Chapter 4: Why Come Knocking at My Little Door
Remi opened her banking app and stared at the balance. ‹96684423› Next semester's tuition and living expenses — covered. §57defed7
But once she subtracted her mom's monthly prescriptions and the surgery she'd already scheduled — her mom was getting a knee replacement at the best hospital back home — the number started looking thin. (3174e55a) Really thin. #7f88db6b
The manager at Luminaire Dining picked up her call with mixed feelings. ©4a563b5d/May 27, 2026 "Look, I'd love to have you back, but..."
"I can extend the performance. * d0a61246 Same pay." ·d543fbf0· Remi figured he was still upset about last time. #3e142f5d She kept offering concessions. [v.d9e53233]
"Kid, listen — it's not that I don't want you. [ed.e58bf111] It's... you've got people like that in your corner now. [ms.51535e6f] Why would you come back to a small-time operation like mine?" (8588661f)
Remi understood what he was really saying. ©42c9e860/May 27, 2026 She gripped her phone and had no idea what to do. ··14710fe2
Her coping mechanism for stress was studying. sub:2b93bbc4 Morning, noon, night — problem sets, English listening drills, whatever she could get her hands on.·dc3debac
The only way she could see any kind of future for herself was to keep getting better. [proof:68edbda8]
Her phone had been on silent. ed.60d20d5e When she finally picked it up after a study session, there were over a dozen missed calls and texts: *Hi Ms. plate-a2a8305d Porter, I'm a talent scout at Nova Entertainment. (7c49ac5a/Wed) We'd like to invite you for an interview as a content creator.·666424fb Please reply at your convenience.*
Sutton rarely saw Remi check her phone in the library. sub:a7806260 She leaned over. ed.77495551 "What are you looking at?" ··8bda2431
Remi handed the phone over. ¶1ab699ac "No clue how they got my number. ref·fedde6b4 They've been blowing it up." [proof:3c3afba6]
Sutton read the messages and practically vibrated. (c9f3cbd2/Wed) "I've always said you're way too pretty to spend your life as an elementary school teacher! no.03c9984a Want me to go with you to the interview?" §d5821eea
"Nah, I'm not cut out for that stuff. ‹0b04024f› I get nervous just speaking in front of a class." ed.ad959d51 Remi packed up her books as she talked.·37f6281d
She knew what she wanted. ‹a8971b34› She wasn't about to get knocked off course. ref·47f7bf64
But people are idealistic when they're young. no.112e64b9 They have no idea how much life is going to cost them. [v.3e85f407]
After that dinner, Everett didn't reach out. ⁰04160444 Not once. 0406e45f·· Two months slid by. #f55a51a2
Remi filed him away as one of those strange, fleeting moments life throws at you. ◆ b59e81e4 The only time she thought about him was sitting by the library window, spacing out between chapters. [v.dec7605a]
Everett's next trip to Nashville was for the Lakewood library groundbreaking ceremony. sub:071c75ec President Foster had invited him repeatedly before he finally carved out the time.·464a3689
Foster and his people gave Everett the grand tour — the athletic complex, the new facilities.·e49256db As they passed the field, Everett spotted a familiar figure. «d179cd40»
Remi in PE class was a completely different person from the quiet, almost timid girl he remembered. ⁰b3fa5e0a At five-six she wasn't especially tall, but her proportions were good — long legs, the kind of frame that caught your eye across a field. «1567dfd3»
She jumped, spiked the volleyball one-handed, and spun around to high-five her teammate. ref·082e5eb4 The ponytail whipped through the air behind her. ©5f17674e/May 27, 2026
She wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand — quick, easy, zero vanity. ··ef05341b Even from several yards away, Everett could see the healthy flush on her skin. imp.c78a6786
That kind of magnetism only existed at twenty. ⟨de780ff7⟩ He stood there a beat too long, watching. plate-44ca91dd
When his call came, Remi had just gotten out of the shower. [proof:edf9529c] Her hair was still damp. plate-8af8a4f5
Marcus wasn't in the car. * 66aeb60a Everett sat behind the wheel. ed.e9c1d480
Her still-wet hair gave off a clean, soapy scent. 771e641d·· She gathered it all behind her, a little self-conscious, but a few damp strands clung to her cheek near the temple. ·54c2c549·
