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“I know,” she nodded and sniffled, trying to keep a stiff upper lip. A tear escaped down her cheek, and she tried to wipe it away without me noticing. But I saw, and I felt it.
“I know you were hoping for more. But I couldn’t do that to you. It wouldn’t be fair to you.” I picked her head up with my fingers under her chin and smiled at her. “You’re sexy as hell, and I love your company, but I have to go after her.”
She nodded again. “Go. I understand. I’m, uh, I’m going to get out of here anyway. Maybe head back to my place and get myself so fucking drunk I won’t know my own name.”
She pressed her lips together, turned and walked away from me. I stood and watched her go. She deserved more. I deserved the pain I felt for hurting her and for leading her on.
I looked away and scanned the crowd, noticing Mia standing on the rock. Her eyes were glued on me. Her arms were folded, and she didn’t look all too happy. She walked straight up to me, and I waited, glancing down the beach where Naomi had gone. She was still visible, but I waited. Maybe her friend had something to offer the situation before I ran after Naomi. I stood my ground, but something about the way Mia looked at me made me think that maybe she could hurt me.
She stopped in front of me, her arms still crossed over her body.
“Mia,” I said, my hand up between us. “I’m trying to make this right.”
“Then why are you still standing here? Are you going to go after Naomi or what?”
“Honestly, it doesn’t look like she wants me to,” I said.
“At this point, it doesn’t matter what she wants. You need to go after her and talk to her.”
She turned away from me and walked back to the rock, leaving me to ponder what she meant. At that point, I knew there was something more to what was bothering Naomi, why she didn’t seem to want anything to do with me. Mia had my curiosity up so far that I needed to find out or die of curiosity. Naomi was the only one who was going to tell me, I hoped.
I looked along the beach, but I didn’t see her. I walked down the beach, hoping she wouldn’t be far, hoping she would be willing to talk, hoping she felt the same about me as I did about her. I reached the water and followed the small waves as they lapped against the shore, Naomi’s beautiful face in my mind. I kept my eyes open for her, but the further I walked, the less I was sure I would find her. I looked up the beach, wondering if she went further inland. Just when I was ready to turn back around I spotted her sitting beneath a group of trees, the shade casting down upon her. Hints of sunlight sprinkled over her as the wind moved the leaves of the trees around over her.
She was unaware I was there, so I took advantage of it. I watched her, and she made me smile. A strand of her hair had escaped her bun and was blowing gently in the wind across her face as she picked a leaf apart with her fingers. She was as beautiful as the day I met her. Her simple innocence captured me and held me like a prisoner in her world. I would have done anything for her, and to see her in pain over something I couldn’t control seeped into me. I needed to find out what it was. I needed to help her fix it if I could. “Naomi,” I whispered.
I didn’t know if I said her name louder than I heard myself say it, or if the wind carried it to her ears. Or perhaps it was a coincidence that she looked up at me at that moment with wide eyes. She dropped the pieces of the leaf that she had gathered in her hand. I didn’t run after her, and she didn’t try to run away from me. Something was troubling her, and I had a good idea it had to do with me. Mia was more than adamant about me going after her.
I slowly walked up to her.
“Hi,” I said as I approached.
She looked down, and I couldn’t tell if she was upset or angry.
“You look great,” I tried again.
“What do you mean? Have I changed in the past two months?”
“You have a point. You haven’t changed. You still look incredible. Seems like it has been a lot longer since we saw each other though.”
She looked up at me. The expression on her face was as real as it got. I wanted to crumble next to her.
