Free If I Forget You by Michelle D. Argyle Page A

to fall over. What if Jordan came out of the bedroom and saw her with someone else? Which was ridiculous. She wasn’t even with Jordan. It wasn’t like she was cheating on him.
    “No problem. Do you need a ride?”
    “I live right next door,” she laughed. “You can walk me home if you want.”
    “Oh, cool. Wait, do you know Jordan, then?”
    Jordan’s name was confirmed. That was good. Apparently, everyone knew Jordan. “A little bit,” she answered truthfully. “I haven’t known him long.”
    I thought he was you.
    “Awesome. He and my dad are friends, so we’ve known each other for a few years.”
    Stepping away, he motioned for Avery to walk around him. Once they were outside, he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and steered her through the crowd. She pointed to the path leading to Chloe’s house, and they slipped through the brush.
    “Convenient,” Kent said as he walked her to the porch. “You can hop on over to Jordan’s parties anytime you want.”
    “If he invites me again,” she laughed, trying not to sound too off-kilter. She was still shaken up about leaving the party without saying goodbye to Jordan. She would have to text him later.
    “You can be my date if he doesn’t invite you, how’s that?”
    “Works for me.” But did she really mean that?
    “Can I get your number?” Kent asked as he pulled out his phone. “Avery …”
    “Hollister,” she answered, and told him her number after pulling out her phone from her clutch. She then pushed the buttons to add a new contact. If he was in her phone, she was much more likely to remember him. Duh! Why hadn’t she thought about looking Jordan up on her phone when she couldn’t remember his name? She scrolled through her contacts and found him. He hadn’t given her a last name.
    “Mine’s Russell,” Kent said, making her cringe inside. She hated last names that sounded like first names. It always messed her up. She entered his full name and number into her phone.
    “I’m dead serious,” he said. “I want to get together soon. Class doesn’t count.”
    She pulled out her keys, but paused before opening the door. She turned to him, studying his face before glancing down at his hands. Yep, she recognized them. They were a good medium size, and now she knew how incredible they felt when they touched her. All his fingernails were neatly chewed. That meant the hot dog truck guy must have been him. She remembered seeing chewed fingernails.
    “Okay, class won’t count,” she said, smiling. She grabbed her phone again and pulled up her calendar. “How about the same night, though? I have to work until six.”
    He nodded. “Do you want to get dinner?”
    She imagined Chloe slaving away in the kitchen. “No, I’ll eat here. It’s important to my aunt for us to eat together, even if she won’t admit it. Is that okay?”
    “No problem.” He leaned against the door and put his hands in his pockets, looking as casually confident as she wanted to feel. “I’ll plan something fun. Around eight okay?”
    “Perfect.”
    He leaned forward before she unlocked the door, sweeping her into his arms to give her a final kiss goodbye. She savored it, wishing it could last longer until he pulled away and touched her lips with a finger. “See you Monday in class, Avery Hollister.”
    She watched him disappear through the brush, her breath stuck in her throat. Of course she liked Kent, but she was still reeling from how Jordan’s touch had made her feel too. Hurrying inside, she rushed to her room and pulled open her notebook to write down every detail before it all slipped away.
     

9
    Last Year
     
     
    Avery watched Ryan all through dinner, wondering why he was wearing a Marines shirt when Victor wasn’t even his real father. She wondered where his real father was, whether he liked Victor as a stepfather, whether he was planning on going into the military too. She had so many questions about him and she didn’t know why. It wasn’t as