Page 72 of Already Falling

“Let me make this clear to you.” I look her square in the eyes and grab her hand. “You are the one I compared everyone else to. You are my number one.”

Her eyes start to get glassy. “Damn, Parker. You’re making me cry over breadsticks.”

“I just want us to be open with each other. I don’t want us to hide our feelings. I think that’s what went wrong before.”

“There were so many other things that went wrong. I wasn’t ready for any of it. I was in denial.”

“Sometimes I wonder if things could have worked out differently.”

She starts to shake her head as soon as I say that. “No, I don’t.”

“What do you mean? All that heartache and all those tears and frustration, I’d send it all away in an instant if I could start a relationship with you without having three extra bags to unpack.” I look around the restaurant, realizing I’m getting riled up about our discussion of the past. Thankfully, the rest of the patrons are too busy with their evenings to realize two people are finally checking into reality.

“My mom always tells me, ‘Everything happens for a reason.’ I don’t think there are coincidences. I think we were supposed to go through all that shit. Reid, I was lost for so long. I was pretending to be someone I thought I should be. It wasn’t until I stopped caring what other people thought of me that I realized it’s my life to live and that I was ready to love you.”

“You love me?” I say with a goofy smile. Goosebumps rise at the four-letter word.

“Is that all you heard?” She laughs.

“I wish this was a booth so I could smother you right now.” Instead, I reach over and rest my hand on her thigh and kiss the side of her head.

“Speaking of that, you asked the hostess about hotels around here, right?” She wiggles her eyebrows again at me.

I return a devious smirk and say, “Yes, I already called. It’s an inn that overlooks the ocean. They have a room available for us. That way, you know, we don’t have to drive back tonight.”

“Yes, of course, just because we don’t have to drive.” She hides her blushing cheeks behind her water glass as she takes a sip.

The waiter interrupts our flirtations by bringing us our entrees which we promptly scarf down. Our conversation flows between the town we are in, our jobs, Chloe and Tyler, and how Annika wants to take a trip back home soon. We occasionally bring up our past, and I know it won’t be something we can resolve immediately. We both still have scars reminding us of the past. I know we can help each other heal.

The inn is a few blocks away, so we bring our cars over to the lot that connects to the building. I am both so incredibly nervous and excited. I’m also incredibly exhausted from the rollercoaster of emotions we’ve gone through.

Our room is simple and quaint. There is one king bed in the center with a sea foam green comforter and two nightstands. A small balcony sits just outside that opens up to a beautiful view of the ocean. Maybe we should stay here a couple of nights. I could prolong returning home for a bit longer to continue living in this fantasy with her.

We set our few belongings in the closet, and I see Annika realize we have no spare change of clothes.

“Oh, maybe we should stop at one of those little shops and get a change of clothes?”

“That’s a great idea.” I pull her nearer, wrapping my hands around her low back and giving her another deep kiss. I could get used to this. I love feeling her body fuse against mine. Two magnets finally drawn together.

We head down to the street, looking for any stores open. Luckily, a convenience store is open, and we are able to get some toiletries and some basic underwear. Not sexy at all, but this will at least be better than the sandy briefs I have on now.

A few doors down, a souvenir shop is still open. It’s your typical small-town gift shop with magnets, postcards, mugs, and name key chains. We make a beeline for the back that has sweatshirts, T-shirts, and sweatpants folded along the wall. We decide on matching gray and green sweatsuits that have the town name across the chest and along the right leg. Annika swipes a postcard from the spinning display just before we check out, turning to give me a smile. She reaches up and touches her pendant again like it’s always been there.

We walk along the street hand in hand, slowly making our way back to the inn with our loot.

“You inspired me to move out of San Diego, you know,” she says, looking up at me.

I narrow my gaze. “How so?”

“When we matched on Flame, you told me to figure it out. And not to be dramatic, it has haunted me ever since. I realized I never knew what I actually wanted.”

I wince. “Honestly, that whole interaction makes me feel like shit. I was so mean.” She frowns at this.

“It didn’t feel good, that’s for sure, but it also was the truth. I kind of deserved it for how I ended things with us.”

We find a bench outside the inn that overlooks the harbor and sit, continuing our conversation.

“Why did you end things? I thought, I mean, I know we had a connection. Clearly,” I say, motioning between us, scooting closer to her.