“You ready?” His soft breath danced over my ear like a seductive waltz, sending a shiver more intense than ever through my body. This whole blindfold thing was freaking amazing.

“I think so.”

His arm wrapped around my waist until his hand was resting on my hip, and we fell into step. We must have looked crazy. A woman, blindfolded, dressed in a red dress that was tight in all the right places, with killer heels, being led along a street by a man who could fill out a pair of slacks and shirt better than 99.9% of the world’s population.

“Be careful, you need to take three steps down,” Josh said, his arms pulling me close to his body as we stopped walking.

Carefully, I did as he said, and was immediately hit by warm air, the smell of garlic, and the sound of laughter and chatter. Where the hell were we? Josh grabbed my hand and led me through the darkness provided by the blindfold. As I concentrated on every step I took and the feeling of Josh holding my hand, I lost all sense of awareness and bumped into his back when we stopped suddenly. I stumbled, and his arm shot out protectively, diverting me from crashing to the ground.

“Watch out, Ashy. I’ll think you’re falling for me if you’re not careful.”

Oh, dear lord.

Gently, he moved me until my legs hit the back of a chair, and I lowered myself.

Josh’s voice sounded from opposite me. “I’m about to remove the blindfold, but don’t open your eyes until I say. You okay with that?”

“Yes,” I replied, more breathy then intended.

With a featherlike touch, the blindfold was removed, and it took every ounce of strength I had not to open my eyes. I counted to ten, and then started singing the national anthem in my head to distract me from disobeying and looking.

“Show me your eyes, Ashy.”

My eyes fluttered opened, and I was hit by low lights. Josh sat across from me with a smile that could light up the world. My eyes frantically darted around the space, and my hand shot to my mouth as a million emotions hit me at once. This couldn’t be real. I had to be dreaming. My mind had to be playing games on me, because this kind of thing only happened in my favorite novels.

We were in Rosie’s Bar, sitting at the exact same table we’d sat at five years ago to the day when we first officially met. On the table between us was a pepperoni and mushroom pizza, along with two beers. The exact same kind of pizza and brand of beer we had five freaking years ago. I was spinning out. This was just . . . holy shit.

“Do you really think I’d forget that it was five years ago today that we sat at this exact table, eating this exact pizza, and drinking this exact beer?” Josh leaned over the table and linked his pinky with mine. I looked down at them before meeting his gaze. “Happy rocking-my-world Anniversary, Ashy.”

I was at a complete loss for words, and all I could do was stare at him. What could I possibly say? His eyes were soft as he stared back at me. There was no cockiness, no arrogance, and no obvious innuendo. It was just Josh. For the past five years, I had lived with the assumption that what we shared was just a night we spent together, that he had put into his memories of one-night stands and moved on. I was beyond shocked that he remembered even the finer details, right down to the pizza and table we sat at. My chest tightened. Oh fuck, were my eyes watering? This was hands down, without a doubt, the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.

“You look shocked.”

“I am,” I replied, finally able to put two words together.

“You thought I didn’t remember?”

“To be honest, yes.”

“I remember everything, Ashy. Absolutely everything. That night you gave me the best gift anyone has ever given me.”

He remembered, and just that thought alone did something unexplainable to me. My body started to react, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. Oh god, I was swooning. I averted my eyes from his and focused on the pizza.

“I think about it a lot,” he continued, and leaned over the table toward me. With his thumb and forefinger, he moved my face back so I had no choice but to look at him. “I think about why this beautiful girl gave me the one piece of her no one else would own. I think about whether I was good enough to you. My constant thought is whether it was what you expected and deserved?”

“It was perfect,” I whispered in a truth I never knew existed. “I’m glad it’s you that owns that piece of me.”

“Believe me when I say it’s cherished.”

Josh released my face and shifted back into his seat, then lifted the beer to his mouth. I chanced a look around the bar. It hadn’t changed a bit in the past five years. Young professionals, couples who looked to be out on dates, and groups of people watching the game filled the space. I still couldn’t believe that he actually did this.

“So we are here to celebrate Ashlyn’s Closet and our five-year anniversary. You better watch out, Ashy, five years is a long time. I might be giving you a ring next time.”

My laughter filled the table, and I snorted at his words. His ridiculous statement calmed me down, and immediately settled the tension in the pits of my stomach. I lifted my beer to my lips and took a sip, while my gaze remained locked on him. He stared back at me with a wave of possession flicking through his chocolate brown eyes. It was unnerving, but in the best possible way.

“It better be a damn big one,” I stated, after lowering my bottle and placing it on the table.

“Noted,” he said with a wink.

We dug into the pizza, and my taste buds shot into overdrive with garlic and cheesy goodness. It was just as good as I remembered, or maybe even better, just like kissing Josh seemed to be better than last time. No. No. No. I could not think of that. I focused on my third slice and couldn’t contain my low moans of satisfaction. It sounded a little too sensual to be about a piece of pizza. Amusement hit my gaze as Josh shot me a warning look, which only encouraged me further.

“Stop with the sex noises!” He sighed, and I moaned with more vigor in response.

I wiped my hands and picked up my beer. The music continued around us, and I felt my body relax as beer flowed through my veins. Not having to sit on the knowledge that Ky and Eden didn’t know about Lachlan and me felt amazing. The weight on my shoulders had lifted, and now it might be possible for me to completely shut the door on that huge mistake.

We laughed, chatted, and reminisced about college for an hour. Everything we spoke of revolved around the past, and Josh hadn’t mentioned anything about kissing me within an inch of my life or finger fucking me at his parents’ house once. Just the thought of it made me blush.

“Shit, I’m vibrating.” Josh stood from his chair and pulled his phone out of his pocket. “It’s Ky. I’ll be two minutes.”

I pulled my own phone from my clutch as Josh disappeared through the crowd and away from the noise. My smile at seeing Eden’s name on the screen died when I saw Lachlan’s name taunting me. Without hesitating, I deleted his message before opening Eden’s.

Hi lovely, just checking in to see how you are. Let’s catch up for a girl’s night in when you move back to your place. What are you doing for your last night with Josh?

My fingers danced over the screen as I tapped in a reply.

Hey sweets, I’m actually feeling really great. Girls night in MUST happen. Josh surprised me and brought me to Rubie’s, so we are having beers and pizza, and supposedly celebrating our five year anniversary.

Her response was immediate.

Five years?

Eden was going to love this. Ever since her and Ky got together, she had been full force on the romance front, and everything made her swoon. This would be like shooting excitement through her body at a million miles per second and just waiting for the high to hit her.