Free Me After You by Mindy Hayes Page B

downtown.
    I spent another couple of weeks holed up in my parents’ house after the Sole Festival. It probably would have benefitted me to get up earlier this morning to search for a job since I’m obviously not making any progress, but the motivation isn’t there. I don’t know where to find that motivation. How do people ever move on after things like this happen? Where do they find solace? I don’t want to do anything but lay in bed and sleep. Sleep is painless. The problem with sleeping is waking up.
    It’s not that I’m unaware of the pity party I’ve been holding for myself. I get it. It’s probably time to work on moving forward and picking up the pieces I’ve left in my wake, but how? How am I supposed to know when to let go? When is it too soon? How do you know when it’s been too long? Who determines those kinds of answers? When it hurts so much to think about him, how can I possibly let it go?
    The foliage in the park looks fuller than I remember. My eyes wander around and find the willow along the pathway that curves around the pond. It hasn’t changed much. I can still picture our blanket stretched on the bank below the slender branches like it was yesterday.

    We watch the clouds drift above us, pointing out patterns and shapes. Dean has an eye for boats and turtles, while I find flowers and bunnies.
    “When do you think a wish is more likely to come true? When you wish on a dandelion or a shooting star?” I bring the dandelion up to my face and examine the white fuzz flickering in the breeze.
    Dean breathes a husky chuckle. “Well, in my professional opinion of wish granting, I believe it depends upon the wish. Dandelions are much more common than shooting stars, so if you have a big wish you want to come true, I think you have to wait for the shooting star.”
    “So I can wish a simple wish on a dandelion and have it come true?” I feel my lips turn up.
    “Yup.” His lips pop on the “p.”
    I close my eyes and blow the dandelion fuzz away.
    “A simple wish, huh?” His eyebrow lifts as he tosses some Reese’s Pieces in his mouth.
    I nod, tilting my face to look over at him. “Should be simple enough.”
    “You think it will come true?”
    “It’s possible.”
    He leans closer to me. “Is there something I can do to make it come true?”
    “Maybe.” I smile shyly and feel the blush rise in my cheeks. He scans my face and the look in his eyes makes me so giddy and nervous I have to look away.
    His finger finds my chin and turns me back to him. “Please don’t look away from me, Jack.” And then his lips find mine, and my wish to finally be kissed by him is granted. It’s gentle and slow and absolute perfection as his lips form around mine. Our breathing is shaky and though we’re lying down, I feel myself falling.

    I blink and shake my head to clear thoughts of him. I don’t know how Alix convinces me to go out with her. It’s so much easier to stay home. There are no curious eyes, and the possibility of bumping into unwanted company is less likely.
    Alix should be here any minute, but she doesn’t come fast enough. An all too familiar figure catches my eye, walking the path around the other side of the pond and he’s not alone. Lily Jamison is walking next to Dean, but it doesn’t click. None of it clicks like it should until she stretches up on her toes and kisses his cheek. It’s as if it all happens in slow motion. He turns and smiles down at her before kissing her lips. Betrayal hits me on a whole new level.
    But that can’t be right. I love Grayson, and I don’t own Dean. He was obviously never mine. Lily might have been one of my best friends in high school, but I always knew she had a thing for Dean. I shouldn’t be surprised, but I am, and it churns my stomach like a rickety winding roller coaster.
    I don’t have time to turn or hide my expression before Dean somehow finds me. It’s not as if he was looking for me. He’s looking down at Lily, and then his