True believer - Nicholas Sparks [48]
As she spoke, Jeremy studied her. It was the most she’d said about herself since they’d met, and he tried to imagine what her life was like back then. Who was she in high school? One of the popular cheerleaders? Or one of the bookish girls, who spent her lunches in the library? Granted, it was ancient history—I mean, who cared about high school?—but even now, when she was lost in the memories, he wasn’t quite able to put his finger on who she’d been.
“I’ll bet you were terrified,” he said. “Lightning bolts can reach fifty thousand degrees, you know.” He glanced at her. “That’s ten times hotter than the surface of the sun.”
She smiled, amused. “I didn’t know that. But you’re right—I don’t think I’ve ever been so terrified in my entire life.”
“So what happened?”
“The storm passed as they always do. And once we collected ourselves, we drove back home. But I remember Rachel was holding my hand so hard that she left fingernail marks in my skin.”
“Rachel? That wouldn’t happen to be the waitress at Herbs, would it?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.” Crossing her arms, she looked over at him. “Why? Did she put the move on you at breakfast this morning?”
He shifted from one foot to the other. “Well, I wouldn’t call it that. She just seemed a little . . . forward is all.”
Lexie laughed. “It doesn’t surprise me. She’s . . . well, she’s Rachel. She and I were best friends growing up, and I still think of her as a sister of sorts. I suppose I always will. But after I went off to college and New York . . . well, it wasn’t the same after I got back. It just changed, for lack of a better word. Don’t get me wrong—she’s a sweet girl and she’s a lot of fun to spend time with and she hasn’t got a mean bone in her body, but . . .”
She trailed off. Jeremy looked at her closely.
“You see the world differently these days?” he suggested.
She sighed. “Yeah, I suppose that’s it.”
“I think it happens to everyone as they grow up,” Jeremy responded. “You find out who you are and what you want, and then you realize that people you’ve known forever don’t see things the way you do. And so you keep the wonderful memories, but find yourself moving on. It’s perfectly normal.”
“I know. But in a town this size, it’s a little harder to do. There are only so many people in their thirties here, and even fewer who are still single. It’s kind of a small world down here.”
He nodded before breaking into a smile. “Thirties?”
She suddenly remembered that he’d been trying to guess her age yesterday.
“Yep,” she said with a shrug. “Getting old, I guess.”
“Or staying young,” he countered. “That’s how I think of myself, by the way. Whenever I get worried about aging, I just start wearing my pants lower, flash the waistband of my boxers, wear my ball cap backward, and walk around the mall listening to rap.”
She gave an involuntary giggle at the image. Despite the chill in the air, she felt warm with the recognition, unexpected and yet strangely inevitable, that she was enjoying his company. She wasn’t sure she liked him yet—in fact, she was pretty sure she didn’t—and for a moment, she struggled to reconcile the two feelings. Which meant, of course, that the whole subject should best be avoided. She brought a finger to her chin. “Yes, I can see that. You do seem to regard personal style as important.”
“Without a doubt. Why, just yesterday, in fact, people were particularly impressed with my wardrobe, including you.”
She laughed, and in the ensuing silence, she glanced at him. “I’ll bet you travel a lot for your job, don’t you?” she asked.
“Maybe four or five trips a year, each lasting a couple of weeks.”
“Have you ever been in a town like this?”
“No,” he said, “not really. Every place I go has its own charms, but I can say with all honesty that I’ve never been to a place like this. How about you? Other than New York, I mean.”
“I’ve been to UNC, in Chapel Hill, and spent a lot of time in Raleigh. And I’ve been to Charlotte, too, when I was in high school. Our football team made the state championship