'90s Playlist (Romance Rewind #1)

by Anthology

  “Ah, cool. You’ll love Brenda, too. I talked to her last night and she’s looking forward to hosting you lot. She called you ‘Stuart’s girl.’” She changed her accent and made her voice a bit higher when she said that, presumably imitating her cousin, but all I could focus on was how good I felt to hear those words.

  Stuart’s girl.

  I practically skipped the rest of the way to class.

  He was waiting for us again just inside the door, and I had to stop myself from leaning forward and kissing him in front of everybody. I settled for a shy, “Good morning,” instead.

  “Morning.” He moved forward to walk with me to my seat.

  Behind us, Shae gasped, and I turned back, blushing, to look at her.

  She mostly mouthed, semi-whispered, “You two are shagging!”

  Of course Stuart heard that. He laughed, and Shae said in a normal voice, “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”

  We reached the row of seats where Shae and I always sat and we started settling in. Stuart shrugged. “What, and deprive you of the satisfaction of figuring it out for yourself?”

  I loved that he didn’t deny it.

  “I can’t even ask you how he was because…gross.” Shae wrinkled her nose. “Cousin and all that.”

  “You’re the epitome of restraint,” Stuart drawled, then cast an eye up at the clock. “I’d better get down to my seat. Behave yourselves,” he teased, and then he was gone, heading to the front row and leaving me to be grilled by Shae.

  Although she wasn’t so intent on grilling as she was on frowning.

  “What?” I was feeling a little defensive, but I tried not to snap at her.

  “Nothing.” She looked me in the eye and her expression turned earnest. “It’s nice to see both of you so happy. I just…”

  She didn’t have to finish her thought. I already knew what it was about. Her words from earlier in the week were practically shrieking in my head.

  If you’re just using him to replace Ben…

  “I’m not,” I told her, trying to remember that she had grown up with Stuart and loved him like a sister, most like. “I don’t want to hurt him, ever.”

  Shae gave me a weak smile and squeezed my arm. “I guess that’s all I have to say, then.”

  After class, we packed up our things, chatting about stuff that had nothing to do with Stuart or boys in general, and started to leave. Stuart was already gone out of class, though, which meant that he must have sprinted out right at the end. What was going on?

  Shae and I split off after a little bit, since she had another class to go to, and I headed toward the building exit, but just before the doors, someone called my name.

  Stuart.

  I turned to see him jogging toward me, white-faced and panicked-looking. Oh, no. What was going on? But before I could even ask, he reached me and started talking. “Jill, I-I’m so sorry. I just got a call. One of the guys from crew found me right as class ended and told me. I’m so sorry. I don’t know how to make it up to you. But I can’t not be there—”

  Poor guy was talking a mile a minute, his eyes not quite focused. I reached out and took his hands in mine, trying to get him to look at me. “Stuart. Just a minute. I don’t quite follow.”

  His eyes finally met mine and I felt him calm, just a little. “I can’t go this weekend. Mum has to go in for a surgery. She’s getting a tube put in and I can’t—” He broke off to take a deep, shuddering breath.

  My heart squeezed tight at the thought of how much fear and pain he must be experiencing. I leaned forward and wrapped my arms around him, pressing a kiss to his neck before cuddling him close. “It’s okay,” I whispered in his ear. “I understand. It’s okay.”

  We stood there, me holding him until I felt his body relax a bit, and then he pulled back just enough to look at me with a wobbly smile. “Thank you,” he said on an exhale, then managed a small smile. “Will you go to Scotland, anyway? Brenda’s so excited to have company and I think you’d really enjoy it.”

  Go anyway? Alone? While Stuart was here, going through agony? I wanted to be here for him. I wanted him to be able to lean on me, not go gallivanting off to another country while he suffered.

  I started to protest, but before I could get a word out, he added, “It would ease my mind a lot to know that I hadn’t completely ruined your weekend.”

  Great. Now insisting that I wanted to be there for him by not going would be counter to what he’d just said.

