Wagering Home

by C. M. Boers

  I jumped out of the car and raced to the door, with Jeremy trailing at my heels. Once inside, we were seated at a table far from the games. The distant sound of chiming buzzers added to the loud atmosphere. We placed our drink order, and I searched the menu. I found only two things I had to have to go with a trip to play games—nachos and a giant pretzel with cheese. I shut the menu and stared at Jeremy.

  Eventually, he glanced up from the menu. A smirk formed on his lips. “What?”

  “Oh, nothing. What are you going to get? Wait! Let me guess . . .” I put my fingers to my temples and closed my eyes. “You’re going to get a bacon cheeseburger with . . . ah, onion rings!”

  “You’re too good.”

  We ordered and it seemed to take only a few minutes before the waitress returned with our food. My mouth watered.

  It was heaven eating all the junk food, devouring it far faster than I thought I could.

  Jeremy’s eyes bugged out as I finished the last bite. “I didn’t think for a second you’d finish all that.”

  “Me either.” I dabbed my mouth with a napkin.

  “Ready to play?”

  A giddy buzz fueled me as I looped my arm in his and we headed into the area filled with flashing lights. A few kids ran in front of us, but mostly we were surrounded by other couples and groups of adults out for a good time, beers in hand.

  Between basketball and skeeball, I seemed to hold the better skill. After three tries at each, losing each time, he suggested we move to another game, though I suspected it was because he didn’t want me to beat him again. Racing, on the other hand, was exactly his game. He beat me five times in a row.

  At the end of the night, our cups were overflowing with tickets. We put them in the ticket counter at the same time, and I beat him by only three tickets.

  “Told ya I’d beat you,” I boasted.

  He rolled his eyes. “Three tickets.”

  “Still beat ya! What do I win?”

  “Win? What? We didn’t place bets.”

  I crossed my arms.

  “Fine. How about this?” He reached out and pulled me against his body, holding me there. I was stiff at first, then I let myself relax in his arms. It felt good. Really good. He leaned back and kissed my forehead.

  “That’ll work,” I whispered.

  We stood there, locked in our embrace, until a little kid ran smack dab into us, then ran away like nothing happened. We giggled.

  “We should go get our prizes.”

  I eyed the center display. With only a second’s thought, I loaded my arms full of candy, enough to use all my tickets. Jeremy’s eyes widened.

  “Really?”

  I cocked my head to the side. “Don’t tell me the thought never crossed your mind.”

  He turned away with a smirk and reached for a package on the shelf.

  “What’s that?” I asked, leaning around him.

  He held it up.

  “Earbuds?”

  He nodded. “Mine just broke the last time I went to the gym.”

  He’d been working out, as I suspected. My mind drifted to what his abs looked like now. I had to shake myself to remove the image from my mind. And what a good image it would be.

  He made a lap around the prize area, with me trailing behind him. His eyes finally settled on a foam football.

  He grinned and gripped it in his palm. “We should go throw this around.”

  I giggled at how into it he seemed. This was a side of him I loved. His playful spirit that came out at just the right times, while he remained serious and sensitive, yet happy and engaging the rest of the time.

  “Sure, but only after you help me eat some of this candy.”

  “Deal.”

  After cashing in the tickets, I popped some candy in my mouth as we walked to his car.

  “Should we go to the park?” he asked.

  I nodded. “Definitely.”

  By the time we rolled into the parking lot of the park closest to my parents’ house, we already had a fairly large sugar buzz going. I pulled out two of the large sugar sticks and handed one to Jeremy.

  “Think we can eat it all at once?”

  He eyed the tube. “I don’t know.”

  I took the plastic between my teeth and yanked. Other than putting teeth marks in it, nothing changed. I made a face.

  “Hand it over.” He pulled a knife from his pocket and flipped it open, the blade glinting in the darkness. He sliced through the plastic like it was warm butter.

  “Since when do you carry a pocket knife?”

  “Ah . . . since the accident.”

