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I leaned forward and gave her one last kiss for the night.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?” I asked.
“I’ll be here,” she said.
“Good,” I told her. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
I stood and waited, as always, for her to make it all the way inside her bungalow before I turned to head back to mine. She paused for a moment, turning and giving me the most beautiful smile I had ever seen before she entered her home and closed the door behind her.
My heart raced in my chest. I was shocked by the events of the night. I hadn’t a clue that would be how this would turn out, and I already knew I’d be touching myself to the thought of her before going to sleep once again.
But I also felt that we had made progress, and we were heading in the complete opposite direction I ever thought we would.
I knew I had to be careful with this, but I was excited.
I wanted her desperately.
And it was becoming ever clearer she felt the same for me.
It was just a matter of when.
Chapter Seventeen
Krissy
I was on cloud nine the entire next day.
Every little thing I did reminded me of Gavin in one way or another, and I couldn’t get that stupid smile off my face.
I couldn’t believe we had kissed the night before. I was even giddier than after the first kiss I’d shared with my crush in high school. I was convinced Erin was right, and I was the one who had to be more assertive in this relationship if I wanted it to happen.
It was becoming clear that he was attracted to me, but he also had walls around him. He was obviously not used to letting anyone get too close. It was up to me to break those walls down. I didn’t know all he had been through, but I got the impression he wouldn’t let anyone in unless he really trusted them.
My happiness was so obvious even Kim mentioned it when she stopped by to see how things were going.
“You look like you won the lottery,” she said. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
“Oh, I’m just in a really good mood,” I said. “I went for a nice walk last night, and I guess it just hit me how lucky I am to live here. This place is beautiful, and I can’t believe it’s my home.”
She smiled, and there was something about it that told me she knew I wasn’t telling her the full truth but that she also suspected what the full truth really was. I knew she would be happy for us. After all, she had practically tried to set the two of us up on a blind date.
But I wasn’t ready to tell people yet. I didn’t feel like we were an official couple yet, and I didn’t want to jump the gun. Especially after he told me he was wary of rushing into something. I didn’t know what he meant by ruining things and decided to ask him when I got the chance. But I didn’t have his phone number, so I couldn’t just text him and talk to him all day long like I wanted. I had to wait until we saw each other again.
Sure, I knew I could run over to his house and see what he was doing, but I didn’t want to be that eager. There was a part of me that wanted to play hard to get along with being assertive. It was like a little game of romantic cat and mouse, and now that I felt we were making progress in the relationship, I was enjoying the game we had.
This wasn’t a game that would leave me in heartbreak, I hoped. I felt there was a tangible end goal, and I wanted to work toward it.
It took all the self-control I had not to go over to his house that day, and I almost wondered if I was going to go to bed that night without getting the chance to see Gavin at all. Then he surprised me by showing up on my doorstep.
“Hey,” I said when I opened the door. “I was starting to think you forgot about me.”
“Not a chance,” he said with a grin. He had a blanket tucked under his arm, and he now gave a nod toward the beach. “I was hoping you’d join me for a night walk. It might be more comfortable if we bring this along instead of sitting on that log. Only if you want to, of course.”
“I’d love to,” I said. “I’ll slip on my sandals and be right back. You can come in.”
He didn’t, however, which prompted me to quickly put my sandals on and head out the front door. I was tempted to grab my guitar but ultimately chose not to. I could just spend the time with him walking and talking. I didn’t always have to have the guitar with me to distract myself from the conversation.