  I nodded. “Okay. I’ll go.”

  * * * * *

  I was going to Edinburgh. By myself.

  Despite a little trepidation when I’d gotten into a taxi earlier and gone to the train station, I was starting to feel excited about this adventure, and I was glad that Stuart had given me the push I needed to go it alone. I wished I could be there with him, had even offered, but he’d explained that he wouldn’t be able to see me. As his mother’s closest living relative, he’d have to be at the hospital all weekend, sitting by her side and making sure she was okay.

  I joked that I’d bring him back some haggis, and we’d kissed goodbye.

  And now I was on the train, feeling proud and nervous and excited all at once.

  But I’d just boarded the car and found a seat when someone else got on the train. Something about him—the fall of his steps, maybe, or a glimpse of his jacket out of the corner of my eye?—made me look up.

  Ben.

  And he wasn’t alone. Trailing behind him, holding on to his hand as they walked forward, was the girl I’d seen him kissing on Saturday.

  I waited for the hurt to hit me…

  And waited…

  Until they’d passed my row without even seeing me, and I realized that it didn’t actually hurt that much anymore. Not enough to spare more than a moment thinking about it. In fact, I found myself feeling proud of myself for going on this trip by myself, which was something I would never have done if I’d still been with Ben.

  The train whistled final call, and outside on an electrical wire, a flock of blackbirds flew away at the sound. I smiled, settled back, and felt at peace with myself as the train began moving forward.

  Chapter 8

  I’d had an incredible weekend in Edinburgh. Brenda and her husband had been fun, hospitable, and easy to be with. They’d taken me to Edinburgh Castle, Summerhall, the Meadows…so many beautiful places and great restaurants.

  It had been a great time, and even though Stuart hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t have traded the trip for anything.

  I was sitting on the train again—this time in Waverly, the station in Edinburgh—about to head home when I heard someone say, “Hey, Jill.”

  I looked up to see Ben standing in the aisle next to my seat. I felt my eyes go wide with surprise.

  It was like bad déjà vu. Or just horrible luck. Either way, I wished it weren’t happening.

  “Ben!” What did he want? “Uh..hi. I—how’s it going?” I was struggling for things to say. After the way we’d pretty much ignored each other for the past couple of weeks, having him right there like this was throwing me for a loop.

  He shrugged. “It’s okay.” He gestured toward the seat next to me with his bag. “Is anyone sitting here?”

  Was he seriously asking to sit next to me? Where was the girl he was with?

  Does he want me to move so he can sit next to her, or something? I would be royally annoyed.

  “No-oo,” I said slowly, bracing myself for him to ask me whether I could move.

  “Cool.” He plopped down next to me, shoving his bag in the space at his feet.

  Well. Guess that answered my question. One of them, anyway. Why did he want to sit next to me, of all people? And why was he traveling by himself?

  I couldn’t stop myself from asking.

  “Where’s your friend?”

  Good. I sounded very casual about it. I was proud of myself.

  But his head snapped up and he looked at me in surprise for a second. Probabl
y exactly how I had looked just a minute ago when I’d seen him standing there. But a second later, he looked away. “She’s sitting in another car, I think.”

  Ah.

  What was wrong with me? I actually felt bad for him. But it wasn’t like I could open up a heart-to-heart with my ex-boyfriend who had dumped me—for that very girl—just a couple of weeks ago.

  But I also didn’t want to see him hurting. I did care about him still, even if I didn’t love him anymore.

  It was a heady thing, to realize that someone no longer had any power over you.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, instead, softly, and then turned to face the window to let him know that we didn’t have to talk about it anymore. Things were awkward enough as it was.

  “I’m sorry, too.” The words floated over to me on a whisper, and I turned back. He looked more sad than I’d ever seen him. “I never meant to hurt you.”

  “I know.” I smiled because I knew it was true. He probably hadn’t meant to hurt me. But on the other hand, my feelings probably hadn’t occurred to him at all. Not at the level that they should have, if our relationship had been right.