  I gave him a strange look.

  “My seat belt, it jammed. I couldn’t get out until the firemen cut me free.” He paused. “Being trapped there in my seat with you lying unconscious, without being able to do anything. . .” He shuddered. “I just don’t want to ever feel like that again.”

  He held up the knife and cut the top off his. “Problem solved. I can free myself next time, and it’s come in handy a few times already for other things.” He handed me a sugar stick, smiling encouragingly.

  “Hopefully, there won’t be a next time.”

  He nodded slowly.

  “Bottoms up!”

  Tilting my head back, sugar filled my mouth. I watched Jeremy from the corner of my eye doing the same. He made a face at me, and I tried not to laugh but failed miserably, spewing powdery sugar all over his car in a light pink puff.

  I swallowed the remnants in my mouth and turned to Jeremy, pressing my lips tight together. “Oops. . .”

  He eyed the stick in my hand, the remaining sugar resting inside. Before I realized what he was thinking, he snatched it from my hand and shook the last of it over my head.

  “Hey!” I yelled and jumped out.

  He clutched his stomach, laughing. As I stood there, trying to glare at him, my resolve weakened and I started to crack. Before long, we were both overcome with laughter.

  He used my distraction and tossed the football to me. My arms narrowly caught it in my stomach.

  “Hey! I wasn’t ready!”

  He slid out of the car, holding out his hands once he locked the car. “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

  I clutched the ball between my palms and brought back my arm. I chucked it as hard as I could. The ball tumbled end over end before it hit the ground five feet in front of him.

  Dropping my face in my hands, I burst out laughing.

  Jeremy chuckled like he didn’t know what to say. “Ah . . . what was that?”

  I threw my hands out to my sides.

  He tossed it back underhand. “Try again.”

  I gripped the ball again, taking care to have a good hold on it, then launched it once more. This time, it arched up and flew the way it should yet still landed short.

  He bent, his hands on his knees, looking at the ball on the ground.

  “How did I not know this about you?” He scratched his head.

  “I guess you never put a ball in my hands before.” I smirked at my unintentional play at something a bit more.

  Jeremy’s mouth opened just a little, then he quickly shut it, nodding. “You would be correct.”

  We tossed the ball back and forth for a while until my arm started to ache.

  I dropped down into the grass, lying on my back, staring at the stars. Jeremy lay down with me, putting his head on my stomach. It felt comfortable being this close, like an old blanket would.

  “When are you going back to Colorado?”

  “Mmm . . . that is the burning question, isn’t it?”

  Jeremy stayed quiet.

  “I should . . . like, tomorrow. It’s not like I called anyone . . .”

  “You still haven’t called . . . ah . . . what’s his name?”

  “Jack.”

  “Yeah, him.”

  “No.”

  He blew out a breath. “That’s rough.”

  “I know, but what am I supposed to say? I got my memories back and r
emember my family . . . and my ex. And now I have to make sure I don’t still have feelings for him?” I shook my head. “That would go over well.”

  “Is that what this is?”

  My face burned. “I guess so.”

  He nodded. “And what have you decided?”

  I looked away from his penetrating gaze as he looked up at me, expectant. “I don’t know,” I whispered.

  “Do you feel anything for me? I just have to know before I let myself hope there’s a chance.” He brushed a hair away from my eye.

  “I do.”

  He grinned, but I could tell he tried to hide it. “Okay.”

  He reached down and grasped my foot, his fingers rubbing in a circular motion. He worked over my whole foot, then moved to the next. I lay there, quietly enjoying his gentle touch. Then he stopped. I watched his fingers hovering less than an inch from the bottom of my foot. He wiggled them back and forth, a devilish look in his eye.

  I tensed. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “Think about what? This?” He brushed his fingertips, featherlight, across my arch.

  I kicked my foot, trying to free it from his grasp, without success. He doubled his attack, with his fingers pressing harder, letting his nails slide across my skin, sending zings to all my nerves. I giggled uncontrollably. Spinning onto my knees, I crawled away, leaving him scrambling to catch up.

