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“I already miss you,” I admit.
“I’ll be waiting when you get back.” He pulls away just enough to kiss me.
“I’ll see you then.” I kiss him one more time before I watch him walk around his Jeep, climb in and drive away from me.
As soon as I get through the automatic glass doors, my phone vibrates in the pocket of my leggings. I open the text from Mack, a link to a Spotify version of the mixed CD he made for me. Another text comes through almost immediately.
Mack:Just in case you wanted to take this with you.He adds a heart emoji at the end.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Maci:I cannot thank you enough for this experience, Mack. It was the most fulfilling two months of my life.
Mack:I’m glad, Mace. I was hoping it would be.
I send him a picture of me with a couple of the women I worked with at the sanctuary.
Mack:You’re beautiful. And you seem really happy. I can’t wait to hear all about it. When are you coming home? Any chance you’ll be home for New Year’s Eve tonight? I can pick you up.
Maci:I didn’t even realize it was New Year’s already! Don’t think this is because I don’t want to see you. I do. But I'm going to stay a little longer. I spent so much time working, I didn’t get to spend any time exploring or being by myself like I want. I’m on the bus now, headed to a small town Maria told me to check out.
Mack:Oh ok. Well, let me know when you make it there safely?
Maci:I will. Thanks again, Mack. You’re the best.
I imagine getting off the plane when I get home and seeing him standing there waiting for me, like he was the first time I visited. My heart leaps at the thought, and I consider sending another text to tell him I love him, in case he doesn’t know but decide against it.
Holy sunrise, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen anything more beautiful in my entire life. The sanctuary was protected in the middle of the jungle, which was beautiful in its own way, but the sunrise I’m watching, over the crystal blue water and white sand, is like nothing I’ve ever seen before. This doesn’t come close to anything in California. The orange and pink floods the sky, and even with the waves crashing into themselves, it’s calm. The sand is untouched, as if the tide has just gone out, and I can’t help but disturb its peace by walking through it.
Maria insisted this beach was the perfect place to decompress for a few days and drove me to the bus stop this morning. Helping prepare women and children for the real world after being trapped in such a cruel one seemed impossible at first. I knew my work would be emotionally taxing, but I wasn’t prepared for the magnitude of it. It turned out to be so fulfilling though. My heart may not have been occupied by a boy for the first time in a while, but it has never been as full as it is after seeing how much of a difference I seemed to make.
I must have walked a mile by now, and I haven’t seen anyone. The waves have slowed and the beach is so quiet I can practically hear my thoughts. I spot a windworn shack up ahead. Squinting doesn’t bring it any more into view. Another hundred steps, and I can tell it’s a board shop. I’m too afraid to surf, but I think I could manage paddle boarding. Especially since the water is currently calm. Maybe they have someone who can teach me.
I glance into the shack but don’t see anyone. Staring back into the ocean, I pep talk myself. When in Costa Rica, right? I’m a great swimmer, plus the waves have been calm for a while. If I rode on a motorcycle, surely I can do this too.
“Hey, do you have a boyfriend?” Chills cover my entire body as the voice hits my ears. I slowly spin my barefeet in the sand to face the shack again, and I lock onto brown eyes I knew I would recognize. My mouth drops open.
That smirk on his face from thinking the first words out of his mouth were clever makes me melt. I take a step, my immediate instinct to leap into a hug, but I stop in my tracks. No. He hurt me. I don’t miss him. How is he here? Where did he come from?
Suddenly he’s in front of me, his closed book in one hand. I vaguely hear the sound of my name as his other hand lands on my arm, my stare transferring to where our skin touches. This was never supposed to happen again.
He drops his hand as he senses my apprehension.
Standing there in front of him, hardly a few inches from his face, I wonder if it’s like this with everyone you’ve ever had chemistry with. Instant electricity buzzes inside me the moment my brown eyes meet his again, the feeling replacing some of the shock. I run my gaze over his body. The sun has stained his skin, and his hair is more golden than I remember. He’s still wearing the same stupid pants, except the bottoms have been zipped off. I love this moment more. Or maybe I hate it.
I realize only when he waves his hand in front of my face that I was gaping at him again. I have no idea if I’m more shocked he’s standing here in front of me or overwhelmed by how the morning sun hits his abs, which are more defined than they once were. Yup. Still the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen.
“Oh, hi, sorry,” I practically stutter. “I never thought I’d see you again.” It comes out as more of a whisper than I intended. When my eyes meet his again, anxiety swarms in my stomach. Butterflies? The churning of jadedness? Who the hell knows. Either way, it's a feeling I intend to get rid of quickly.
It would be a lie to say running into Dean in Costa Rica hadn’t crossed my mind. The thought flashed for a second when I was on the plane but faded away as I got more and more invested in the sanctuary. Plus, the likelihood of that happening was nothing, zero freaking percent.
It’s been a year, almost to the day, since I last saw him. I wasn't sure if he was still here, let alone that our paths might cross. I was devastated for so long after he left and so torn up about the entire situation that made no sense to me at all. Mack helped me let go of everything and everyone from the past. He made me believe there was a reason for everything that happened with Dean, and I was genuinely thankful for how it all happened. Mack. I forgot to text him and tell him I made it here.
“Maaaaciiiii,” he says as if it’s not the first time he’s tried to get my attention.
“Yes, hi.” Snap out of it, Maci, for goodness sake, get it together.
“What are you doing here?” The expression on his face is a mix of disbelief and excitement.
