Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)

by Liz Tomforde

This one is dedicated to you, the readers. Thank you for hanging out in Chicago with me.

WAIT IM EMO AF

Because she’s not her. No one else has been.

oop ?

I let them believe that I’m some hopeless idiot with absolutely no game because that seems easier to explain than the fact that I’m twenty-seven years old and have never once hooked up with someone that I didn’t have a deep connection with.

🥺

“I have someone who takes care of them when I’m away.” I pause. “And who is that someone?” He doesn’t answer and my attention immediately darts to his left hand, looking for a wedding ring indent or a change in skin tone from the lack of sun. There’s neither, but my woman’s intuition is on high alert.

RIGHT CUZ WTF

It’s a whole lot easier when you grow up with the person and innately know their character inside and out.

you dont sayyyy 👀🤭

His smile turns proud, not an ounce of shyness to be found. “Just curious.”

ARE THEY GOING TO A GAME IMA SCREAM AHAHAHHDJXJD

“Brian, why did you ask me to dress warm?”

AHHH SHIT

“My buddy has season tickets and couldn’t make it tonight,” he explains. “Hope you like hockey.” Fuck my life.

💀💀💀

We round a corner, and my heart drops, halting me in place when I come face to face with him. Well, a twenty-foot version of him, printed onto a sign and hung from the rafters for all his fans to see.

I WAS BOUTTA SAY DKSJKDDKN

He doesn’t hear me, just like he doesn’t hear his phone that won’t stop going off with back-to-back text messages.

who tf texting him 🤨🤨🤨

I don’t know what they say, but whoever it is, their contact name is only an emoji. The diamond ring emoji. Brian glances down at the screen and immediately tries to hide the phone away in his pocket, but it’s too late.

ewwww

An impossibly loud bang rattles the glass in front of me, stealing my attention to find a player from Tampa pinned against the boards after an excruciatingly painful hit.

WHY HE GOTTA BE FROM TAMPA JHAHAHAHSHSH

My heart flutters like it used to before I remember everything that happened. Because I may have loved Rio DeLuca once, but I don’t anymore.

im so curious as to what happeneddddddd

RIO AGE TWELVE

GASP A FLASHBACK

“I pick a song when something cool or important happens so I can remember it. Then when I want to relive a moment, I rewind it back and start the song from the beginning.”

STOPPP AND HE STILL DOES IT

That wavy hair, which is so much shorter than it used to be. It may have been six years since I last saw her, but I’d never forget.

🥺

A dark green Nissan Altima parks in front of my neighbor’s house.

NOT THE NISSAN ALTIMA HELPPP

Regardless, she’s somehow even more beautiful than the last time I saw her, and that pisses me off. Because first off, how is that possible? And secondly, she fucked me over. Shouldn’t karma come into play here and give me a win?

PFTTTJRHDKJDJDD

She used to steal all my thoughts. She used to occupy my entire existence.

That thing I’ve been looking for since I moved to Chicago? That connection? That one person some search their entire lives to find? I had already found her when I was twelve years old. At least, I thought I had.

🥺🥺☹️

“The guy you were with tonight.” I slowly shift back to face her. “Who was he?” The set in her jaw is evident even from here. “Not your job to worry about.” Nodding, I turn back to my house, hands casually tucked in my pockets as I continue to walk. With my back to her, I make sure my words are loud enough for her to hear them. “Lose him.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAA STFUUUUU

Parked in the back of the employee lot, I sit in my car, eating the homemade PB&J I made for lunch.

literally me af

“Rio, I’m begging you.” “Well, stop begging then, Hallie. It’s not going to work. There’s not a dollar amount in the world you can bribe me with to allow you to spend every day of the next six months in my house.” Ouch.

yeah ouch ://

I can’t give him the detailed explanation—that I need this salary to pay off my debt—because there’s not a chance in hell I’m going to explain why I’m in that kind of debt. And I know him. I know that will be his next question.

🤨🤨🤨

“You once told me the wrong band’s name when we were listening to a mixtape you made me because you genuinely didn’t know the difference between them. They all sounded the exact same.”

stfu he still has the tapes huh and he plays it during practice oh ima cry

Because I didn’t tell him the truth all those years ago. He doesn’t want to forgive me for it. Well, I don’t want to forgive him either.

what happeneddddd ☹️

“Promise me, Luke,” she continues, turning back to face the wall. “You’ll call me if it gets any worse.” Her brother says something on the other line that causes her shoulders to drop an inch. “Thank you. Okay. Love you too. Bye.”

wtfwtfwtf is he sick or is he part of the reason she’s in debt ?????

