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“Forgive me,” I whispered as I sank into sleep with her one last time.
Ian’s duffle bag fell heavy on the porch as I swayed in the hammock with Disco in my arms. Seconds later, Ian knelt at my feet and rubbed his fingers through her fur. His voice alone was enough to threaten the strength I’d mustered up.
“I was just thinking earlier this morning about the first time we said goodbye. Do you remember that?”
I cleared my throat. “Nope, must be the one that got away. So, here’s the way I see it.” I stood and let Disco down at his feet. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. I’m taking the easy route.”
Pushing up on my toes I pressed my lips to his briefly and smoothed his cheek with my palm. “Go be happy, Ian. And do me a favor, take one small piece of advice from your muse?”
He bit his lip and nodded.
“Do whatever the hell it is you have to do to make yourself happy.”
I was fighting hard and losing as my throat burned with each passing second. “Okay?”
“I will.”
“Okay. And by the way,” I said, rambling on as I took the steps off the porch, “you’re a good friend. The best. And if you ever get back to St. Tho—”
I was pulled from the sand and crushed in his arms. Tumultuous gray eyes burned through me as he leaned in. “I choose the hard way.” His mouth crushed mine in a soul-stealing kiss and I felt the rest of me break beneath him. He pulled away, his eyes shredding me as they filled with regret. He didn’t want to hurt me, and I drew comfort that it hurt him just as much.
“I’m fucking miserable about leaving, but I would never ask you to give up your life for me. But if you ever find yourself in need of a change from the routine. Come to Texas.”
I nodded as tears collected in my eyes, unable to speak for fear of begging.
“Kissing you feels like a free fall, touching you makes me ache, and being inside you is so damn addicting. I’ll miss that, and our talks, our friendship. I’ll miss your bubble, Koti because that’s where I want to be, where I want to stay. And if it weren’t for Ella—”
“I understand,” I said around the ball in my throat. “I do. I swear. But watching you fall apart and put yourself back together was a gift. I’m so amazed by you.”
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s ridiculous. We’re like a bad movie line, aren’t we? We’ll always have St. Thomas,” I rasped out.
“Jesus, I feel like hell.”
“Me too.”
“I already miss you.”
“Me too.”
“And because I’m a complete masochist, I can’t help but mention I’ve fallen madly in love with you.”
The world started crumbling beneath my feet
as my stars were stripped away one by one. Swallowing a sob, I briefly showed him my pain. “Please go. I don’t think I can do this with you much longer.”
He nodded and picked up his bag. “Okay.”
He made it halfway down our sand alley when I stopped him.
“Bye, crocky.”
He turned to me with a sad smile. “Bye, puffer fish.
Tears streamed down my face as he walked toward his truck before once more glancing back at me.
I whispered my plea to the wind. “Maybe you’ll come back, and we can be best friends again.”
