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She stopped walking and glanced over to me. “I already know you knew Bridger, if that’s what you wanted to talk with me about. Genesis mentioned it.”
I figured she had. “There’s more.” She looked at me curiously and waited. “Your hus—Bridger mentored me for years on the circuit.” At first, she didn’t flinch or make any indication that it bothered her, but then suddenly she burst out laughing. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I joined her. She was laughing so hard she clasped her hand across her mouth and then, at some point, her laughter turned to sobs. She folded over and I caught her before she fell to the sand.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered closely by her ear so she could hear me. All I could do was hold her, so I carefully guided us down to the sand and squeezed her tight to my chest.
“Fate,” she rasped and half-heartedly laughed at the same time.
“What?”
“Talk to Genesis, and she would say this is some weird twist of fate. You and I.” She rubbed her eyes with her sweater.
Genesis had mentioned that to me. “Is it too weird?” I was afraid of what her answer might be.
“Honestly, I have no clue anymore. Is it weird that you’re a decade younger than me, and my late husband mentored you, and we randomly met on this beach that was mine and Bridger’s special place? Probably, yes. But what do I think of it? I don’t know.” She tucked her face into the sweater wrapped around her hands. “Look, I like you, Levi. You’re sweet and kind…” And here came the but. “But right now, I can’t see anything past tomorrow.” She locked eyes with me. “I just need to get through tomorrow, okay?”
The sadness in her eyes was so deep, it broke me to my core. I wanted to hold and comfort her and make all her pain disappear, but I knew the only one that could do that was Bridger.
As we stared quietly into each other’s eyes, the air shifted between us from tension to charged energy. She leaned in and kissed me softly. I pressed longingly back into her, wanting her touch to last forever. Slipping my hand to the back of her neck, I gently fisted her hair and pressed into the kiss with more urgency. She climbed on top of me, wrapping her legs around my waist, and ravaged me until we were both breathless. If we weren’t expected back at the fire, I would take her back to one of our trailers and show her what life could be like if she just gave me the chance. All I wanted was a chance to prove that we could be good together. That I would spend the rest of my days trying to make her as happy as Bridger had.
She gave me one last feather-light kiss and unraveled herself from me.
“Thank you for being so patient with me,” she said as she started back toward the fire.
“Always,” I responded, but I wasn’t sure she heard me.
My eyes stayed on Charlee the entire night. She was mesmerizing and carried conversations easily with Evie and the rest of us. It looked like she was truly enjoying herself. We laughed over failed attempts at roasting marshmallows, some burnt to a crisp while others were lost to the sand, and we ate so many we all felt sick by the end of the night. Evie shared embarrassing moments about me, and Genesis and Charlee talked about their times growing up. I found out that Charlee was awkward and carefree and an epic surfer, which had surprised me, because I hadn’t even seen her go into the water the entire time I had been here. I was determined to coax Charlee out on the water again and show her what she had been missing.
The night was just what we all needed. The three of us got drunk on wine and we would all surely wake with a sugar hangover, but it was one of the best nights I ever had. Charlee might have kept her physical distance after our brief make-out session at the beach, but she didn’t seem like she was avoiding me like before. I had caught her looking my way from time to time, and we would exchange shy smiles. It was encouraging.
After Evie and Genesis went up for the night, Charlee hung back with me.
“Make sure to thank Evie again for tonight. It was nice.” The wind was picking up and the cloud cover had thickened. I pushed stray hairs from her face and tucked them behind her ears and pulled her in and kissed her softly. She returned the kiss just as slowly and carefully. We kissed like that for a while until she pulled away, smiled, and headed up for the night.
Any previous concern I had about Charlee washed away, because someone with nothing to live for didn’t act the way she had tonight. She came here so she could say goodbye to her past and move on. Or at least that’s what I was hoping.
Charlee
When I slipped back inside the trailer, Genesis was smiling ear to ear. “What?”
“I saw you two down on the beach,” she teased.
My cheeks heated and I immediately turned to the sink to rinse the wine glasses. “I didn’t think anyone could see us.”
“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, but I did not realize that you two werethatclose. Time to spill.” She sat down on the couch and grabbed the blanket, making herself comfortable.
I sighed in defeat, dried my hands, and turned to her. “We slept together.”
“What?” She gasped playfully.
“Stop.” I threw the hand towel at her. “Twice, actually.”
“Whoa, that’s serious,” she joked. “Tell me more, because what I saw tonight was pretty intense.”
“I like him. A lot. And we definitely have chemistry. I never thought I’d feel that way again with someone.” It was really hard to admit that. “It feels like I’m somehow cheating on Bridger.” I laughed. “Which is ridiculous.”
“It’s not ridiculous, and it’s definitely not cheating. It’s a hard adjustment, feeling all those emotions again with someone that isn’t Bridger, but it’s okay. It’s good, even. It means you’re starting to come out on the other side of the loss.” She put out her hands, and I placed mine in them. She squeezed lightly. “Don’t fight it, Char. Just go with it and see where it takes you. Maybe Levi isn’t your next big love, but let him be the path out of your long-suffering.”
I managed a small smile. She was right, but could I do it? Could I just go with the flow? I hadn’t planned for anything after tomorrow. What would it look like? Would I go back to the surf shop? Would I sell the house? It was a lot to take in all at once. My plan had been so clear until this moment.