  But Stuart had cared about my feelings even after I’d barreled into him and inconvenienced him and done so many things that probably would have sent most other guys running.

  My thoughts about Stuart must have shown somehow, because Ben asked with practical nonchalance. “So, what, now you’re with that TA?”

  Oh, Ben. I never meant to hurt you, either.

  “Stuart,” I said, then nodded. “And yeah.”

  “He seems like a good guy.” Ben sounded a bit depressed about it.

  “The best.” I sighed.

  “Gee, thanks.”

  I laughed at Ben’s mock-offended tone. “You know what I mean.”

  He sighed. “Sadly enough, I do. He’s a lucky guy, Jilly.”

  For a moment, I let myself feel it. For a moment, I allowed myself that same sense of closeness that I’d spent two years feeling for Ben, and it helped me to let go of the last dregs of animosity that I felt toward him. And then, as the clocked ticked away that tiny fragment of time, I came back to myself just as quickly, older and wiser and with only a casual friendship uniting me with Ben.

  Maybe even that wouldn’t stand the test of time. But for now, it was enough.

  By the time the train pulled into Leeds Station, I was more than ready to see Stuart.

  For the first time since I’d arrived in England, I felt free, and I wanted to share that newfound freedom with him. He was the one who’d given me that gift, after all.

  When I stepped off onto the platform, I couldn’t stop thinking that everything looked more vibrant than when I’d left Leeds. More alive and more special, somehow.

  The significance of seeing something beautiful in the mundane simply by changing my perspective wasn’t lost on me. Without Stuart, I might not have had it. I might never have had an adventure on my own, gotten closure with Ben…I might not have found myself, half a world away.

  Ben waved and went on to wherever he was headed next, and I walked toward the arrivals hall, thinking I would catch a taxi to my dorm, drop off my bag, and go find Stuart.

  But when I neared the exit, that’s when I saw him.

  “Stuart!”

  He was there, staring up at the information board, hands in the pockets of a black rain jacket. His hair was a bit messy, and it looked like he hadn’t shaved since I’d seen him on Friday, but in that moment he was the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen.

  He caught sight of me and I ran to him, hugging him close and kissing him soundly before asking, “What are you doing here?”

  “I couldn’t wait to see you.” He grinned down at me, and I noticed the tired lines around his eyes.

  “How was your mom’s surgery? How are you?”

  “It went well. She’s stable and the doctor says she can go home in a couple of days. So I figured I’d come pick you up as my way of celebrating.”

  Sweet. The sweetest thing I’d ever heard.

  “Then let’s go celebrate,” I told him, and took his hand. We walked outside to find that a strong wind was blowing. The clouds looked full of rain, ready to burst upon us at any minute, but I could only laugh as all my fears blew away and I kissed Stuart again, feeling as free as the wind.

  Other books by Audra North

  Hard Driving Series

  In the Fast Lane

  Shifting Gears

  Pushing the Boundaries Series

  Giving it Up

  Stanton Family Series

  Falling for the CEO

  One Night in Santiago

  Healing Her Heart

  A Lesson in Temptation

  Mathematicians and Musicians Series

  Composing Love

  One Week in Love Series

  One Week in Wyoming

  One Week in Hawaii

  Fitting In (in Summer Rain)

  Losing It

  Out of the Box

  Second Chance

  Creep

  Lorelie Brown

  Roni is spinning her wheels. Her job at a record store kills time and keeps a roof over her head—but she lives for the raves in Oakland’s warehouse district. Dancing till dawn in white gloves under black lights breathes life into her soul. Of course she has an expiration date, when she’ll burn out and be forced into an office cubicle. Might as well live while she can.

  Nothing will get her kicked out of her underground world faster than turning over Skittles, her dealer. She refuses to provide info about the underage runaway to his big brother Tom. But he is going to find Skittles with or without Roni’s cooperation. If she helps, she just might get an exotic taste of Tom’s kiss… Tom’s body…

  But Tom is special. He’s rich, handsome and bold. Roni wishes she was special. And like the rave scene she loves, nothing lasts forever.

