I Still Remember Read Online Free Page B

“Take your time. I’ll wait for you at reception.”
    I grab my belongings from the dressing room and head for the shower, all the while wondering if I’m not trapped in a dream. I don’t want to wash away the oil Amy rubbed into my skin, but as I do and my hands caress the spots she just did, my mind already wanders to the next step. I’m not leaving town until I’ve touched Amy the way she has touched me.
    After I’ve put myself together as best as I can, smelling of lavender and satisfaction, I find my way to the reception area. My legs are still a bit shaky and my cheek still tingles where Amy kissed it last. I half-expect reception to not be there and wake up in my old bedroom in my parents’ house, sweaty from a passionate dream. But there’s Amy, leaning against the reception desk, one ankle crossed over the other. She looks so different from when I first walked in. A lot has changed since then.
    “I presume you have a party to go to tonight.” Amy’s voice is playful, almost seductive.
    I remember the reason why I’m in town and all the prying questions on my relationship status I have to look forward to. “Yes. Oh, joy.” I check my watch. “But it only starts at seven.”
    Amy draws her lips into a pensive pout. “Let me check with the boss if I can take the rest of the day off.” She tucks her chin in and looks at her own chest. “Great. She agrees.” She sends me a wide smile and I’m sixteen again.
    We exit The Body Spa together and I wait for her initiative as we stand around on the parking lot in front.
    “Did you know I live in my parents’ old house now?”
    Due to the fact I appear on TV five times a week, Amy probably has a lot more superficial knowledge of me than I of her. I realise I know nothing about her life. “Really?” But, oh gosh, the memories that place holds.
    “Yep. Do you still know the way?”
    I nod. I could never forget. “See you there in ten minutes.”
    I step into my rental and notice my hand is shaking when I put the key in the ignition. I’m going to Amy Waters’s house. It’s the only thought occupying my mind as I drive the route I could take blindfolded—still, after all these years.
    I used to ride my bike to Amy’s house. An old beat-up BMX I inherited from my older brother. I’d attach cards from a deck to the spokes with clothespins and pretend it was the scooter my parents would never allow me to have.
    The Waters house is still in the same spot in the same street, but that’s about all that still resembles the memory I have of it. The bricks are no longer red and the roof is flat instead of slated.
    I sit staring at the sleek, whitewashed walls of the rectangular shape in front of me, when a knock on my car window wakes me from my daze.
    “Coming?” Amy’s arched-up eyebrows ask—just like they’ve always done.
    I get out of the car and, apparently, I can’t hide the look of bewilderment on my face.
    “If this surprises you, wait until you see the inside,” Amy teases. But I’m not really interested in the inside of her house—not for now, anyway. I want to go round the back and see if the pond is still there. That pond where we passed hours of our youth just lying around and dreaming out loud of the kind of life I knew I would never lead.
    Amy catches my glance and it’s as if she can read my mind. “Come on.” She curls her fingers around my wrist and drags me to the path circling around the house. “You can admire my flair for interior design later.”
    My pace quickens as we approach the backyard. To my surprise, not a lot has changed. The pine trees are still there, and so is the pond. I can see its surface flicker through the spaces between the trees.
    A rush of tears pricks behind my eyes. I have to breathe in deeply to stop them from crashing through.
    “I’ve spent a fortune redoing the house, but this is still my favourite spot.” Amy stands behind me and her voice sounds exactly the same as then, except, everything