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Chapter 13
I took a deep breath of the salty night air, the lingering scent of funnel cakes and popcorn still hanging over the beach, remnants of the day’s festivities. The sand was cool and soft beneath my bare feet, the surrounding crowds a gentle murmur punctuated by bursts of laughter.
Beside me, Dylan stood tall and relaxed, hands in the pockets of his jeans, eyes scanning the darkening sky. Our conversation flowed easily, rehashing the day’s events - the thrill of my paintings selling, the pride in Dylan’s voice as he told anyone who would listen that I was his girl.
His girl. The words sent a flutter through my stomach. This man who started as my fake fiancé, but had somehow turned into more. Genuine feelings had crept in when I least expected them, like a wave slowly eroding the walls I built to keep my heart safe. I wanted to cling to our original pretense, deny what my soul knew to be true. But his smile, his laugh, the way his hand felt on mine...they whispered that what we had now was genuine.
I shivered as the night air turned chill, wrapping my arms around myself. In an instant, Dylan’s jacket was around my shoulders, his warmth lingering in the fabric. I slipped my arms into the too-long sleeves, enveloped in his scent.
“Thank you,” I said softly. “For today, for...” I gestured at the jacket, at him.
He grinned, a flash of white in the dusk. “You don’t have to thank me. That’s what...” He paused, searched my face. “That’s just what you do when you lo-“
A thunderous boom interrupted him as the first firework erupted in a shower of golden sparks. We both started, then laughed. Above us, the sky bloomed into a kaleidoscope of color and light.
Beside me, Dylan slipped his hand into mine. I didn’t resist. Our fingers laced together like they were made to fit. I knew there would be conversations still to come, words that needed to be said outside pretense and obligation. But here, now, we were just two souls entwined by choice and chance under the fireworks.
I squeezed his hand as emerald rain showered down. Maybe this didn’t have to be fake anymore. Maybe, just maybe, it never really was.
The fireworks finale began with a deafening boom that shook the air. I gasped, instinctively moving closer to Dylan. His arm wrapped around me in an instant, warm and steady. Another explosion rocked the sky, a volcano of red and gold. I pressed myself against Dylan’s chest, his flannel shirt soft beneath my cheek. His other arm encircled me, enveloping me in his strength. My hands curled into his shirt, anchoring myself as the fireworks battered the darkness in wave after wave.
Dylan’s chin rested gently atop my head and I breathed him in, sandalwood and salt and something uniquely him. Here, cradled against him, I felt safer than I’d ever felt before. Witheach earth-shattering blast, he seemed to hold me tighter, as if protecting me from the sound and fury. I closed my eyes, letting the chaos of the fireworks become a distant rumble. There was only Dylan’s heartbeat beneath my ear, his breath stirring my hair, the solid assurance of his arms.
Slowly, I unwound my fists from his shirt, flattening my palms against the warm plain of his chest. His heartbeat thrummed steadily under my touch. I felt his lips brush the top of my head.
“It’s okay,” he murmured into my hair. “I’ve got you.”
The words seeped into me, comforting and frightening all at once. I didn’t know how to handle the way he made me feel - safe yet exposed, guarded yet understood. I tilted my chin up, seeking his eyes in the intermittent flashes of colored light. They glinted down at me, deep pools of green and gold. The noise around us faded until all I heard was the pounding of my heart.
The fireworks reached their deafening crescendo, explosions of color and sound bursting overhead in rapid succession. But in this moment, cradled in Dylan’s arms, the chaos faded away until all I was aware of was him - the warmth of his body, the steadiness of his heartbeat, the tenderness in his eyes as they held my gaze. Slowly, instinctively, I rose onto my tiptoes, tilting my chin up towards him. His head dipped lower in response, drawn down as if by some invisible force. Our faces were a breath apart, noses grazing, and I caught the hitch of his breath mingling with mine. I couldn’t tell who moved first but then our lips met, tentative at first but quickly deepening. His mouth was warm and soft yet strong, and tasted of sea salt and promise. I let my eyes flutter closed. Then his lips brushed against my own, tentative as a feather at first. My body melted into his, my hands sliding up to link behind his neck. The kiss deepened, his mouth slanting over mine again and again, firm but undemanding. He was giving, not taking. With each kiss, something between us shifted and settled into place. This felt like coming home,like finding a part of myself I hadn’t known was missing. I clung to him, dizzy with revelation, as his lips worshiped mine. He kissed me with reverence and passion commingled until I was breathless. When we finally broke apart, lungs gasping for air, everything had changed. The fireworks above us burst wildly in a euphoria of light and sound. But we saw only each other. No more pretending, no more dancing around what had grown between us. His eyes searched my face again, vulnerable and hopeful. “Avery, I -“ My finger pressed gently to his lips, silencing him. Some words were too momentous for this cacophony around us. But my kiss spoke of everything he needed to know for now. We came together in deception, but what we had now was real. Frighteningly, beautifully real. I laid my head against his chest again as the finale thundered its last mighty barrage. His heart pounded against my ear, keeping time with my own. The fireworks faded, their fleeting glory spent. But this - us - had just begun.
I could still taste Dylan on my lips as the fireworks faded into silence. My heart pounded, exhilarated and terrified all at once. What just happened between us felt monumental, like the world tilted on its axis.
Slowly, Dylan’s arms loosened around me, and he took a small step back. The loss of contact was instantly palpable. His hand cupped my cheek, thumb stroking lightly over my skin.
“Avery,” he breathed my name like a prayer, “that wasn’t just for show, was it?”
His eyes searched mine, vulnerable and hopeful. The taste of his kiss lingered, at once thrilling and sobering. I knew I couldn’t avoid the truth any longer.
Taking a deep breath, I shook my head. “No. That was real for me, Dylan.” The admission hung in the air between us, daring and fragile all at once.
He let out a shaky laugh, relief washing over his features. “Me too,” he said. “This stopped being pretend a while ago.”
My heart leaped even as uncertainty flickered through me. We started this journey wrapped in artifice and now stood stripped bare by honesty. Where did we go from here?
As if reading my mind, Dylan brushed his thumb over my cheek again. “I know this is unfamiliar territory for us, Avery. But I want to explore it, together.” His voice was gentle but fervent.
“I’m tired of holding back how I really feel about you. And that kiss - God, that kiss - it felt like coming home.” His raw words mirrored my own feelings, sending a thrill through me.
My lips curved into a tremulous smile. “Yes, together,” I whispered. Taking his hand in mine, our fingers twined together. The touch ignited a warmth in my soul.
We meandered down the beach, leaving the lingering scent of gunpowder behind. The gentle lap of waves filled the silence between us. There was so much still unsaid, so many questions about what this shift meant. But right now, it was enough just to walk hand in hand, our hearts laid bare under the starry sky.
***
Hands intertwined, we walked leisurely along the moonlit path home after the Fourth of July festivities, our footsteps falling into a matching rhythm. The lingering scent of smoke from the fireworks still hung lightly in the air, mingling with the briny caress of the sea breeze.
I glanced up at the inky canvas of the night sky, speckled with starry brushstrokes, and felt a swell of contentment. So much had changed from just this morning - my artwork had received such a warm reception at the festival, affirming my artistic path. And most unexpected of all, was the shift in my relationshipwith Dylan. We’d gone from friendly neighbors to fake fiancés as part of an elaborate ruse, to now...something wonderfully and frighteningly real.
