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Doing some quick calculations in my head, that meant I’d have roughly eight months every year living in a long-distance relationship. Eight months. I wasn’t sure how practical flying back and forth to visit one another would be.
More importantly, I wasn’t sure I understood why he was willing to settle for it.
Lifting my gaze to his, a single tear spilling down my cheek, I rasped, “Why would you want a long-distance relationship with me when you’re in the position where you could have anyone you want?”
“I don’t miss opportunities, Indy,” he started, telling me something I already knew. “You don’t think I haven’t already had the chance to meet or be with anyone I want?”
I shuddered to think about how many women probably threw themselves at him. I looked away and murmured, “I don’t know.”
“Well, I do. And I did have that chance. The thing you need to realize is that I had that opportunity for years, and in the end, I still wound up wanting you, because you’re the only one who makes me feel the way I’ve felt for the last how many days. I’m not prepared to walk away from this feeling, because you think I was out to deceive you. It’s actually quite upsetting that you think I have it in me to do that.”
Several more tears fell. I couldn’t work out whether they were the result of him saying he had the chance to be with anyone and wound up wanting to be with me, or if they were the result of having made him feel like he was a horrible person who would intentionally set out to betray me.
“I’m sorry,” I lamented, feeling nothing but defeat. “It’s just… I’m devastated.”
In an instant, Griffin moved closer and captured my face in his hands. “I’m sorry, Indy. I didn’t mean to hurt you. I honestly just wasn’t thinking that far ahead. I’ve just been happy living in these moments with you.”
“This scares me. I’m not sure I’m cut out for it,” I told him.
“Please don’t say that,” he begged, his fingers pressing in deeper. “We’ve got a couple of months to see where this goes. There’s still plenty of time for us to see each other and decide what we want moving forward.”
My bottom lip trembled. He’d felt so real and perfect for days. If it had continued like that moving forward, I would have wanted it forever. Now I wasn’t so sure I’d get that.
“What happens if we like what we have between us? I know you’re talking about doing the long-distance thing, but, Griffin, I’m not sure how realistic that’s going to be in the long run.”
His eyes roamed over my face as he nodded slowly. “It’s not going to be realistic. It’s just going to give us the chance to remain committed to one another, so we can decide where we want to end up.”
With my face still in his hands, my eyes dropped to our laps. I inhaled deeply and revealed, “I don’t want to leave Colorado permanently. Obviously, I wouldn’t be against visiting Hawaii, but I don’t want to live there. I understand that’s where you have to be to do what you do. I’m just not sure I understand where that leaves us.”
Griffin’s thumbs stroked gently over my cheeks. “Indy, sugar, I’m thirty-two years old. I’ll be thirty-three before the year is over. I love surfing. It has been a huge part of my life for so many years. I’ll never permanently stop doing it, but I’m at a point in my life where I’m ready for other things. Though there are exceptions to every rule, most guys hang the leash around thirty-five. If you and I do some of the hard work now and make sure that what we have between us is something we want for the long haul, I’m prepared to go wherever I’ve got to go to make that happen.”
My lips parted in shock. “You’d… you’d give up your career and move back here for me?”
His lips twitched. “I wouldn’t be giving up my career. I’d be retiring.”
“Can you afford to do that while being so young?” I asked, worried I could be getting myself into another disaster of a situation.
Griffin started laughing. “I am good at what I do. I’ve been paid a lot of money for a lot of years to surf. My finances are not a concern, and a big part of that is because I’ve been smart with my money. I could go and not earn another dime from here on out, and I’d still be set for life.”
That made me feel marginally better. “Okay.”
“Okay?”
I nodded.
“Are you going to stay with me?”
“If you still want me.”
Griffin offered me a look that nearly broke my heart. His sweet puppy dog eyes had the power to bring me to my knees. “After all of this, I think I want you even more than I already did.”
“Really?”
He chuckled, wrapped his arms around me, and said, “Absolutely.”
At that, Griffin fell to his back onto the bed, taking me with him. He stroked his hands up and down my back and arms, offering me the comfort I desperately needed.
We didn’t say much after that, but we held on tight to one another.
