Page 218 of Sorrow & Strangers

I moan, clenching his shirt as he slides his hand to my ass and squeezes. “At least you have something to remember this weekend by?”

I frown and tip my head questioningly.

“Your piercing,” he says, his tone rife with satisfaction.

My clit throbs as if in acknowledgment of him mentioning it. I narrow my eyes at him, pretending to be still annoyed, but I know I don’t quite pull it off. I lift my chin, still trying to act like I have the power. “And what do you have to remember it by?” I ask, lifting my chin, trying to act like I still have the power.

“That piercing has my initials engraved on it.”

“It does?” I say, quirking a brow.

He nods. “For those who know where to look.” He looks at my lips, and my stomach flutters, my lips tingling with the insistent memory of how he tasted. “I’ll always know where to look, and so will you.”

I lean in, kissing the corner of his lips. He moans softly, and I linger there as his fingers dig into my ass, fitting my hips against his. “If you stay for a moment longer, I’ll do more than kiss you.”

I pull back, wiggling to put just enough space between us so I can reach into my pocket. “You’ll have two reminders of this weekend,” I say, feeling a little shy. “I have something for you.”

His eyebrows pull into a frown, and he watches me as I wrap my fingers around his wrist and turn his hand over. In his palm I place one of the bracelets I made from the shells we collected in Atlantis. This one is all black, with a single white shell at the center.

“I made it for you. I have one too, but it’s white shells with one black.”

He stares at the bracelet for a long moment, and my nervousness increases. He isn’t smiling, and I can’t quite read his expression. Does he hate it? Think it’s stupid?

“For me?” he asks, finally meeting my gaze. I nod, and he closes his hand around the bracelet. “Thank you, little fae,” he says, emotion in his voice. I pull on my bracelet and show it to him before opening his fingers and slowly rolling his over his hand.

He brushes a lock of hair from my face, drawing my eyes back to his.

“Goodbye, Stranger,” I say, the longing sticking in my throat.

“Goodbye, Summer,” he says.

I back away through the portal, refusing to take my eyes off him, and as he fades away, I press my fingertips to my lips and blow him a kiss. Then he is gone, and in his place is the campus boundary. Alice and Rafe wait for me just within it, and as I walk to meet them, my emotions are roiling.

“Well, that was tragically romantic,” Alice quips.

“Romantically tragic,” Rafe corrects.

“You were watching?” I ask, glaring at them.

Alice mimics me, placing her fingers to her lips and exaggeratedly blowing kisses. I flip her off and turn around, stalking toward home. Alice cackles, and Rafe catches up, walking beside me. We are halfway home when our phones appear in our hands. Rafe stumbles to a stop and smooths the paper he’s been clutching, transferring what I now see is a number into his Contacts. It has to belong to his phoenix.

We walk into the house, and I exhale deeply, the emotional upheaval of the last few days collapsing around me. I flop onto the couch and kick my sandals off before propping my feet on the coffee table. Rafe wanders in, his head tipped back and his phone held high. He trips over my legs, stumbling a few steps before regaining his balance, all without looking away from the screen.

“You okay?”

“Fine. Just getting service.”

My lips twitch, and I scroll through my phone, catching up on posts I missed while away. There are a whole lot of them, given we missed the Avalon Samhain party.

Unknown

Thinking of me?

His message surprised me because he had said he would be there for another couple of hours, and the resort is completely tech-free, yet I can’t deny how my heart speeds up at the sight of it.

Summer

Maybe.