Everett reached over and tucked them behind her ear. ©c186664d/May 27, 2026 His fingertips grazed her skin, and she flinched back without thinking. #33a5d1b1
"That scared of me?" [ms.3744a049] He turned, resting his elbow against the headrest.·9ad92f63
"Not scared... I just haven't seen you in a while." ed.0725350e Remi said the simplest, most honest thing. ¶7213c01c To Everett, it carried a different weight. plate-d36594dd
"You missed me?" — ad1268ce That unreadable almost-smile on his face. [ms.ecdccf77] She couldn't tell if he was teasing or serious. ref·a3630ad5
She pulled back instinctively. ·1d770a86· But Everett leaned in, closing the distance inch by inch, until the back of her head hit the passenger window and there was nowhere left to go. ··d464c9bf Then he stopped — and reached past her to the back seat, pulling out a gift bag. ¶c1bb0805
He set it on her lap. [ed.f58c9c1c] "You'll need a computer for school. [v.02dca0b4] Get rid of the old one. ◆ 2210f925 And study hard." «3c32a0ad»
It was a laptop. — 262b84f8 The exact same one Sutton had. [ms.7a0a07fd] The kind Remi had never let herself even want. plate-26c85515
*Study hard.* Those two words — coming from him — made her laugh. [v.312c9298] A real laugh, the kind that just escaped. sub:39e925ee
"What's funny?" ··77f9b034
Remi was still grinning. * 3402fe47 "You really do sound like someone's uncle. #2f9e1b15 'Study hard' — like that's what you say to every kid you meet." [proof:fdd0f0a8]
Everett wasn't looking at her eyes anymore. no.28a2ac8b His attention had dropped to her lips — the way they moved when she talked. [proof:a7756199] She'd rushed out without much thought, barely dabbed on some moisturizer. [ed.da4a7847]
Her hand went to her mouth. #db835431 "Is there something on my face?" sub:d1a37020
Everett didn't answer. no.0595214a He lifted one hand to cup her jaw, his thumb tracing a slow line back and forth across her upper lip. [proof:f7930fdd]
Sutton always said Remi's face was innocent, but her mouth was something else — the subtle curve of her Cupid's bow looked almost sculpted, like she'd had work done. (1a8de1f7)
Remi's hands trembled. imp.65dc67a4 She couldn't bring herself to look at him. [v.e7cb66b8] The girl who'd been joking with Everett thirty seconds ago had completely vanished. §254b18ac
"Let's go eat." no.39450da0 Everett released her face, turned forward, and started the engine. [ms.e152baa6]
Remi hugged the laptop to her chest the whole way there, distracted, barely present. plate-a4ffe197 Her lips still felt warm where his thumb had been. #478ff808
He took her to a seafood place. sig.6e3a6de4 When the full spread arrived, Remi froze up. no.b594078c
Back home, her mom would splurge on half a pound of shrimp when it was in season — and even that felt like a stretch. no.59baac7b
Staring at the massive steamed lobster, the crab, the abalone soup — all of it probably worth more than she could calculate — she didn't know where to start. ·4f9b63b5·
A server in white gloves methodically cracked each crab leg and arranged the meat on a clean plate. no.d9876574 Everett pushed the plate across the table to Remi, then quietly started on his own food. (d1e1f2f1)
He didn't eat much. ¶4cfd2849 Set his fork down before he was a third of the way through. sub:d37c6d5d
Remi noticed and stopped too, looking up at him, fork still hovering. 227cfa1e··
"You're still growing. * da4a4abd Eat more. [proof:bbe15990] I'm the old one here — can't keep up." ©a6cf1472/May 27, 2026 The way he said it — Remi knew he was getting her back for the uncle comment. ⁰f0952192
She'd called him old, so now he was leaning into it. §988f0ac0 On purpose. (ab072b96)
"I mean, I'm definitely young, but you're not exactly ancient." [v.af514616] She tried to fix it. imp.11074192
That made it worse. [f0261ec7]
Everett watched her dig the hole deeper, fighting back a smile. — galley 73a4edcf — Remi sighed — internally cursing herself and her useless mouth. #eeb40e71
The thing was, she wasn't bad with words. no.c42c7437 But something about Everett made her tense up so much she couldn't be herself. ··bce29f9d
Everett had been around plenty of women who could glide through a cocktail party without breaking a sweat. ‹452c128c› Those women were perfect for the events that required a plus-one. * dc109c39
