If I Forget You (15 page)

But what kind of connection might she have with Owen? She hadn’t kissed him yet.

Yet?

What was wrong with her?

“What’s the matter?” Jordan asked, removing his hands from her. “Too far? Too fast?”

“No, no, it’s not that.”

Well, it
was
that. She really needed to tell him what had happened with Kent before he found out some other way. Why couldn’t she just come out and say it? Admitting her faults shouldn’t be this difficult. She opened her mouth, gathering her courage into a ball of energy in the pit of her stomach.

Then she nearly bit her tongue at the sound of a girl’s voice from the back of the house.

“Jordan? Where are you?”

Jordan sat up, his eyes wide. “Oh, no,” he sighed. “My sister. I forgot she was stopping by tonight. Shit.” He looked down at his open shirt and started fastening the buttons. “Sorry. I’m so, so sorry. She’s, uh, she’s
—
”

“Jordan? You in here?”

A figure stepped into the doorway, silhouetted from the kitchen light down the hall. Something about the figure was vaguely familiar, and Avery sat up, smoothing her hands down her sweater to make sure it was where it should be.

“Oh,” the girl said, stepping an inch into the room. “You have company.”

Jordan turned to look at her, his fingers fumbling with his shirt. “Yes, I have company. Do you mind?”

She put a hand on her hip. “Well, excuse me. Maybe you should do that sort of thing up in your bedroom if you’re expecting me to come by. Come to think of it, it’s been so long since you’ve had
this
kind of company …”

Avery didn’t miss the beat of sadness in the girl’s voice, as if she couldn’t make up her mind whether to keep teasing her brother or sympathize with him.

“Shut up, will you? Get what you need and leave, please. Now.”

“Fine, fine, but aren’t you going to introduce me?” She flipped a switch on the wall and the room flooded with yellow light. Avery’s mouth fell open as she stared at none other than Heaven Meadows, her bright red dreadlocks a fiery halo around her face.

“Avery, what are you doing here?” Heaven’s widened eyes went from Jordan to Avery, back and forth like a Ping-Pong ball.

“Heaven is your sister?” Avery asked Jordan, her heart pounding.

“Yeah,” he answered, exasperated. “How do you know each other?”

Folding her arms, Heaven leaned her hip against the wall. “Oh, we work together in the library. We have nice, long chats, don’t we, Avery? Today’s was especially interesting. Guess my brother is one of the three guys you’ve fallen for, huh?”

As Heaven’s eyes narrowed into a full-blown glare, Avery realized once again, like a punch to the stomach, why telling people about her forgetfulness was always a bad, bad idea. You never knew who was going to use it against you.

14

Jordan’s confused expression made Avery want to run from the room, but she stayed on the couch, wringing her hands.

“Three guys?” Jordan finally asked, turning to her. “What does she mean, Avery?”

After throwing a glare at Heaven, she leaned forward and looked straight into Jordan’s eyes. “I can explain.”

He didn’t seem upset, but she could tell if she didn’t handle things just right everything would look worse than it actually was
—
unless, of course, everything
was
as bad as it seemed. Maybe she really had screwed this up beyond repair. Then again, it wasn’t like she was Jordan’s girl or anything. They were only on their first date, for crying out loud. Technically, she didn’t owe anyone anything.

“Can we go for a walk?” she asked, wiping a sheen of sweat from her brow. “I’d like to talk about this with you alone.” She glanced at Heaven, her heart sinking. She liked Heaven, just as she’d liked Tam at one point.

“Uh, sure. I’ll go change my shirt. One sec.”

He got up and disappeared around the corner. Heaven, still leaning against the doorway, continued to glare. “I had no idea one of the guys you were talking about was my
brother
,” she snapped. “If I’d known that, I would have told you what I’m going to tell you right now.”

Avery felt herself freeze up as Heaven crossed the room and leaned over the back of the couch to look her in the face. Her breath smelled of peanuts, and Avery remembered her father worked for a company that had something to do with airplanes. Maybe that was where she got all the little packages of peanuts. Her big, heavily lined eyes blinked twice before she spoke again.

