After a year and a half of trying to move on from the what-ifs, the tides have pulled Alexandra Rivera and Zachariah Kim back together again.
*****
In the h...
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"We're just going for it, huh?"
I stare up at the house and wonder what the hell I was thinking.
Calum can be irritatingly convincing when he wants to be, and the fact that he managed to fool me and Emmie into coming over for a game night might have been impressive if not for the fact this could all go very wrong.
Emmie turns to me with a determined smile and reaches down to clasp my hand in hers. Even though she has as much reason to be suspicious of tonight's plans, she reassures me with a single touch and reminds me why I love her so much.
"It can't be that bad."
I stare back at her.
"Fine, it could be that bad. But I have faith in us. At least we're not drinking 'cause that could get bad."
Once I take a deep breath, I follow her up the steps to Calum's house, hyper-aware of who awaits us behind those doors. When Calum answers, I'm reminded that I was here two weeks ago. It feels like a lifetime, but the same could be said for the walk from the sidewalk to the door.
"If it isn't my two favorite ladies," he boasts.
A sweet aroma wafts in from the kitchen, followed by the gentle hum of a sizzling pan on the stove. Aside from the fact that Calum is about as useless with cooking as I am and Zachariah is the only other person who will be in attendance tonight, I know it's him because of the sense of euphoria that trickles down my spine. If our sense of smell is what we most associate with memories, take me back to the days of a much-beloved past.
"I picked up some special bubbly for our sober night," Calum croons as he swings a bottle in the air.
Emmie grabs it out of his hands and turns it over so she can read the label. "Sparkling Cider. How scandalous of you."
"Our boy is making kalua pig." He juts his chin in the direction of the kitchen. "And he's testing out his domesticity with a new cheesecake recipe."
"Nice," Emmie remarks, impressed.
He makes his way over to the living room to finish setting up. Emmie moves to join him, but not before sending me a look I read immediately.
I got this.
His back faces me while he finishes cooking. A bowl of chopped-up cabbage waits on the side, and a smaller bowl of Hawaiian sea salt sits beside that. I can't help but laugh at the sight because, as small as a bowl of sea salt might be, there's no way Calum had it before Zachariah showed up.
The sound causes him to glance over his shoulder. Our eyes immediately connect and my body tenses up before I remind myself this is just us. We're working toward rebuilding our friendship.
"That smells good." I pluck at some of the empty boxes of ingredients. "Heard you're making cheesecake."
"Seemed like one of those desserts that impresses everyone but requires little skill."
