating through the room. “Sorry, guys. I’ll be back in a few minutes,” I said into the microphone. Then I stood up and walked across the room, shouldering past people, moving too slow. He was so close.

When I reached him, he hadn’t moved an inch. His hands shoved into his pockets, his shoulder leaning against the doorway.

It was him.





CHAPTER SIXTY


JACK


As I watched her walk toward me, I couldn’t move. I’d come here to see her but couldn’t quite believe it was actually happening.

She stood in front of me, her eyes bright and disbelieving.

“Jack?” She said my name with a question mark, even though she knew.

Time had passed, and it hadn’t.

“Hi.” It was the only thing I could say. It was so good to see her.

She nodded—quick and awkward. “Hi!”

We stared at each other. The so-muchness of it was overwhelming. I had no idea how to talk to her anymore. My eyes traced over her, memorizing every new thing. Her shorter hair and the way it grazed her collarbones. The bronzed glow of her tan skin, the loose cropped tank top she wore with blue jeans. It was Lucky and it was Catherine.

“Cool, glad we got those pleasantries out of the way,” I finally managed to say.

Catherine laughed, quick and pure, and it was a gift to be able to hear it again. Then she threw her arms around me.

The hug was brief but incredibly strong, her arms tight around my back before she pulled away. I took a deep breath. I had forgotten what her proximity did to me.

She grinned. “How did you know I was here? Wait, no, what are you doing here?”

A man pushed by her then, jostling her to the right, and I reached out to steady her without thinking. That one familiar move brought us back to Hong Kong instantly. Heat scorched between us. We moved away from the doorway, into a dark corner of the bar where we were hidden by gauzy curtains. I thought of all the spaces in Hong Kong where we had stood so closely, surrounded by people but always alone, somehow.

There was so much to say but I gave her a quick answer. “I won the lottery today.”

She looked incredulous. “You entered?”

“How could I not?” I said with a teasing smile. “I, uh. I live in LA now.”

“What!” I couldn’t tell if the startled expression was happily surprised or …

I nodded. “There’s a lot to catch up on, I guess.”

Her expression softened. “Yeah.”

Our text messages had dropped off considerably the past few months, and while it had felt natural at the time, it felt totally insubstantial now that we were standing here face-to-face.

She gave me an inscrutable look. “I can’t talk for long right now, so I want to say something quickly.”

I braced myself.

“Thank you.”

The words zapped me in the chest. Even though she had said as much in text, it was an entirely different thing to hear it. Especially since the last words we exchanged in person were so hurtful.

“Thank you for the photos you published,” she continued. “They were beautiful. You’re … what did you say to me that day? You’re incredibly accomplished, Jack.”

The zap was now sending warmth through my entire chest cavity. “The subject made it easy,” I said, swallowing hard. There was so much to tell her. How seeing her be so brave on that stage—putting everything on the line, taking control of her career—how that had changed the entire trajectory of my life.

How she taught me that pursuing your dreams was worth it. That your dreams could change and that change might be hard. But you should still try. Because anything short of that wasn’t a quality life.

She brushed her hair back from her face, and my eyes followed her every movement. I was so greedy for all of it.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said with a smile. “You did it.”

Wow, I wanted to kiss her then. I crossed my arms to stop myself. “You did it. You gave me that challenge. You gave me the story. You gave me—” and I couldn’t keep going anymore. My voice cracked with the overwhelming emotion of it. Everything.

But she knew what I was trying to say. She had always been able to see the heart of me, even when I wasn’t able to. She reached out and touched my arm. “Jack. The feeling’s mutual. You were right. I was scared. I needed someone to tell me that. To help me see that.”

Even though I actually knew this, had seen it confirmed on live television, I was shocked by the intense pleasure I felt at having it confirmed. The way she was looking at me … could it be possible that she still had some feelings for me? After everything?

I smiled. “You sound awesome up there. You’re doing some cool stuff.”

She threw her head back and laughed. “Ooh, am I Jack-approved now?”