“If you break my brother’s heart, I’ll eat you alive, understand? He’s been through more than you can even imagine. The last thing he needs is someone messing around behind his back
—
whether you mean to or not. I don’t care about your memory problems.”

Avery tried to swallow but couldn’t. “He asked me out in the first place because of you. I don’t want to hurt him, I promise.”

“Oh, that.” Heaven nodded and stood up straight, folding her arms again. Her nostrils flared. “So, that’s all this is, then
—
my challenge for him to find a date? Is that what you’re saying?”

“No … but that’s how it st
—
”

“You ready, Avery?” Jordan walked into the room, now wearing a T-shirt, brown leather jacket, and a pair of jeans with holes in the knees.

Scrambling off the couch, Avery practically ran across the room and followed him out the front door. She wasn’t sure if Heaven was still glaring at her or not.

“I’m really sorry about that,” he said as she followed him around the corner to the driveway. “Heaven is really protective of me, even though I’m a guy and she’s my little sister. Should be the other way around, but she’s not your typical girl, if you haven’t noticed.”

Avery smiled and nodded. “Are we going somewhere?” She looked down at Jordan’s bullet bike and realized he was holding a helmet out for her. She’d never ridden on a street bike before, and swallowed down a rush of fear.

“Yeah, I think it’ll be good for both of us. You don’t want to?” He looked down at the helmet in his hand.

She could do this. The ride would at least give her some time to think about how she was going to explain herself to him.

“No, it’s fine,” she answered, and snatched the helmet from him. “I just don’t know what I’m doing, that’s all.”

He grinned as he put on his own helmet and left the visor up. “There’s not much to it,” he explained. “I’ll get on and start the bike. You get on after me, from the left side. Then put your arms around me and hold on. If you need me to stop, just tap my right shoulder.”

“Sounds doable.” She put on her helmet and thought she must look pretty stupid since it felt so big around her head. Still, she didn’t want to die if they crashed.

She watched as he climbed onto the bike and started it up. It was sleek and black and low and the engine rumbled smoothly through the night.

“We’re not going far,” he said loudly.

“Okay!” she yelled back, and mounted the bike. Her butt slid forward a little, and she wrapped her arms around Jordan’s middle. He felt so good against her. She wanted to lean her head on his shoulder, but that was impossible with the helmet on. Bracing her feet against the foot rests, she tensed as Jordan backed out of the driveway and pulled onto the street. When she looked back at his house, she saw Heaven standing on the porch with a piece of torte on a plate, watching them as they took off in a roar of engine noise and Avery’s silent gasps.

* * *

Riding Jordan’s bullet bike was like riding the wind. Avery had never felt anything as liberating as racing down that road, holding tightly to someone who gripped the balance, the speed … her life in his hands.

Maybe it wasn’t as dramatic as all that, but as long as she was on the back of that bike, all her senses were heightened. She felt powerful, which was a feeling she hadn’t expected. She’d expected to feel nothing but fear.

When Jordan pulled into an empty parking lot and turned off the bike, he nodded for her to get off. She removed her helmet as soon as she was on solid ground.

“That was really fun,” she said, her breathing faster than normal.

“Now you see why I’ve spent all my money on this baby rather than a car,” he laughed, patting the bike. He took her helmet and motioned for her to follow him up a small path. “Come on, I’ve got something to show you.”

She followed him to a park overlooking a body of water. There was so much water in Seattle she had no idea which part this was. The air was cool on her face. The gravel on the paved path crunched under her feet. Jordan looked over his shoulder every now and then to make sure she was still with him. She wondered if he was upset about what Heaven had said. She wondered how much she should confess to him. Was there anything to confess, really? He’d been truthful with her. The least she could do was tell him she’d made out with his friend just last night.

“Jordan, where are we going?” she asked after five minutes of walking.

“A good spot to see the skyline over Lake Union. It’s really pretty from here at night.”

The trail wound over some grassy hills, each second bringing the skyline more and more into view. Jordan was right. It was pretty all lit up beneath a purplish sky. The lights twinkled on the glassy surface of the lake, all somehow lesser than the yellow-white magnificence of the Space Needle.

