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I quickly make my way back to the main road, glancing around at everyone in sight, looking for a familiar jeans-and-work boots get-up. It’s not like anyone else dresses like that around here.
Icy A/C blows over me when I enter through the main entrance. I head back for the restaurant and peek my head in, my pulse quickening when I can’t find him.
Okay…so he’s not here.
At the front desk, I ask if they saw Nolan anywhere. There’s an unfamiliar man working, and he frowns, shaking his head. Even when I force out a quick description of him, he just winces and shrugs.
Nodding, I duck my head, mumble a thanks, and turn to head back outside.
A buzzing sparks at my fingertips, crawling up my hands. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think there was a storm brewing, but no, it’s just me. There might be rain on the horizon, but so far no lightning or thunder. Nothing but what’s crackling inside me, heightening my senses to an overpowering degree.
It reminds me of that time Nolan asked if I was having a panic attack. I can see now why he thought that, why others in the past have thought that. I’m definitely feeling panicked this time around, though, so maybe they had a point all along.
It’s all so very confusing.
I start to head back toward his bungalow, knowing there’s a very unlikely chance he went up to my room. He’s never been up there. He wouldn’t even know where it is, unless he asked the staff.
Maybe we just missed each other again.
I cringe. Even to my own ears, my thoughts sound pitiful.
Just as I reach the fork where I’ll make the turn back toward Nolan’s place, something gives me pause, halting my steps.
There’s a pull in my gut, lifting the little hairs on the back of my neck, guiding me down toward the tree-line. My breathing shallows, and my heart seems to slow, as all my attention hones in on the small break in the foliage.
I’m not surewhyI just know he’s down there in our cove. Call it instinct—a sixth sense—a built-in radar for anythingNolan…
Somehow, I just know that’s where I’ll find him.
The why of it doesn’t even matter. I just need to find him.
I jog down the bank, batting away fronds. The water is relatively calm tonight, from the sounds of it lapping at the shore, despite the heavy rain clouds blotting out much of the sky.
Off in the distance, the bright orange sun hovers over the horizon.
It’s eerie, the way it lights up the beach, painting flames over the sand.
Over Nolan’s dark silhouette down by the water.
He’s seated in the sand only a few feet away from where the low tide slips in and out. He’s dressed in his jeans, as usual, but has traded his white tee for a solid black one.
My mouth dries, and the anxiety from moments ago returns with a vengeance, washing away any relief I’ve found from finally finding him.
He wasn’t sleeping.
He stood me up.
I bunch my face, shaking my head, trying to hold off the static rushing to my head. My arms tremble. Chills break out across my skin.
I’m not…angry, but I am confused, and I don’t like that. Not one bit.
Nolan cocks his head, his hair hanging loosely around his head, strands lifting and dancing on the gentle breeze blowing through. I suck in a breath, my feet rooted in place.
Like I knew he was down here, somehow, I just know he senses me too. Like there’s a thread tying us together, keeping us on the same frequency, ensuring we’re always in tune to the other whenever we’re in each other’s orbit.
He turns just his head, peeking over his hunched shoulders. From here, I can’t make out his eyes, but I feel his gaze all the same, like hot coals raking over my chilled skin.
It usually feels good.