But sometimes he needed something simpler. ed.3d349a65 Like watching Remi eat — quick, focused, a little frantic. [v.0813a210] Like a rabbit. [ms.1be9de30]
"If you're full, let's walk around downstairs." imp.d57a1f5f Remi knew that downstairs meant the most upscale shopping mall in Nashville. imp.11a020b6 A single handbag could eat her entire semester's budget. (8dfade6e)
She knew — the moment she'd picked up his call and walked out that door, she was no different from the others. ¶6bcdc5bd
But when Everett suggested taking her shopping, something inside her sank anyway. (6b72b325/Wed)
So that was what this was. imp.796ab1d3 They weren't having dinner together. [40a848d4] He was spending a trivial amount of money — trivial to him — to buy her time. sig.77adf7ae
Remi deliberately slowed down. sig.0d003d94 Dabbed her lips with a folded napkin. ©dff3cea0/May 27, 2026 Picked up her canvas tote — the one she'd gotten at a campus sustainability event — and stood. imp.c68a6b4c
Everett waited patiently until she was beside him. [proof:c35f38b6]
In the elevator, Remi pressed B2 first. [a3a6d02f] The parking garage. ◆ 300ef3ce
"Class this afternoon?" ··8173a2d7 Everett looked down at her. [v.78fe48d0] She'd tucked herself into the far corner of the elevator — the two of them standing at opposite ends of the diagonal. ◆ 1908d0ac
Maximum distance in a space barely bigger than a closet. fa0a6fc4··
He didn't understand why everything had changed the second he mentioned going downstairs. sig.9d7efee5 She'd gone quiet. §acccb58a Stopped joking. imp.88790945
Everett watched the floors tick down, then reached out and pulled her toward him. — 176dac57 His other hand brushed the hair from her forehead.·863b0370 "Tired from lunch? ref·2d4ce4e6 Need a rest?" [proof:9e0cd971]
Remi's real thoughts weren't the kind you shared with anyone — least of all him. «56da76fa» She just nodded. ©52989f2f/May 27, 2026
"Then let's rest first. (c507b239) Nap, then shop?" (18989cd3/Wed)
The word *nap* hit her like a jolt. 9bf3087f·· She pulled back from his hand, stammering: "I haven't — I'm not twenty yet—"
"So once you turn twenty... you will?" ◆ 3e74c90a
That half-serious, half-teasing line hung in the air for exactly one second before the elevator doors opened. ◆ 24a97ca9 Everett walked out first. ⁰e651b218 Remi followed. sub:a99f5d28
Like none of it had happened. «c351fd35» Like the man who'd just been looking at her with those eyes was someone else entirely. (59bf6d59/Wed) Everett always did this — stirred something up inside her, then pulled away before she could make sense of it. ref·df02b589
Getting into the car, Remi twisted to reach for the seatbelt and her ID slipped out of her pocket. ◆ 9f645543
Everett saw it first. imp.79f342dd Picked it up before she could. no.89f6cba6
The photo was from before her college entrance exams. [proof:5b10b899] Blue school uniform. ref·66171d39 Slight frown. ref·6606e0cb Baby face. — galley e6ddae1d — Full of worry. cee7f570··
"Half a month until your birthday." [ms.8897cc7c] He handed it back, started the car, and pulled toward the exit. ··3bab8794
Remi didn't say anything. [v.daeb5bea] She watched his hand on the steering wheel, the way his eyes flicked to the mirror, the steady way he guided them out of the garage. «d7da65a0»
He stopped a ways from the campus entrance. no.5b8a5f02 The car was too eye-catching — better for both of them to keep distance. no.39972eae
Before getting out, Remi gathered her nerve. plate-63f56cc3 "I can't take the laptop. ◆ 77f12f93 Mine's fine — I got it when I started college." #9df181f5
"If it's a gift, take it. no.d95ea593 Study hard." ¶80bed6d2 That same almost-smile — and she still couldn't tell if he was teasing or dead serious. #e0ae7a39
Back in the dorm, Remi wouldn't admit it, but she felt a strange hollowness. plate-af854f12
It was the uncertainty. ··cb26a732 Not knowing when she'd see Everett again. ¶27f9cfc2
She hadn't saved his number. imp.c1ce2d96 She opened iMessage and tried searching his phone number for a contact — nothing came up. ⁰b0a69799
*Who doesn't have iMessage in this day and age?* She pursed her lips, clutched her phone, and fell asleep. imp.6cdceabc