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Val bites her lip to hold back a smile. But as I hold her close, neither of us is laughing anymore. The water is cool around us, but all I can feel with startling clarity is every single place where we’re touching—her legs around my waist, her forearms resting on my shoulders.
My gaze doesn’t break from hers as I lift a hand and press it to her cheek. She’s blushing, her cheeks a sweet pink, and I remember the way I traced her lip at the water park. How much I wanted to kiss her then, too. She moves her cheek against my palm and closes her eyes briefly as her lips part.
What happens next is instinct. Muscle memory.
Val’s hands tighten behind my neck as I move towards her. Our lips meet, and I know for sure that this isn’t a daydream. This kiss is as real as could be. As real as I thought it would never be again.
I pull her against me, and she scrambles up slightly, locking her forearms behind my neck. My hand finds her face so I can deepen the kiss, and she tangles her fingers into my hair. I drink her in, kissing her as I wished I could over the last four years.
I tilt her head back, and break from her lips to kiss down her jawline. Coming back to Val in this moment feels like the world righting itself again.
“Wait,” she murmurs. “We should stop.”
I stop. Val moves her hands from my hair and lays them flat on my chest. Her eyes are wide and wild and her breath is coming in little gasps.
My grip on her loosens and I step back, away from her. “I’m sorry, Val. I didn’t… I thought you—”
“It’s okay,” Val says quickly. “No, I wanted to. I want to. But we haven’t spoken in four years and now you’re here and…” She trails off. Blinks. “This is a lot to process.”
I nod, completely understanding where she’s coming from. So many feelings are coming up so fast. “I get that.”
“Yeah. I… need some time.”
I swallow, happy that I didn’t overstep her boundaries but unsure what she means. Regardless, I want her to feel comfortable. “Of course, whatever you need.”
“Okay,” she says quickly. “Thanks.”
With that, she swims back to the shore, and I stand alone for a minute.
Time. I need to give her time to trust me again.
But our road trip ends tomorrow… so time may be the one thing I don’t have.
24
Ethan
Four Years Ago
What a waste of time.
Seriously, what kind of guy plans a whole pre-posal treasure hunt for the girl he loves only to forget the one, key item the entire evening is centered around?
I left Val with my grandparents so I could run the ten blocks back to my house. It’s a cool evening so I’m not too sweaty, although the memory of Val in that beautiful dress gets my heart racing triple time. I’ve never considered myself to be one of those guys who loses their minds over a nice sundress (i.e. my friend Noah), but it took me a minute to gather myself. The blue fabric skated along her body, hugging her curves and skimming to her mid-thigh. She looked ethereal. Too good to be real.
By the time I reach my house, I’ve undone the top button of my dress shirt and rolled up the sleeves. I suck in a couple inhales to stabilize my breathing before walking inside. Mom’s sleeping to prepare for her shift; I haven’t seen her over the last couple days, but she has tomorrow off so we’ll have dinner and I’ll tell her about how things go tonight.
I unlock the door and walk inside. I don’t bother kicking off my shoes, just tiptoe down the hall towards the kitchen. It’s a little bank robber-y, but I don’t want to wake Mom before her alarm.
As I approach the kitchen, I hear a noise. Little snuffles around the corner.
My senses go on high alert and I freeze.
Someone’s in the house. Maybe a… raccoon?
Oh, man. The raccoons better not be coming for revenge after Val’s little white lie about the carrot patch. I knew sneaking around was a bad idea.
But regardless of this being a gang of raccoons out for blood, or an ordinary house burglar, this whole snuffling thing is not good. I tiptoe back a couple paces and grab the shoe horn. I stand for a moment, psyching myself up to pop out and either scare away the intruder(s) or engage in a shoe horn sword fight. Whatever this comes down to.