  I stood and turned, squaring my shoulders, remembering his one weakness. The one and only place he was ticklish. Holding up my hands next to my ears, I waited. “All right. I’m ready this time!”

  He stopped and smirked. “Truce!” He held up his hands.

  I dropped mine back to my sides. “That’s what I thought.”

  He threw his arm around my neck, and we walked like that back to his car.

  This time, he didn’t hesitate to turn the radio on low while he drove me to my parents. I smiled to myself and turned to look out the window.

  Red-and-blue flashing lights met us as we pulled onto my parents’ street. I blinked against the brightness and lifted my hand to block the light from burning my eyes.

  My stomach plummeted the second I realized which house they were in front of.

  “Oh my god.” I gasped. “What’s going on?”

  Jeremy pulled the car to the curb across the street, in the only place there was room. I jumped out before we even stopped moving, followed a mere seconds later by Jeremy.

  The officers huddled in a small group turned, revealing the men on the other side of their group. A face I didn’t expect stared back at me.

  Jack.

  I froze in the headlights of Jeremy’s car. Jack’s eyes fell on me, and his face flooded with relief, then quickly shifted to confusion when Jeremy stepped beside me. The hurt in Jack’s eyes couldn’t have been more obvious if he’d have yelled it out himself.

  I stood there, unable to pry my eyes away, yet powerless to go to him.

  For those moments, time seemed to stand still, everyone frozen around me, except Jack. His mouth moved, saying something I couldn’t hear. Oh, how I wished I could. He shook hands with each of the officers. And my dad. Oh God.

  His eyes left mine, flickering briefly to Jeremy before he walked away, got into a sleek sedan, and drove out of view.

  Jeremy’s hand on my back broke me from my trance. “You okay?”

  “Huh?”

  “Are you okay?”

  “Ah . . . I don’t know.”

  His brow creased.

  I made my way across the street as a cold sweat broke out on my skin.

  The officer’s badges glistened in the light. I swallowed hard.

  “What’s going on?” I asked.

  “Are you Melanie Avery?” One of the officers stepped forward. His stern face and hard lines raised goose bumps on my skin.

  Nervously, my hands clenched together as I stepped forward next to my dad. “Yes.”

  “Hello, Melanie. It seems that a Mr. Jack Bridges believes you’re missing.”

  My stomach dropped. Missing?

  The guilt threatened to choke me. Here I was, out having a good time with Jeremy, while Jack was out searching for me. Worried about me. And then I showed up with another guy, despite ignoring his texts and calls.

  Jeremy’s hand still rested on my back, and it was like it was burning a hole in my skin. I shook it off. His arm brushed my side as he shoved his hand in his pocket.

  “We’re sorry to bother you all. Jack was adamant that something was wrong . . . ah . . .” He cleared his throat. “Since you weren’t answering your phone.”

  I bit my lip and focused on the ground.

  “It’s apparent, Melanie, you’re just fine.”

  I nodded.

  The officer reached out and gripped my shoulder gently. “Give us a call if you need anything. Anything at all.” He slipped his card into my hand.

  “Thank you. I’m sorry you had to go through all this trouble.”

  “It’s what we’re here for, but might I suggest getting in touch with Jack.”

  I nodded. “I will.”

  The officers tipped their heads. “Goodnight, Miss. Sirs.”

  “Goodnight.”

  Wrapping my arms around myself, I stood there for a moment, watching the patrol cars’ flashing lights shut off, then drive away.

  Regardless of my silence, not once had it crossed my mind he would send a search party for me. Who was I to elicit so much worry?

  “I’ll let you two say goodbye,” Dad said before turning and heading back inside.

  Facing Jeremy right now was the last thing I wanted to do. My mind was a jumbled mess, and anything I said to him now might hurt him, or worse, give him more hope than I should.

  “Thanks for tonight.”

