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Dune made his way over to the bar and grabbed a handful of napkins and a bottle of water. It’s all he could offer her until they went back to the shore. He wetted the towel and handed it to her. He had intended to clean her up, but she had already put her shirt on.
Caroline patted the spot next to her and he sat. She leaned into him, nuzzling his neck. “This has been the best date ever.”
Dune kissed her forehead. “Any date with you is the best.”
caroline
July passed, and then the days in August began disappearing like the setting sun. Each morning Caroline and Dune woke, they made love as if each time would be their last.
They went to work together, conducted tours together, and met with their friends after work at Diego's. Some days, they ate at Carter's Diner, or at the Carter's with Dune's family. Caroline had met all of his brothers, except for Sail, who stayed in Miami for the summer. No one could blame him.
Occasionally, Caroline made dinner for Speed, Wilson, and whoever they were dating, and Ana and her boyfriend. As a group, they took the party barge out when it wasn't booked, which wasn't often, and Dune often took Caroline out for midnight strolls along the coastline. She loved the lighthouses at night and would miss them.
Soon, August turned into September, and the tourist population dwindled. Everyone returned home to start school and go back to the jobs they put off for weeks. In some cases, months. When Caroline finally sat down and opened her email, it took almost thirty minutes for her program to update. She looked at the number and blanched at the five, followed by three more numbers.
“Shit.”
The entire time she was living it up in Seaport, she hadn't checked her email. She should've, but not doing so was part of her trying to find herself over the summer. Caroline found herself. But she also found Dune and wasn't sure how she was going to let him go.
Clicking on the first email that came in hours after she graduated, she read the letter from her boss. He already had expectations of her, which bothered her. Her start date at Goldman Sachs wasn't until September fifth. Not the day she graduated.
As she went through each email, she only answered the ones from human resources and the co-workers she'd work directly with. The more she saw from her boss, the more she wondered why her father hadn't reached out to her. Surely, her boss would've contacted her dad to complain. Caroline laughed at the notion. If her vacation taught her anything, it was that she was independent and could do whatever she wanted.
She thought about what her father would say if he saw her now, giving tours, and commanding a boat. Dune had taught her everything when it came to boating and was already looking forward to next summer, even though she'd only be able to come to Seaport for a week or on long weekends. Knowing this made her stomach turn. This had been her most magical summer, and she didn't want to let it go.
Closing her laptop, she pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation. Her start date loomed, which meant her time in Seaport would end sooner than she wanted.
Dune came in looking like the sexiest man in the world to her. He had gone for a swim, something he did most mornings, and greeted her with a kiss. Caroline touched his chest, and ran her fingers over his damp skin, collecting the remaining water droplets with her fingertips.
“What's wrong?” he asked. Dune pushed her hair behind her shoulder. “You look sad. Why does my Care Bear look this way?” He leaned in and kissed her nose.
Caroline sighed and rested her forehead against his chest. Dune rubbed her back and waited. After a long moment, she looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes. He nodded.
“It's the date?”
“Yeah. I feel like I just got here and now it's time to go.”
Dune kissed her. His lips lingered and his hands cupped her cheeks. “We'll make the distance work.”
“Promise?”
“Yeah, I do.”
They had waited until the middle of August to address the elephant in the room, and it was only after a couple of the kids who worked for Blue Lobster Adventures put in their notice, letting Dune know they were heading back to college or high school.
Dune planned to take Caroline to New York City either via train, his Bronco or boat. He hadn't decided yet. They'd leave on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend, and he'd take time off of work for the first time since he took over Blue Lobster Adventures. From there, they would see each other every other weekend. Caroline would either come to him or he would go there. They'd be a little over five hours away from each other and would make it work.
