Open Water
Miami — First Night
The yacht moved just after sunset.
Slowly at first, pulling away from the marina while Miami glittered behind them in gold and pink light.
Elle stood at the rail in silence, watching the skyline drift further away, warm ocean wind lifting her curls while music played softly somewhere on the upper deck.
Leah watched her from a few feet away.
And honestly?
That view might've ruined her more than anything else so far.
Because Elle looked happy.
Really happy.
Not social-media happy. Not posing-for-a-camera happy.
Just... peaceful.
The kind of peaceful Leah spent months trying to remember existed after the ACL injury.
"You're staring again," Elle murmured without turning around.
Leah smiled immediately. "You're very distractingly beautiful."
"See?" Elle laughed softly. "This is exactly what I mean."
"What?"
"You became somebody's girlfriend and immediately unlocked a whole new level of flirting."
Leah walked toward her slowly until she stood directly behind her, arms sliding naturally around Elle's waist.
The ocean stretched endlessly around them now.
No city noise.
No traffic.
Just dark blue water and warm night air and the quiet hum of the yacht beneath their feet.
"You know what I realised?" Leah murmured softly against her shoulder.
"What?"
"I don't think I've relaxed properly in over a year."
The honesty in her voice made Elle turn slightly inside her arms.
Because even now, even happy, Leah still looked tired sometimes.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like the world constantly expected pieces of her.
Elle touched her face gently.
"You can here."
God.
That nearly undid Leah entirely.
Because maybe that was the thing nobody understood about recovery.
Your body healed eventually.
But your mind stayed braced for disaster long after.
Always waiting for something else to go wrong.
Always waiting to lose things again.
But standing here with Elle wrapped safely inside her arms beneath a Miami sky full of stars—
Leah finally felt still.
They stayed like that for a long moment while the yacht cut slowly through dark water.
Then Elle smiled slightly.
"So," she murmured, "how rich are you actually?"
Leah burst out laughing immediately.
"Oh my God."
"I'm serious."
"I rented a boat, Elle, I didn't buy an island."
"It has three floors."
Leah laughed harder, forehead dropping briefly against her shoulder.
And Christ.
This.
This right here.
The ease of it.
The way Elle could pull laughter out of her even after the hardest year of her life.
Leah tightened her arms slightly around her waist.
"You deserve nice things."
The words slipped out quietly.
Honestly.
Elle's smile faded into something softer after that.
"Leah."
"I mean it."
Leah looked out across the water briefly before continuing.
"You've spent months loving me through airports and rehab and panic and long distance."
Her voice dropped slightly quieter now.
"You make my life feel lighter."
The emotion in the confession sat heavily between them.
Because Leah didn't say things unless she meant them.
And lately?
Everything she felt for Elle seemed terrifyingly real.
Elle turned fully toward her then, hands sliding slowly up Leah's arms.
"You know what's funny?"
"What?"
"You still act surprised someone loves you this much."
Leah went still.
Because maybe she did.
After the ACL, after the fear and uncertainty and feeling breakable for the first time in her life—
love sometimes still felt like something temporary.
Something she could lose.
Elle kissed her softly before she could disappear too far into her own head again.
Warm.
Slow.
Ocean air wrapped around them while the yacht drifted further into open water beneath moonlight.
And when they pulled apart, Leah smiled against her mouth.
"You know what the best part about this is?"
"What?"
"No one can interrupt us for five days."
Elle laughed softly. "You sound threatening."
"I mean emotionally."
"That's somehow worse."
Leah grinned.
Then quieter—
"Come upstairs with me."
The top deck overlooked endless blue ocean and a skyline glowing faintly in the distance.
Candles flickered softly around the seating area while warm wind moved through the open space.
And suddenly, standing alone beneath stars with Miami disappearing slowly behind them, Elle realised something terrifying:
this didn't feel temporary anymore.
Not even slightly.
Leah stepped closer slowly, hands settling at her waist again like instinct.
Then softly—
"I think this might be my favourite place I've ever been."
Elle smiled immediately. "Because of the yacht?"
Leah looked at her for a long second.
Then shook her head once.
"Because you're here."