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With my cheeks starting to flush again, I bury my head in my hands. People were watching, and I just wasn’t paying enough attention.
The idea should fill me with dread of being clocked, but really, all I can think about is the fact that Oliver so openly does all of this without me even asking for him to do it.
“We aren’t dating.” The words taste bitter.
“He’s obviously smitten with you. I should know. I was the same way with my wife in the beginning.”
“Was?”
He lets out a deep laugh. “Still am, but now it’s borderline obsession because I think about her every minute.”
That sounds nice, and the smile on his face tells me his mind is full of love.
I want that.
“Oliver has a good heart,” Adrian adds. “He constantly helps people who need it. Karena and Daisy love him, and the kids that want to surf look at him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread.”
This town loves him, and he loves Alliance just as much.
I hate this town. Maybe not as much as before—there are good things here and good people—but that doesn’t change my decision.
Before I can agree, the door chimes, and in walks the fluffy brown hair I’ve been spending all my time with.
He greets me with a smile and then offers a hand to Adrian. “Good afternoon, Mr. Grimes.”
Adrian waves him off. “You know to call me Adrian.”
They shake hands before Oliver turns to me. “You ready to go?”
I nod, ready to climb off the counter, but Oliver places both his hands on my hips, lifting me off effortlessly. I have to hold in a yelp as he lowers me to the floor and places another kiss, just like before, on my lips.
He really does kiss me every chance he gets, no matter who’s around. PDA should be gross, but I don’t want him to stop.
Ignoring Adrian, we wave our goodbyes and walk out of the shop.
“I have something I want to show you,” Oliver says as he leads me through Alliance.
The tides from Lake Michigan sounds off to our side. An orange hue envelops the sky as the sun starts to set.
After twenty more minutes of walking with our fingers still laced together, we land in front of a mechanic shop called Jennings Garage. I give Oliver a look.
“Jaxon’s deadbeat dad used to own the auto repair shop and scrapyard, but it got passed down to his best friend. Jaxon is supposed to take it over soon.”
I nod along. “You said you wanted to show me something?”
“Yeah.” He takes my hand and leads me over to the side of the garage. His feet cement in front of a van. “When I was a kid, I dreamed of running away, but as I grew up, that dream felt less and less realistic.”
I have to stop myself from cringing. Our dream of escaping our lives was never convincing. We were twelve years old and planning some great adventure, like the ones you’d see on TV.
“Eight months ago, I found the van back here, and it felt like fate, which sounds stupid, but I really believed this was the universe telling me to travel. I didn’t want to be like my parents, running away and never coming back, but forcing myself to stay here and refusing to see the world feels like a disservice to everything I wanted as a kid.”
The van looks like it’s in good shape. I know nothing about cars, so that thought doesn’t hold much weight, but it looks freshly painted. A simple light-blue coat covers the van. I thought he would choose green. The side has lettering on it in the green color I’ve always associated with him. Oceania.
“What’s stopping you from leaving?” I regret the words immediately because the light in Oliver’s eyes dim.
Oliver lets out a deep breath. “Aside from money? Fear. Fear that after I leave everything is going to change. I’ve spent so long needing a routine to survive, but once I leave that routine it’s gone and I’m never going to get it back.”
My hand squeezes his and I bring up my other arm opening myself up so he knows he can hug me. Oliver pulls me into his chest in a tight embrace. It still surprises me that my body doesn’t tense up when she touches me. He might be the only one that can ever hold me like this.
