Rewind It Back (Windy City, #5)

by Liz Tomforde

Rio’s hands move, one gliding around my neck, fully surrounding it, his thumb stroking the pulse point there. The other slides between me and the door, his palm cradling my ass as he pulls me into him.

ohhh jesus mary joseph 🧎🏽‍♀️

I unfold it to read it for what feels like the hundredth time since Rio left it on my doorstep this morning. It was stuck to the top of a to-go cup of coffee, accompanied by spare keys to both his house and car. Thanks for letting me keep you up last night. You should’ve seen the latte art today. It was my best one yet until I took a sip. Drive my truck while I’m gone, please. -R

GOD I LOVE HIM SM

That’s probably true. If I’m remembering correctly, you did always know exactly what I liked. His lack of subtlety has my mouth gaping open because we both know he’s not referring to interior design.

IS IT HOT IN HERE ??? IM GETTING HOT SEND HELPP

The two people who shaped my entire belief system, who shaped the way I view love, who I mirrored my own relationship off of, divorced six years ago and haven’t spoken since. Childhood sweethearts. God, I could laugh.

:/

There’s this nagging part of me that’s questioning whether the homesickness I’ve felt for years now has been for Boston or if it’s actually been for her.

👀

“I don’t know. Because I always used to, I guess, and I’ve been feeling more like myself again lately.” She looks up at me. “For the first time in a long time.” I slip my hand into hers again, letting our fingers lace. “Yeah. I completely get what you mean.”

oh im so softtttt 🥺

“Come here,” he whispers, pulling me into him.

i literally MELT for a “come here” like im literally a puddle rn

“We’ll have every birthday after college though. Every March eighth. It’s not our last.”

I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW IT I KNEW HE CHANGED HIS NUMBER TO 38 FOR HER IM SO EMOOOOOOO

“Hallie, do you know why I’m not scared?” He holds up the mix CD. “It’s because I know I’ve got a lifetime of getting these from you. We’ve got a lifetime of best moments ahead of us.”

It’s how easily he forgot I existed in the years we were apart. How seemingly forgettable I was to him.

but he didnt forget babes 🥺🥺🥺☹️

He’s not in here, though. Both of his closets are left open, including the one he blocked me from going into last time I was up here.

OOP

Then I’m completely distracted when a distant and breathy “fuck” echoes from his attached bathroom, instantly stealing all my attention. I whip in that direction, wanting to hear it again, and wondering if that was real.

OH SHIT

“And the rest of my house is yours while I’m gone too,” he continues. “For work, or for…exploring.”

👀

It’s almost unrecognizable, tattered, discolored, and worn. It takes a moment until it clicks, for me to realize what this is. It’s that old friendship bracelet I made him on my thirteenth birthday.

OH IMA SOB

“Do you want to talk through it?” “No,” she whispers into the line. “I want you to talk me through something else.” Fuck. Me.

WELL OKAY THEN

“You cheated on my mother! I’m not going to get over it, Dad.”

okay so he didn’t have an affair with hallies mom but he DID have an affair. what a lil bitch

“How could you do that to her?” My words are quiet and though I’m asking him the question, it feels like I’m asking myself the same thing. How could I leave Hallie behind like that? It wasn’t her fault that my dad blew up my family. It wasn’t her fault that his decisions had me questioning everything. What the fuck is wrong with me?

🥺

Hey, have you heard from Hallie lately? I’ve been trying to get a hold of her, and I know she’s at the firm, but she usually responds by now. If you hear from her, can you tell her to call me?

OMG DID SOMETHING HAPPEN WITH HER DAD

Her voice rises. “How could you do that to me?”

OMG WAS I RIGHT ????

“She didn’t tell me! She was practically my daughter, and she knew that your father was having an affair, and she didn’t tell me. How can you even look at her now?”

oh shitttttt

“Hallie didn’t want me to tell you because of your game, but I think you’d want to know. Her dad was taken to the hospital back in Minnesota. I don’t know many details other than she seemed scared. She’s on her way now. She started driving about an hour ago. I just thought you should know.”

oh noooo :((

Because that’s what happens when you’re in your second remission from blood cancer.

omgggg ☹️

But then all my attention shifts to the glass windows lining the waiting room wall, watching a man in a beanie jog down the hall in this direction. He pulls the door open to scan the room, finding me in no time.

omggggggg 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Getting the opportunity to fall in love with you is my best memory, and all I can do is hope that one day you’ll let me do it again.”

“I let him because I deserved it for lying to him for so long, and he hit me because he was furious after I told him I was in love with his sister.”

🥺🥺🥺

“Are you sure that’s not just a first-love thing?” “No, baby. It’s a last-love thing.”

