Whispering Waves
Ishook off my initial concern and tried to enjoy the rest of the evening. Reid didn’t say anything about it, so it couldn’t have been anything too horrible. It wasn’t my place to pry. If he wanted me to know, he would tell me.
After we ate, Liam suggested a trip down to the beach to see who would win in some beach games. Usually he and Caleb dominated, but now that Reid had been working out and running on the beach every morning, I had a feeling he was about to shake things up.
And I was right. Reid tore up the beach, winning both the sprint and the handstand contest. He chose me to be his partner in the wheelbarrow race, but I face planted in the first few steps, so we lost.
After that, we saw too many other Baysiders down the beach, having a party of their own. A few of them looked like they were making their way toward us, so we called it quits and went back to Reid’s pool instead.
“Caleb. Truth or dare,” Liam said as we all floated in the water. He and Livvy were laying on some rafts, staring up at the dark sky. Norah and Emma sat on the side, swinging their feet in the water methodically.
Reid and I shared an inner tube, both of us draping our arms over the side and resting our heads on it.
“Dude. Since when have I ever turned down a dare?” Caleb answered. He had two pool noodles under his legs and two under his shoulders, keeping him afloat in a sort of half seated, half laying manner.
Liam rolled off his raft and treaded water toward Caleb, whispering in his ear when he reached him.
Caleb had a wicked grin on his face when Liam finished. He folded in half and disappeared under the water.
He surfaced right in front of Emma. He grabbed onto her legs, and she squealed in shock, but he didn’t pull her in. Instead, he pulled them apart, placed his hands on either side of her body on the ground, and lifted himself out.
Then he planted a kiss on her lips, really going for it for a second before Emma finally came to and shoved him off.
“Ugh, as if,” she cried, using the back of her hand to wipe her face. “Honestly Caleb, you said you’d never do that again.”
“Liam! You jerk!” Livvy screeched at her brother before slicing her hand in the water and splashing Liam in the face.
I raised my brows and looked at Norah. We had a quick silent conversation, both of us remembering how Caleb asked Emma out a few years ago and she turned him down. Then, on a dare, he kissed her, hoping it would help change her mind.
It didn’t. She thought his antics were funny and didn’t hold it against him, but she told him not to pull such a stunt again.
But Caleb wasn’t someone who listened well. He shrugged and said, “Had to check. Thought you might have the hots for me now that I’m older, wiser, and more hotter.”
The wink he added at the end made the rest of us laugh, but Emma just kicked her feet and splashed Caleb until he ducked under the water.
A little while later, Reid and I gathered up the trash and leftover food while everyone else packed up their stuff. They designated Caleb as the mule once again, sending him to and from their cars.
Reid leaned over my shoulder as I put lids on the fruit bowls. “Hey,” he quietly whispered, causing shivers to run through me. Every time he was that close, his lips brushing my ear, made me quiver.
“Oh, just kiss her already!” Emma shouted from across the patio.
“If you say so,” Reid yelled back.
I gasped as he wound an arm around my waist and spun me to face him, my back pinned against the table, my chest against his.
He put two hands on my hips, holding me down as he crashed his lips onto mine. It took me by such surprise that I didn’t even have time to put my own hands anywhere. Reid reached up with one hand and cupped my cheek, while tilting his head slightly to the side. I grabbed onto his wrist and lifted onto my tiptoes to kiss him even harder.
The group started cheering, someone throwing out a wolf whistle. I had yet to close my eyes and enjoy it before I saw Reid lift a hand into the air and fist pump while still kissing me.
I planted both hands on his chest and gave him a little shove. “Oh my God, will you stop,” I said, trying to sound convincing, but the massive blush on my cheeks had to give me away. “Go home, all of you.”
“Hey, I live here!” Reid shot back, grinning and waggling his brows at me.
Everyone else left a minute later, leaving Reid and me alone finally. I fed the dogs a late dinner, which they weren’t happy about, while he gathered up all the towels outside.
“I’m going to take a quick shower and get the chlorine out of my hair,” I said as soon as he returned from the laundry room.
Before I could make it even a step, his arms wrapped around my shoulders, burying my face into his chest. He pushed my hair away and planted a kiss on my temple. “I know you’re disappointed about the last clue, but I want to remind you how amazing you’ve been through this whole thing. Your dedication to solving each clue. Your tenacity. I know this summer hasn’t quite gone according to plan so far, but you’ve adapted. You’ve dealt with it. Eleanor would be so proud of the way you’ve handled everything. I am too. And you should be proud of yourself as well.”
I. Ate. It. Up.
He always knew exactly what to say at exactly the right time. Once the group left, the clue, or lack of clue, had popped into my mind again. It must have done the same for him.
“Thanks,” I whispered, hugging him tight. We stood there for a moment, wrapped in each other, his heartbeat under my ear.
I didn’t spend too long in the shower, wanting to hang out with Reid instead, knowing I only had another day or so left in the house. So I gave my hair a quick wash and some conditioner, scrubbing my body fast while it set.
After, I threw on a pair of old sweatpants and a giant Covington Cove High t-shirt from a few years ago. I took my microfiber hair towel with me, blotting at my curls while looking around for my phone.
I found it on the bed, next to Marshmallow’s paw.
“And who have you been calling, ma’am? Your doggie boyfriend?” I asked, sitting down and finding a message waiting. “Hope you didn’t read this, you snoop.”
I gave her a little scratch behind her ear, then swiped the phone open.
Unknown:Where past and present intertwine, in his arms, your heart aligns.
I stopped scratching Marshmallow as I read the clue over again. My hand flew to my neck, clutching the charms.
The last few had been so much more vague. They had so many options as to what it could be. And even when I figured it out, it still had a meaning within a meaning, like the dollhouse inside the playroom.
But this… this one I didn’t need any help with.
This one I figured out all on my own, and faster than any other clue.
This one only had one option.
I knew exactly where this one led. I just didn’t know what to do about it.
I scrunched my hair a few more times, getting as much water as I could out of it before padding down the hall.
The light on the opposite side of the living room guided me toward my destination. I made my way to the library as quietly as possible.
My mind jumped back to that first night, finding Reid in the library after the masquerade. How my heart practically leaped out of my chest.
Seeing him in person before the masquerade showed me just how much I missed him.
Knowing he waited up for me, even though he had a long day, a long flight, and absolutely did not have to do so… made me realize how much I still loved him.
And, in hindsight, how much he still loved me.
Tonight was the same. I found him sitting in the same chair, his pajama t-shirt wet at the back of his shoulders, his hair damp on his forehead.
Except this time, he was leaning forward with his elbows on his legs, tapping his knuckles over his knees.
“It’s you,” I said. Or, at least, I thought I said. No sound had actually come out of my mouth, so I cleared my throat and tried again.
That got Reid’s attention. He stared at me, his gaze intense.
“It’s you.”
Instead of answering, Reid just continued to stare. He raised an eyebrow, like he wanted me to continue talking. To explain.
I had to give him my reasoning, I realized. I didn’t know why, but I did anyway.
“Past and present intertwine. Our past. Our present. Both of them with us being together.” I sucked in a deep breath, holding it for a minute before continuing. “In his arms, your heart aligns. There’s no one else’s arms I’d rather be in than yours, Reid.”
One side of his mouth quirked, lifting in a slight grin. But it didn’t reach his eyes.
He stood and crossed the library over to me, and that’s when I noticed it.
An envelope in his hands.
With my name on it.