“Oh, good, the benches are empty,” Jordan said as they neared the top of a hill looking over the lake. “They’re usually taken whenever I come.”

They sat down on the first bench and Jordan dumped the two helmets on the other one. Avery shifted across the wood planks, unsure of how close she should sit to him.

“Have you been to the top?” he asked as he leaned back.

“Of the Space Needle? Nope.”

“Been to the fish market?”

“Nope.”

“You said you’re from Spokane, right?”

“I’ve lived there for the past few years.” She took a deep breath and held it in for a good thirty seconds. She wasn’t sure where Jordan wanted any of this to go.

“Well, I’d be happy to take you around to all the hot spots in Seattle … if you want.”

She didn’t know what to say, so she kept her mouth closed. Silence surrounded them, broken only by the sound of talking somewhere behind them in the distance.

“So, about my sister,” he said after clearing his throat. “You know, what she said about the other guys? Do you want to talk about it? I’m curious.”

“Yeah, that.” She swiped a hand across her forehead. She was starting to sweat. Ugh.

Just get it out, Avery.

“It shouldn’t matter, I guess. I mean, we’re not together, you and me. Right? I mean, all I told Heaven was that I’m interested in three different guys. She didn’t know one of them was you.”

Jordan grunted and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked over at her, his eyes sparkling. “That’s it?”

She shrugged. “One of them is someone you know.”

“Yeah?”

“Kent.”

He sat back again and released a long breath. “I was about to say it’s none of my business who else you’re interested in. Like you said, we’re not together. But, yeah … Kent kind of changes things.”

“I thought it might. I went out with him last night.”

His eyes snapped to hers, filled with a question he didn’t have to voice with words. Not that it was
any
of his business what she’d done with Kent, but she still felt some sort of obligation to keep talking.

“He took me ice skating. Then we hung out on my front porch. He’s nice.”
He’s also a really good kisser, like you … minus that electrifying shock that happens when we touch each other.

“Lots of girls like Kent,” he said, shrugging. “So he didn’t … you two … I mean …” He looked away and cleared his throat again. “That’s none of my business, sorry.”

“No, we didn’t. Why?”

He practically shrank away from her with embarrassment or something else, she wasn’t sure. “No reason. Kent’s a bit of a player, that’s all. I’m not judging you for liking him, but I’m surprised it didn’t go that far. It always goes that far with him and his dates, and I’ve known him for quite a while.”

She wanted to tell him it might have gone that far if they’d had a room to themselves, but she didn’t. She kept her eyes on the city lights. Besides, where had things been going on Jordan’s couch before Heaven showed up? Not that she’d felt pushed into anything. Far from it. But she was a virgin, and who knew how far she’d actually go? It was one thing to mess around. Quite another to commit.

“So, do you want to keep seeing me, then?” Jordan asked, finally looking at her again. “I’ll admit my ego is shattered from knowing I’m not the only bright, shining star in your universe, but I can cope until you decide what you want.”

Her lips spread into a smile. He really was too good to be true. “Thanks, Jordan. That means a lot. And yes, I’d like to keep seeing you.”

“Can you tell me who the other guy is?”

“Just a guy named Owen.”

She cringed, realizing she probably sounded a little too dreamy when she said Owen’s name. The good thing was that she’d
remembered
his name. She also remembered his Vans and the streak of chain grease on his jeans. She remembered studying biology with him, spreading out on the grass on their stomachs.

Pushing herself back to the moment, she realized the other good thing was it looked like she wasn’t going to have to tell Jordan about her forgetfulness.

“Honestly,” she said after another minute’s silence, “I’ve been having a hard time with this. I feel guilty.” She lowered her voice and stared at the concrete. “I’ve never dated anyone before, and now all of a sudden … look at me.”

He looked at her, his lips twitching at the corners. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. It’s college. What did you expect to happen? You’re pretty and nice and fun to talk to. Stuff’s gonna happen. Me, on the other hand
—
I’m the total opposite. You’re the first girl I’ve been with in three years.” He leaned a little closer to her and stretched his arm across the back of the bench. “That’s why I said tonight was a special occasion.”