Forget Me (Hampton Harbor) by Jess Petosa Read Free Book Online Page B

sip of his water, his eyes locked on mine. "Give
it time to digest. You have questions to answer." He puts on a stern face
and I cover my smile with a napkin.
    "Let's go outside and talk," I tell him. I know the
important part of this evening is coming.
    Marie prepared me for this, and I realize that she had to have
known how much I would like Will. Large butterflies are stirring in my stomach.
My skin tingles and my legs feel numb.
    How am I going to do
this?
    "Jane," Will says my name and I look up. The smile is
gone from his face, and the laughter gone from his eyes. His expression has
morphed into one of concern, and the corners of his mouth are pulled down into
a frown. "You don't have to answer the questions if it bothers you."
    "It doesn't bother me," I say nervously. "It's all
just hard to explain."
    "Look," he says with a sigh. "I don't expect you to
open up to me on the first date and tell me your entire life story. I tend to
get carried away when I talk, and therefore you now know more about me than you
probably want to know...."
    "No!" I lean forward. "I like hearing about you,
Will. Really. I..." I look down at the table. "Look, this will make
more sense when we're outside. I promise."
    I need to be by the bay. I need my head clear when I say what I
need to tell him.
    "Okay," is all he says before pulling money from his
wallet and setting it on the table.  
    I guess I'm not the only waitress that gets the no change  treatment.
    Once we are outside I immediately feel better. It is a little
after six, and the sun still has another hour or two before it dips toward the
horizon. The sea breeze hits my bare skin and I close my eyes, breathing in the
salty scent. As if he knows what I need, Will walks us down to the bay and we
find an unoccupied bench on the boardwalk. Most of the tourists in town eat
late, and explore the town after dark, but a few people wander past. A young
couple rides by on bikes, and a family of five walks past with ice cream.
    "Will, this is going to be really hard to say..." I
start. 
    I cross my legs and turn my body, knowing that he deserves this
information with my full attention. He turns toward me as well, throwing one
arm up over the back of the bench. His fingers brush against my shoulder gently
and I ignore the fire working its way across my skin.
    "The night of the accident, when you carried me to the car,"
I grasp at the words running through my mind. Where do I even begin? How much
do I say? I take a deep breath. "When I woke up later that night, I was
confused and in shock. I didn't know where I was, or who I was, or what day it
even was."
    Will is watching me with an unsettling intensity, and I fight the
urge to look at my hands. Hands that are gripping my dress tightly.
    "The thing is, I still don't remember. I don't remember a
moment before waking up in Charles and Marie's home. I don't remember you picking
me up off of the dock, and I don't remember my accident. I don't even remember
coming to Hampton Harbor. I know silly things, like where Maine is on a map,
that Abe Lincoln was a President, what yachts are." I throw out random
facts. "But I can't tell you one single thing about the person I was
before the accident. The person I am."
    Will's expression remains solid but something in his eyes shift. I
recognize that look and I groan inwardly.
    "No one else knows, except Charles and Marie," I tell
him. "Once I knew we were going to dinner, I realized it wasn't fair to
keep this from you."
    "I wish you had told me before our date," he says. I
stiffen. The fire goes out and the bufferflies in my stomach slip back to sleep.
    Will runs a hand over his eyes. "I didn't mean that the way
it sounded." His hand moves to his hair and he looks at me. "I'm
sorry this happened to you, Jane." He pauses on my name. My fake name.
"I really am. I just... I don't think it's wise to date you when you’re
dealing with such a severe issue."
    I'm turning to stone now. I wrap my arms around my