🥹🥹🥹

I can’t. I’m speechless. Because how am I supposed to speak when my eyes are glued to what is essentially my last name, tattooed as a heart, inked over his actual heart?

oh MY heart is going to EXPLODE

I sat there getting this permanently inked onto my skin, trying to convince myself I was only getting it as a reminder that love existed when the whole fucking time, I knew it only existed with you.”

RIO DELUCAAAAAAAA WHEN I CATCH YOUUUUU 😩😩😩🥺

“White walls. Boring. Like a big plain box, so when we get there, I can start renovating it to be ours. I’ll paint every wall exactly how we want them, and I can add all the finishes we decide on together. It’ll be my very first design project, and I’ll make it into our dream home.”

OH STFUUUUUUU HE REALLY BOUGHT THE HOUSE FOR HER

“But in case it needs to be said out loud… Yes, Hallie Hart, you are my girlfriend. Though, you should know, there’s a good chance I’ll be changing both that title and that last name one day.”

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA IM SCREAMINGGG

Rio lifts his stick in the air, pointing it in my direction, then tucks it under his arm to form his hands into a heart. And I don’t miss the way he lets one thumb overlap past the other to create a little extra piece, not letting it connect where it should.

UGH I AM A PUDDLE

But if there ever comes a time that I need to choose which relationship to keep safe, I won’t make the same mistake twice. I’ll choose Hallie every time. I just hope my own mother doesn’t put me in that situation.

period as you should rio

“Do you want to explain to me why I went online to make a loan payment, only to find that it’s fully paid off? In fact, both of my loans are.”

oop DKDJKDJDJD i mean we all knew it was gonna happen lol

“Don’t worry about all of us,” Stevie adds. “We’re all going to still love you.” Rio’s attention shifts to Ryan. “Is that true, Ryan?”

PLS JSJFJJDBNGF

Isaiah smiles. “We asked him what number he wanted to wear, and he said he wanted his dad’s number. It was fucking adorable.”

STOPPPPPP SO CUTEEE

“How’d you pick your jersey number in the first place?” Indy asks. “Does twenty-one mean something?” “Oh, fuck me,” Rio mutters under his breath for only me to hear. “Great question, Indy!” I drape my arm over Rio’s shoulder, excited for this conversation.

AAHBAHAAHAHAHHAAHHA IM CACKLINGG

“When I got to training camp in Chicago, they asked me if I wanted to keep eighty-three, but I decided it was time to change it to my actual favorite day.” My birthday. March eighth. Thirty-eight.

UGH THE WORD CHOICE ???? RIO IMA SMOOCH YOU

Over my shoulder, I watch his parents’ bedroom slowly creak open, but the woman who exits isn’t Mrs. DeLuca. “Mom?” Adjusting her blouse, her eyes snap up to mine.

BITCH I WAS FUCKING RIGHT

“She won’t say anything.” My mom sounds so sure of herself as she closes the door, leaving only her and me in the hallway together.

EXCUSE ME ????

I’m not sure what hurt worse that day. The way she looked at me with complete and utter disgust, or how it felt to have the only man I’ve ever loved tell me to get out of their house.

☹️💔

I slide my hand along her lower back, pulling her into me. “You don’t think you should’ve told me before you told my mom?”

IM SCREAMINGGGGG

On my phone, I tap on the music app and scroll to the playlist I’ve been putting together since October. “Every birthday, I used to love listening to you tell me about all your important moments from the year, so I was hoping on this birthday, I could tell you about mine.”

🥹🥹😭😭😩😩😩

“Exactly. I want to rewind all of it, Hallie. I want to remember everything. You made sure we could remember our first years together, so I made sure we would remember this one.”

🥹

“What happened while you were listening to this song?” I smile at her softly. “This is the song I was listening to when I signed my contract extension with the Chicago Raptors.”

AAAAAAAAA PERIOD RIOOOOO

“He and I”—she straightens her spine, meeting my eye—“have been seeing each other.”

OOP OKAY MOM

“We live in a pretty small town,” Cruz adds. “But our family’s land is large enough that we each have our own slice of it. Soon, all four of us will have our own homes there, but my brothers and I each have our own place in the city too so we don’t have to commute every day while we’re in season.”

ERM AM I SENSING A SET UP FOR A SPINOFF SERIES ??? 👀👀👀

“Ryan has something he wants to tell you.” We all shift our attention his way. “Uh…” he stumbles, and Indy gives him an encouraging nod. “I just wanted you to know that…” He clears his throat. “I love you, man.”

STOPPPPPPPP 🥹🥹🥹😭

Besides Indy, we’re all a bunch of transplants from other places who found a home in the windy city…and with each other. I’ll speak for all ten of us when I say, there’s nowhere else we’d rather be. THE END

OH IM EMOOOOOO