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She shook her head again, not sure of the answer. What was wrong? Nothing. Everything.
A moment passed in which he studied her, his eyes bouncing between her own. Whatever he found in them had his face dropping in concern, then he took her hand in his, locking his fingers with hers, gently caressing the back of her hand with his thumb.
The sun had begun to set, and long shadows mirroring the trees lined the street. Eddie happily danced back and forth, his tongue lolling out to the side. But Sam couldn’t find her words yet, and Mike didn’t ask her to until they got to the park. Once Eddie was tied up to the pole, Mike pointed to the swing for Sam to sit down. He pushed her awhile, high enough to clear out her lungs and head.
Clear enough for her father’s words from last week to enter her memory.When you decide you want to love someone, make sure they show it every day.
“Are you okay?” he asked once she put her feet back on the ground, slowly coming to a stop. He sat on the swing next to her. “Is it your house?”
“It’s the house, my family, it’s everything.”
He twisted his swing to face her then placed his hands above hers to turn her swing to face him. “What’s everything?”
“It’s all changing. It’s not that I thought I had some great childhood or anything, but it’s sad to know it’s over. It’s really over.”
Mike moved his hands down over hers but stayed quiet.
“And my best friends… Gem has a baby. Bronte’s getting married…” She didn’t realize she’d started to cry until he dragged his thumb under her eye. “I feel like I’ve had my head down, I’ve worked so hard for so long, and now I’m looking around, and suddenly, everything is different.”
He gently brushed the pad of his thumb over her cheek and across her upper lip. “I understand that feeling. It’s overwhelming.”
She stuttered a breath, more tears spilling from her eyes, and he leaned over, kissing them away.
“I hate when you cry,” he said, a little more than a hairbreadth away, skimming his nose along hers.
And that made her cry more. He was so gentle, so patient, and he had no reason to be. Not after the way she had treated him.
“I’m sorry for what I said to you. I was scared.”
He curved his hands around her cheeks and jaw, holding her as if she were the most precious thing on earth, easily broken. Then he kissed her sweetly and leaned his forehead against hers. “I know.”
For endless minutes, Mike showed Sam how much he cared for her. In his tender kisses and touches, in the way he didn’t push her to give more than she was ready for. No different from how’d he been all summer. Giving her exactly what she needed, even if she believed she deserved something else, something less than.
What a fool she’d been.
“Mike,” she said, leaning out of his embrace.
“Hm?”
“Bronte’s wedding is next week.”
“Okay.”
“Would you want to come with me?”
He dropped his hands to her legs, holding on to the sides of her knees. “To some private island where she’s marrying a celebrity?”
She smiled. “Yeah.”
“Am I allowed?”
She laughed, and it felt like the first laugh in a long time. “Yeah.”
“I’m not a very good dancer,” he said.
“Me either.”
The corner of his mouth kicked up as he reached for her hand. “I’m more of a swayer.”
