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I buried my head in his chest and hugged him again, and he held me back, rubbing my back and arms. I wanted to say about eight things at once. I almost elaborated on how much I would miss him, but I couldn't get the words to come out. I stayed quiet.
"I feel like I might miss you a little bit, Holland."
"Thank goodness I'm not the only one," I said, in the same lighthearted tone I always used. "I hope maybe we can accidentally run into each other in Chicago. Depending on how the next five weeks go with the tags, I may or may not be working at the Marble Inn when I get back."
"I could maybe send you a text, just to say hey one day."
"Yeah, definitely. I'm sure you'll be busy in Japan, but maybe once you get back."
"You'll be in Chicago by then," he said.
"Yep, I guess we'll both be there," I added.
"Okay, so I feel like it's safe to say this isn't goodbye forever."
"Yeah, I wouldn't like it if it was that," I said.
"Good. I feel better. I'm going to sleep better tonight."
"Speaking of sleep," I said, taking a step back.
He leaned in and kissed me. My lips softened to his instantly, and I stretched up toward him, holding onto his arms for leverage. I wanted him to kiss me deeply, but he kept the contact torturously light. His lips met mine two or three more times, and every time it was light and gentle in spite of the fact that I ached to have him kiss me deeper. The texture and taste of his lips sent me into a state of euphoria that felt similar to freefalling.
He had no idea my feelings had changed and he was still kissing me like a gentleman. I was tortured, but I couldn’t let myself push it. I had to give him time and space to figure out how he felt.
I smiled past the ache and easily let him go once he pulled back. "You better get to sleep," I said.
"I know. You too."
"Have a great trip," I said, still smiling and moving away from him like my feelings weren't involved at all. "Okay, but one more." I popped up and kissed him on the lips. It was a firm, stamp of a kiss, but I broke it quickly. "You're a cool dude, Beau," I said.
"You're cool too," he said, smiling dazedly as we moved away.
"I'll see you in Chicago maybe," I said, grinning and feeling like I was floating on clouds.
"Yeah, see you in Chicago," he returned.
I backed out of his bedroom and we held eye contact until we could no longer see each other.
I jogged silently but nervously through the house, praying I didn't get caught by anyone in his family.
I made it back to my room undetected.
Chapter 13
Beau
Three weeks later
Tokyo, Japan
Beau rarely used his social media accounts, but he looked at it some in Japan because it was the easiest way to get in touch with people back in the states. He opened his Instagram one morning when they had a few minutes of free time.
He had a message from his cousin's wife, Hope, who ran the social media account for their construction company. She DM'd Beau through it.
Hey Beau,
I know you're in Japan and I hope you and AJ are having fun and enjoying safe travels. We've been at the lake house quite a bit this summer since Charlie is in between jobs and it's so hot in Florida. Anyway, I was just wondering what you thought about Holland McArthur. She and I have gotten to know each other more recently. She and I were talking. I was just wondering what you thought of her. Sorry to bother you on your trip and to message you on here. I didn't want you to think it was a big deal, I just wanted to run that past you about Holland.
