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1
EVERLEIGH
Iawoke with a gasp, my hand covering the spot over my erratically beating heart. My skin was burning hot as if I’d just finished sunbathing out on the beach. In my dream, that was what I was doing, but I wasn’t alone. Jensen was beside me, his hands caressing my skin as we lay on the soft blanket in the sand with the sound of the waves crashing nearby. I have never dreamed of him like that before, not until . . .
I slowly turned my head to the side and there he was, lying on his stomach with his glorious bare back on display. The breath hitched in my lungs, and I quickly covered my mouth with my hand to cut off another gasp that was desperate to break free.
Memories of last night came flooding back, making my head spin. There was too much eggnog, too many laughs, and too many innocent touches here and there. Not to mention I was on a high from getting my pre-med degree. There was a lot to celebrate. I was home and I’d missed it so much.
Many things had changed over the past five years. I wasn’t the same and neither was Jensen. Yes, we still kept in touch through phone calls and texts, but I hadn’t actuallyseenhim in over two years. His once smooth baby face now had stubble and his chest and arms were chiseled with perfectly sculpted muscles I never knew he had.
Growing up, I always thought he was cute and sweet; my best friend. Of course, he had his girlfriends and I had my boyfriends, but there was one thing for sure, we could always count on each other. He was the one I shared my secrets with, the one I thought would always be a constant in my life. However, last night I didn’t see him as just my fun-loving best friend who I used to spend every waking moment with. That was who he was in the past, but the tides have changed. We weren’t kids anymore.
One thing led to another, and . . .
Oh my God.What have I done?
Biting my lip, I glanced around the room. We were in Jensen’s childhood home, in the same bedroom we used to play video games in, no less. We were too drunk to drive to his house across town after last night’s party, so we decided to venture over here. Luckily, his parents were in Barbados for Christmas. I couldn’t imagine the awkwardness of having to walk past them or worse . . . try to sneak out and get caught.
My grandmother lived just next door, which was where I was supposed to be right now. I had no doubt my grammy knew precisely where I was. She always said something would happen between Jensen and me, but I never gave it much thought.
Carefully, I inched my way to the end of the bed, trying my best not to jostle the mattress. The hardwood floor was cold beneath my feet as I tiptoed across the room. In the dim light from outside, I could make out my red dress, crumpled and discarded on the floor alongside one lone red high heel. I searched frantically for its matching partner, but it had disappeared entirely.
With a heavy sigh, I gave up and crept toward the door, desperate to escape before Jensen woke up. The stairs creaked as I went downstairs, and I cursed under my breath with each step I took. I wasn’t ready to face him, not after what we did last night. Even though Jensen was my best friend and I wanted more from him, it would never work. All it would do is complicate things. His life was in Oak Island and there was a time when mine was too, but not anymore. I just got accepted to medical school. Trying to juggle that and a long-distance relationship was not feasible; we would never see each other.
Once I made it down to the main level and out the back door, I breathed a sigh of relief as I hurried over to my grandmother’s quaint blue house named Hide Away by the Sea. It was precisely what I wanted to do—hide away.
The sun wasn’t far from rising, illuminating the sky in shades of deep orange and pink. It was beautiful, but it was a ticking time bomb for me. Jensen was an early riser, and the first place he'd come looking for me would be at my grandmother’s. I had to leave before that.
Keys in hand, I ran up the stairs to the back deck of my grandmother’s house, desperate to disappear behind its walls. However, the second I stepped foot on the deck, I found my grandmother there, dressed in the doughnut-covered nightgown I got her when I was in seventh grade, and sitting in her favorite red rocking chair with a steaming cup of coffee in her hands. Her long, white hair fluttered in the wind as she rocked back and forth with a knowing grin on her face as she looked down at my feet.
“Good morning, Grammy.”
She snorted out a chuckle. “Good morning to you, too, my dear,” she said, lifting her twinkling emerald and honey-colored eyes back to mine. “Judging by your haste and the lack of one of your high heels, I’m assuming Jensen doesn’t know you left?”
There were no secrets between me and my grandmother, but it didn’t stop my cheeks from burning with embarrassment and guilt. Grammy loved Jensen like a grandson. She may be smiling, but I knew she wouldn’t approve of what I was about to do.
I quickly glanced over at Jensen’s parents’ house, hoping like hell he wasn’t about to walk out the door. “Last night went a little too far, Grammy. I don’t have the words to deal with Jensen this morning.”
Her gaze narrowed. “So, basically, you’re scared.”
She said it more as a statement than a question. I huffed out a sigh and hung my head. There was no lying to her; she could always see right through me.
“Fine,” I gave in, letting her see the turmoil I knew was evident on my face. “I’m scared. Jensen and I crossed a line that never should’ve been crossed. We can never go back to the way things used to be.”
My grandmother stood and set her cup down on the small distressed wooden coffee table Jensen had made her when we were in high school. Then, she walked up to me and grabbed my hand.
“That line should’ve been crossed a long time ago, Everleigh. You and Jensen have always been made for each other. I knew it the moment you both were born.”
It wasn’t the first time she had said things like that. I’ve always known she wanted me and Jensen to be together. Grammy was a romantic at heart, and it was one of the things I admired about her. She was always so optimistic and full of life.
I squeezed her hand and let go. “I just got accepted to medical school, Grammy. Focusing on my career is what I need to do right now. I can’t juggle my love life and that at the same time.”
Her face fell as if I’d just broken her heart. She cupped my cheeks. “I understand,” she murmured, “it’s just . . .”
“It’s just what?” I replied, feeling the guilt weigh me down even more. Her eyes misted over, and she looked away as her hands slid from my face. She turned toward the horizon, where the waves crashed against the shore. It was as if something was on her mind, weighing her down. There was a sadness on her face that I’d never seen before.
“Grammy, what’s wrong?” I asked.
