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“Come on Kace, you hated me back then.”
“I did not!” he says, shocked the words even came out of my mouth.
“Fine, then you thought of me as your sister’s annoying best friend. Admit it. You hated it when I was around when we were kids.” He shrugs and I smile, knowing I’m right. “Plus, there was nothing you could have done to change it, and my childhood wasn’t worse for it. I got to spend more time with your family, which is what I wanted anyway.” Kacey nods, looking out into the ocean before standing and holding out his hand.
“I think it’s time you experience the ocean, don’t you think?” I can’t help the bright smile that caresses my face as I take his hand and stand, pulling off my jean shorts and following him into the ocean.
* * *
“So, what do you think? Worth the hype?” Kacey asks as he treads water in from of me. I look around me at all the couples and find a sense of peace in this experience. I don’t know if I can ever express how much this means to me.
“Well, to be honest, I expected it to be colder,” I joke, his eyes flaring as his hands grip my hips and he hauls me close, my legs wrapped around his waist. His lips take mine in a lazy kiss that tells me just how relaxed he is in this moment.
“Thank you,” he mumbles against my lips and I lean back, my eyes a cluster of confusion.
“For what?” I ask, his eyes softening as his hand wraps around my neck and he brings me back in for another punishing kiss that I know would make my knees weak if my feet were planted on the ground.
“For taking a chance on me. For agreeing to give this a shot. I know my past doesn’t give you the most hope for a future, but I want to prove to you that you’re what I want. I want your good days, your bad, and everything in between.” My breath hitches as my fingers find the base of his neck and I kiss him softly.
“I want that too,” I whisper against his lips, not a care in the world, and wonder if this is the turning point. Is this where my hesitation flies off into the distance and I recognize that this man is who and what I want for my future?
“Good, now let’s get out of this water and get some more sunscreen on those shoulders. You’re looking a little pink.” I roll my eyes as I go to detangle my legs from around his waist, but he wraps his arm around me and shakes his head. “You stay right there where you belong.” I chuckle softly as he hauls me out of the water, walking with purpose to our chairs where he stops and cups the side of my head before kissing me softly.
“What the fuck?” The voice breaks through the trance Kacey put me under and when I peer over my shoulder I see the one person I didn’t expect to see.
“Kelsey?”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
KACEY
Fuck.
Fucking shit.
This is not good.
From the look on my sister’s face, she saw a lot more than the simple kiss Ashley and I just shared. And from the pain I see reflected back at me, Ashely’s worst-case scenario is about to become a reality.
“Kelsey, what are you doing here?” I ask, hoping to defuse the anger but instead, she ignores me and continues to look straight at her best friend.
“Ash, what the hell is going on?” Ashley opens her mouth to say something, but no words come out. Her body is shaking as I place my hands on her shoulders to steady her. “Are you and Kacey together?” The look of panic on Ashley’s face breaks my heart and a war of emotions settles in the pit of my stomach. I want to scream from the rooftops that she’s mine, that she will always be mine, but I know this moment is more complicated than my feelings for her. Ashley is at the precipice of her worst fears and I won’t say or do anything to make the situation worse for her.
“Kels, I was going to tell you…” she starts but Kelsey holds her hand up to stop her. The tension settling between us is palpable and it’s only when my eyes stray from my sister that I see a man standing a few feet behind her looking just as uncomfortable as I feel. That must be the lifeguard.
“You were going to tell me what? That you’re sleeping with my brother, or that you’re in a relationship with my brother?” The anger in her voice is something I’ve never heard before and I know she’s not mad that we’re actually together, she can’t be since she’s pushed us towards each other for years, but the hurt lingering in her gaze tells me she’s sad we didn’t tell her.
“Kelsey stop,” I mutter, my fingers digging into Ashley’s back as she leans against my chest, searching for comfort. “I know you’re mad that we didn’t tell you, but you don’t have the right to scream at us like this, thinking you were owed anything. This thing between Ash and I happened a few days ago, we didn’t want to tell you because it’s so new and we didn’t want to get your hopes up.” I’m trying to take some of the heat off Ashley at this moment and when I feel her fingers dig into the sides of my legs, I know she is grateful for it.
“Get my hopes up? Are you seriously blaming me for you keeping this from me?” Her eyes begin to fill with tears and my grip on Ashley tightens.
“Kels you have to believe me when I say I wanted to tell you,” Ashley starts but Kelsey makes a sound of derision and shakes her head. “I did, but I was scared.”
“Right, scared that I would be happy for you? Scared that I would embrace you guys finally admitting what I’ve known all along?” Ashley takes a deep breath and steps forward, my hands falling to my sides as I watch the woman I’m falling in love with comfort her best friend.
“At the start of all this, when you brought me on this trip I told you I was scared of losing you and your family. Do you remember that?” She nods, going to say something but Ashley shakes her head. “All of that fear still lingers in my bones to this day because you’re the only family I have, but…” She peers over her shoulder, her eyes connecting with mine as a shy smile plays on the edges of her lips. “But then I spent some more time with Kacey, our connection was stronger than I thought, and one thing led to another and we decided to try it out. See what happens without any outside interference.”
“But why didn’t you tell me?” Kelsey whispers, tears falling from her eyes. “I would have been so happy for you. I am happy for you, but I just don’t understand why you lied to me.” And there’s the kicker. We lied. And my sister hates liars. Ashley takes a deep breath and steps toward my sister but she backs away, making Ashley pause in place.