“I love your hair like this.” Fuck me. Did I say that out loud?

DKDHKDJSJDJKD PLSSS HES DOWN BAD

Reaching between us, I find the leg of her chair and pull, bringing her seat flush to mine. “What are you doing?” Hell if I know.

LDJSDJSJSDJJDSK

“You’re as charming as ever, DeLuca.” “Thanks, b—” I stop myself, thank God. “…Hallie.” That was almost a slip of the fucking tongue if I’ve ever heard one.

YEAH RIO PHAAHHAHDHDJF

“What about your dad? God, he probably fucking hates me now, huh?” Her body tenses and the air shifts around us, going cold once again.

bruh what happeneddddd

“You used to be my best friend, and yeah, we haven’t seen each other since then, but I’d rather hold on to the memory of the sweet neighbor boy I loved than replace it with this version of you.”

And that all happened after that scary phone call from Luke regarding my dad and the shit show of a meeting with Rio.

OMG IS HER DAD SICK ???? AND THEYRE PAYING MEDICAL BILLS OH IMA CRY

I started keeping my window unlocked after that, and he started sneaking in to sleep on the ground by my bed when he couldn’t find rest on his own.

🥺

“You don’t have to tell everyone your first and last name,” he says, the same way my brother did all those years ago.

🥹🥹🥹

I didn’t want to question why he might be getting his mail at two in the morning, so I let myself chalk it up to poor sleep.

he be waiting for her to get home huh? 🥺🥺🥺

I don’t tell him that I don’t like almond milk. I only ordered it when we were younger because I knew he’d ask for a sip of my latte since he couldn’t handle the amount of caffeine if he ordered his own, and I didn’t want the dairy to bother him.

omg stoppppp 🥺

He could be a joke to everyone else, but he was never a joke to me.

im going to CRY

“Have you ever been here before?” Zanders asks as we cross the street to the bar.

WELL SHIT THEY BOUTTA WALK RIGHT INTO HER WORK JDHDJFVDD

I think it’s my favorite part of game days, knowing she’ll be waiting for me afterward.

🥺🥺🥺🥺

Eighty-three. August third. It’s stuck ever since. Can’t imagine having a different number now.”

IS HER BIRTHDAY MARCH 8TH AND THATS WHY HE CHANGED IT CUZ IMA SCREAM

“I know I don’t understand all the details of your relationship, since most of it was kept secret from us, but some big, heavy things were happening in your lives at the time. Things that you shouldn’t have had to navigate at nineteen years old. I hate to think that other people’s decisions are the reason you two lost contact.”

bro im still betting that his dad and her mom had an affair or somethin

You’re babysitting? As in you’re the adult in the situation?

HAHAHAHA

When he nudges his nose against mine, his lips slightly brush my own, but he doesn’t kiss me yet. He teases. He silently asks for permission.

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG

She bursts a laugh. “Rio, I’m your girlfriend. Why would I go to prom with someone else?” Wait….what?

PFTTTTJDJDHDSKJDKD

“Because I’m going to kiss you and when we listen to next year’s playlist, I want this song to be on there so we can rewind it back however many times we want to and remember this.”

REWIND IT BACK BYEEEEE

Today, the non-logical heart wins when I wrap a fist around the front of his shirt to pull him down, at the same time lifting to my toes, pressing a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth. It’s a bit unpolished and almost a miss, my lips barely brushing against his. Reminiscent of our very first kiss, I suppose. Just enough to tell him that I want this.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️🏃🏽‍♀️

“You single, Hal?” I finally give him the long-awaited answer, nodding to tell him yes. “Good.” He takes a slow predatorial step towards me, tone sharp and leaving no room for question. “Because we aren’t fucking friends.” With that declaration, he grips the side of my neck and slams his mouth onto mine.

I AM SCREAMINGGGGGG (internally but screaming nonetheless) AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAaa

“Fuck,” he breathes out against my lips. “I missed this, Hal.”

ZOOWEEMAMA

“Please don’t stop,” he says, but it almost comes out as a whimper. “Fuck, I missed the way you touch me.”

I AM ACTUALLY GOING TO COMBUST