  Creep by Radiohead (1993)

  Chapter 1

  The store is always empty on Tuesday afternoons. There’s something about the second day back to work that doesn’t scream “buy music” to the hordes, I suppose.

  I dust racks as slowly as I can. Once I’m done, Cindy is going to send me to the back room to unload the new shipment of CDs that came in this morning. Usually I don’t have a problem with that. The storage room has good soundproofing and I get to crank up whatever I want on the sound system. If Cindy is busy enough, I can take a little break to dance with the waist-high speakers.

  Today is different. We have a lurker.

  He is beautiful.

  He’s wearing a button-down white shirt with the sleeves rolled back to expose forearms to die for. The sunglasses pushed up on top of his head tousled his hair, but I can still tell he isn’t the sort who normally drops into used record stores. Not like ours. He’d be in Tower Records if given half the chance.

  He’s slumming it for some reason. He stalks the rows. Up and down, glancing around as if evaluating the financial worth of everything he passes.

  And he’s going to pass me soon.

  Something squidgy wiggles around in my lower stomach. The back of my neck burns hot. I turn away to dust the Pearl Jam section, even though it’s practically empty. Sold out. No one sells their used Eddie Vedder, even though he gives me a headache. I’m a Nirvana girl through and through.

  The stranger stops behind me. My breath catches in a little knot. I want to pretend I’d forgotten about him, but it doesn’t work.

  “Hello.” His voice is as smooth as butter, which I know is the giantest cliché, but I want him to slide all over me.

  I swallow. Put on my polite-to-customers-smile. “Can I help you find something?”

  He’s probably looking for the new Mariah Carey album and I’ll have to cry.

  “Probably not what you’re expecting,” he says with a dry, slightly exasperated tone.

  My eyebrows lift. I know annoyance. I’ve worked in customer service long enough. But this guy, I’ve never even met before. An
d his expensive watch has “asshole potential” written all over the gold. Treading carefully won’t be amiss. “Yes?”

  He pulls a small picture from the breast pocket of his shirt. “Him. I’m looking for him.”

  “Skittles?” The name flies from my mouth before I have a chance to think twice. Which is probably be a good thing, because you should see the way this guy’s face twists when I call the boy in the picture by his street name.

  “His name’s Corey.”

  “No offense, dude, but I can see why he wouldn’t go by that.” Though the picture he holds up looks way more like a Corey than the guy I know. In the picture, Skittle’s hair is close-cut and tidy, not like his usual Kool-Aid-dyed, unbrushed mess. His hair is hitting his shoulders lately. “Who are you to Skittles?”

  “I’m his brother.”

  “Oh.” I bite my lip.

  “Thomas. Most people call me Tom.” He holds out a hand.

  “You got the better deal, name wise.” I take his hand. He has a big grip. I shiver. I’ve been around enough to know the saying about men with big hands isn’t true, but there is something about the way he holds me. Even if his dick is small, he’ll still know how to make me feel good. Sometimes a man’s hands are more important than his cock.

  “I protest that Skittles is not any sort of an appropriate replacement,” he drawls.

  I narrow my eyes at him. “Are you sure you’re his brother? Skittles doesn’t have an accent at all, and you’re…what? English?”

  “Good ear, Miss…”

  “Roni. Short for Veronica. And you can lay off the miss shit.” He makes me feel defensive. He’s too…Jesus, too much. I step back, but run into the CD rack behind me. It clatters.

  “I assure you I’m his brother.” Tom inclines his head toward me and his dark hair falls across his forehead in a way I bet he doesn’t like. That’s what comes of pulling off his sunglasses and scraping his fingers through the waviness in frustration. It looks like both a familiar and awkward gesture. His shirt and slacks are still pin-slick-ironed though. “Half brother, and I’m older by ten years. We haven’t been as close as I’d like. Which is why it’s come to my attention only recently that Corey is in trouble.”