REJOIN | ✔️

Chapter Twelve

Remy could sense the mood in the car and periodically rubbed his hand against my thigh whilst he was driving. He didn't pry. He was good like that; he knew I'd talk if I wanted to talk.

Coming to a stop at a red light, we watched as an elderly couple crossed the road. The lights changed before they'd managed to get the whole way across but Remy smiled at them, waving them to continue on patiently. He caught me staring at him and transferred the smile to me, his ice blue eyes warming.

I remembered suddenly that Beatrice was spending the night at Remy's uncle's house and realised we'd have the place to ourselves. Butterflies exploded in my stomach at the realisation we'd be alone. Remy noticed the change as my body went rigid and my face flushed crimson, but he didn't say anything, just grabbed my hand and kissed it as he started to pull forward.

Why was I nervous? It was impossible to be nervous with him when he made everything feel... right.

Probably from years of reading romance novels, watching too many movies, I'd always thought that love would hit me like train. I'd be standing on the tracks, I'd see them right as they collided into me and I would know in that moment what it was. If it was love, wouldn't I just... know?

I watched Remy closely as he drove, waiting for the impending locomotive accident. Checking his rear-view mirror before making a turn, he caught sight of me openly staring. I shifted my gaze back to the dark road ahead of us quickly, clearing my throat. Subtle.

"What?" he asked with a grin and I looked back at him in faux surprise.

He knocked up the speed of the windscreen wipers with a nudge of his fingertip as the rain came down harder. Our eyes met for the mere second he allowed himself to look at me before he had to return his focus to the road. I was winded.

It was like the sun had a timeshare in him when he grinned, his features splitting into a smile so bright it was almost hard to look at, but at the same time, impossible to look away from. He was like my own personal sun, the right amount of light to illuminate the dark and wash away the shadows. Most people smile with their mouths, Remy smiled with his soul.

I had expected love to hit me like a train, but this thing with Remy had crept up on me. It was seeping in like smoke through a vent, morphing around us to fit our physical, mental and emotional curves, moulding to our quirks like a well-made glove.

We got to the house and Remy reversed expertly into the drive, aided by the security light that illuminated his way despite the rain. The silence seemed loud for a second once the engine cut off, and we both jumped as the car reminded him with a beep he'd left the headlights on. He smiled sheepishly to himself and switched them off.

"Are you ready to make a run for it?" he asked. With a nudge of his head, he gestured to the rain pounding on the windscreen, whose presence was no longer being challenged by beating wipers.

I grimaced in response and he laughed.

"I'll race you. Three, two, one..."

We both burst into fits of laughter and ripped open our doors simultaneously. I looked down at my hands with a groan and doubled back, realising I'd left my bag on the seat. By the time I caught up to him, he was already safe under the cover of the porch, leaning against the pillar and shaking rain water from his hair. He'd even had time to unlock the door.

"You really suck at races, you know." He was smiling his usual half smile, circling his keys on his finger.

Rolling my eyes, I slipped off my shoes as we walked through the door. He hung our sodden coats over the radiator and dropped his keys into the bowl of junk on the entry table.