Calmly, Carefully, Completely(74)

I press the “end” button and stare at the phone. I pretty much bungled that. But I feel lighter now. I’m glad I called him. I miss him. Like crazy.

I tuck Reagan’s phone in my pocket and go downstairs. I find her in the kitchen pouring popcorn into a bowl. She throws a piece at me when I get close, and I catch it in my mouth. She laughs and hitches her hip against the counter. “Did you make your call?” she asks.

Her phone buzzes in my pocket. “I think you’re getting a text,” I say as I pass it back to her. I want to be nosy and look down at it. She glances at it and grins.

“I think it’s for you,” she says. “Is that the number you called?” She shows me the screen. It’s Sam’s number, and he just wrote:

I love you better.

I grin. “Yeah. That’s Sam.”

“Sam?” she asks. Her brow furrows. She points to the back of her neck. “The Sam on your neck? That’s for your brother?”

“Yeah. Our dad put the tattoos on us because he never could tell us apart.”

She frowns. “Then why does yours say Sam?”

I grin and shrug. “He couldn’t tell us apart, so when he sat Sam down for his tattoo, he said he was Pete, and I said I was Sam. So, we have each other’s names on our necks.”

“He couldn’t tell you guys apart?” She’s not laughing anymore, and she looks kind of sad.

I shake my head. “We’re twins. Identical.”

“Wow,” she says.

“Our mom was so mad,” I say with a laugh.

“Could she tell you two apart?” she asks.

I shrug. “Anyone who knows us can.” That doesn’t speak very well of our dad, but it is what it is.

I pull her to me by the belt loops on her jeans, and she falls into me. Her arms lift to wrap around my neck. I kiss her quickly.

But her dad yells out, “Pete, when you’re done having sex with my daughter in the kitchen, the movie’s ready!”

Reagan laughs.

“Even I’m not that quick,” I whisper to her. She blushes again. I kiss her forehead. “Thanks for letting me use your phone,” I say.

She nods and takes me by the hand, her other holding the popcorn. I sit down on the edge of the sofa, and she settles down next to me, close but not touching. Her dad glares at us from where her mom is draped against his side on the opposite couch. “Nice to see you, Pete,” he says.

“You too, Mr. Caster,” I say. “Thanks for inviting me.”

I spread my thighs a little so Reagan’s leg is touching mine, and she squeezes my hand as the movie starts. Damn, that feels good. Tomorrow is Friday, and tomorrow night is when I go home. I don’t want to go. I want to stay by her side forever. Just like this.

Reagan



Today’s the day that Pete goes home. I stayed up most of the night last night thinking about it. I don’t want him to leave. My gut clenches at the thought of it, and I stare across the table at my mom.

“Something on your mind?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“Not something you want to talk about, huh?” she asks. Her voice is soft, but she’s not prying. She’s just being my mom.

“Pete’s leaving today,” I say quietly.

“Hmm,” she hums.

“So, I was thinking…” I start slowly.

She smiles and tips her head at me like a curious puppy. “What were you thinking?”

“I was actually thinking I might go back to the city a week early,” I say, my voice hesitant and quiet. My classes don’t start until next week.