  “Anytime,” he said.

  He leaned down slowly. I knew what he was doing, maybe even before he’d come any closer. At the last second, I turned my head. His lips pressed into my cheek. A very different reaction from just over twenty-four hours ago, when I’d kissed him back.

  I closed my eyes, unable to face him after what I’d just done. Turning towards the house, I walked away without another look in his direction. I doubted I could have been colder, but somehow, I just didn’t have anything else in me.

  I tossed and turned that night, the ache in Jack’s eyes haunted me in my dreams. The sting of him seeing me get out of Jeremy’s car. And then of his back as he walked away from me and drove away. The way I’d frozen at the sight of him had me cringing even still.

  Why did I just stand there? Why didn’t I run to him? Why did I just let him go?

  Jeremy’s arms hadn’t provided the comfort I needed. They’d only masked the pain. How could I not have seen that before? It didn’t matter what we shared before, it was nothing in comparison to what I had with Jack. If it weren’t for being so overwhelmed by all my memories flooding back all at once, maybe I would have seen that sooner. And none of this would have happened.

  It was still dark out when I was finally able to make sense of the mess inside my head. It wasn’t until then I realized where I belonged, with more clarity than I could have even hoped. I shot out of bed, snuck into my parents’ room, and gently nudged my dad awake.

  “Can you drive me to the airport?” I whispered.

  Even half-asleep, a smile lit up his face. “I was wondering when you were going to go after him.”

  My mouth dropped as I stared at him.

  “What? You may not have remembered me until recently, but I’ve never seen you as happy as when you spoke of Jack at dinner the other night. And that man loves you a great deal if he brought out that kind of response, all because you wouldn’t answer your phone.”

  “He really does make me happy.”

  “Then go, go. Let’s get you back to him so you can fix this.”

  As we headed out the door, the sun had begun to brighten the sky just enough to make it glow and make the stars disappear.

  “I can’t believe yo
u ran home and never even called him once.”

  I sighed. “I know. It’s even worse than that though, I really messed up.”

  “Worse? How could it be worse?”

  “I never told him about . . . the accident or my memory.”

  “Oh, Melanie.”

  “I know. He’ll probably never speak to me again, and I’ll be out my job too.”

  “Give the guy some credit. If he makes you as happy as you say he does, then he must be a pretty good guy. Do you think he would actually fire you over this?”

  “No, but I wouldn’t blame him if he did.”

  “I would.”

  “Dad.” I rolled my eyes.

  “Well, nobody can fire my little girl.” He reached over and rubbed his hand on top of my arm.

  Dad walked with me to the ticket counter and paid for the next flight out, even though I told him I didn’t need him to.

  “What kind of dad would I be?” He kissed me on the forehead as I threw myself into his arms one last time at security. “You’d better be back to visit really soon.”

  “Nope. I think it’s your turn to come see me. . . and my house. I think you’ll like it.”

  His face lit up. “You’ve got it.”

  “Tell Mom I love her.”

  “I will. Now, go on. Go get him.”

  I let go and walked into the security line. I turned back every so often until I couldn’t see him anymore, but he stood there, watching me the whole time, unmoving.

  Over and over in my head, I went through what I would say to Jack when I saw him. And though nothing seemed perfect, I doubted anything would.

  All my calls went unanswered, but I knew right where he would be on a Monday morning. I drove straight to the office. His car was parked right where it always was, and I breathed in deep. “Please make him listen.”

  But when I opened the door and stepped inside, I was greeted by a perky blonde. I sidestepped at the blow of seeing someone else at my desk.

  “Hi there, I’m Sandra. How can I help you?” She said it as if she’d always been here. At my desk, doing my job.

  My heart sank. He’d already replaced me.

  “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Sandra stepped closer.

  “I need to speak with Ja— J.R.” I said it like I’d never even been here before. Like I was asking for permission. But when her brows furrowed, I realized she had no idea who I was talking about. No surprise there.