AllFreeNovel
Share Us
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
ETHAN
––––––––
“Is this legal?” Ivyasked as I drove Daisy May right off the parking lot onto the sand beach.
“Probably not.” I turned the truck around, backing up to the water. “But it’s a local beach, and no one other than locals know about it, and it’s not peak season, so no one will come down here and catch us. It’s fine.”
I slipped the truck into park and hopped out. A quick glance at the sky told me I was just on time to watch what looked to be a spectacular sunset.
I opened Ivy’s door, helping her out, pausing to kiss her the way I’d been envisioning the entire ride over. Even fifteen minutes of keeping my lips off hers had seemed like torture, and I had no idea how I was going to manage an entire life without tasting her.
She wrapped her hand around the door and held on while I edged her up against the seat.
“Mmmm,” she moaned against my lips as I finally let up on my needy kiss.
I gave her one last peck, then pushed off my truck and extended my hand.
“Now what?” Ivy slammed her door shut and grabbed my hand. I led her around to the back of the truck.
“Now, we climb up and watch the sunset.” I pulled on the old handle, giving it a solid tug to pop the creaky tailgate down. Then I hopped up on top of it and extended my hand. “Come on.”
Ivy grinned up at me and let me tug her up, then I took her to the cab of the truck, grabbed her around the waist, and tossed her on top.
“Whoa!” She laughed as she got her balance.
I hopped up beside her, sliding my arm around her shoulder as we sat on the top of my truck, our legs dangling down while we stared out over the soft waves. The colors in the sky deepened into smoldering pinks and purples, the clouds floating over the water practically glowing with the carousel of colors on display.
“Okay. This is pretty cool.” She rested her head on my shoulder. “The sky literally looks like it’s on fire. It’s incredible out here.”
“Best seat in the county.”
“And the best company too.”
I made the mistake of looking down at her and getting lost in those mesmerizing eyes. It felt like every time our gazes locked, a new piece of my soul crackled to life. Parts of me I never knew existed awakened with every look, every touch. And it was killing me to have to envision a world without her in it. Every time I did, those newly ignited parts of my soul sputtered out and died like burning embers released into the sky before they flickered out and drifted back down to earth.
“So, it’s our last night, huh?” she said as the sun sank lower into the water. “Pretty crazy it’s almost over.”
Almost over.
Those words felt like a knife in my gut, and I quickly looked away. It was too painful to look at her and know this may be the last night we spent together.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, sliding her hand over mine.
“Nothing,” I quickly spit out, though I realized how unconvincing the word sounded.
Ivy leaned forward into my line of sight. “Seriously. What’s wrong? Something’s up, I can tell.”
I let out a deep breath. “It’s nothing. Really. Nothing to concern yourself with.”
She pursed her lips and looked at me closely, then sat back up. “Okay. But if something’s wrong, you can talk to me.”
Of course, something was wrong. I had fallen head over heels for a girl now hellbent on going her own way. My insides were twisted into a knot so tight I didn’t think I could ever unravel it.
“Oh! The sun’s about to disappear!” She leaned over and squeezed my hand.
The simple touch almost sent me tumbling off the roof of my truck.
