27. Jones
27
JONES
I’m not sure how it happened, but I’ve been here for a little over a month now. Time has passed much quicker than it normally does during my three-month stay, and for once, I’m dreading it coming to an end.
Dreading leaving Timber Heights.
Never thought I’d say those words.
If only I could bring my mother and my favorite blonde-haired bombshell with me, all would be right in my world.
I woke up this morning feeling heavy.
Lonely.
It sounds fucking depressing. Even in my small rental here, there’s one bedroom, one bath, and a kitchen hardly big enough for two people. I don’t need much.
The house is silent.
I haven’t seen Capri this past week as much as I’d like, and I’m itching for her company. My heart fucking broke hearing about the loss she’s faced and knowing there’s nothing I could ever do to take that pain from her.
Capri lost a child. Her son. Stevie. And knowing that only makes me care for her that much more. It makes me understand her.
It also makes me want to give her everything. Be everything to her and for her because I know she deserves it. She deserves to be cherished and cared for in a way that needs no explanation.
She deserves someone to show up for her.
Selfishly, I also want to fucking bask in her. Soak up every sliver of her touch she’ll give me, hoping it leads me to having her heart in the palm of my hands at the end of all this.
An end I never want to see coming. Only a beginning.
Fucking and forgetting is different, and frankly, I’m finding it more and more unappealing. Aging has only proven to me how much I desperately want a life partner.
A partner to stand by me through the thick of it, and I do the same for them. Compromising feels like cheating myself.
I know Capri wants those things too. But I can’t pressure her—I won’t.
I have to let her come to me.
I believe in our connection enough to trust time will tell when it comes to us.
Selfishly, I’d kill for it to be soon.
I almost bent her over and fucked her on the chair the other night at her apartment. I’m slipping, and I recognize it.
I decided to go for a run to clear my head. Work off the weight of my stress and get some fresh air.
My rental and Mom’s home are a short block from the beach, making running first thing in the morning a no-brainer.
The beach here is different than in Capri. Here, the beaches are packed with food trucks, kids playing, umbrellas, and beach volleyball early in the morning. It’s a small town built on community.
Capri has more private beaches, calm and relaxing. Unless you’re on the tourist side, but even then, it’s not as lively as Timber Heights.
With a plan to get five miles this morning, I coast along the side of River Street, and I’m not sure why, but a small shack selling miscellaneous things catches my attention.
I never stop my run to shop here, but today I do. I’ve noticed this shack more times than I can count, and nothing has ever stuck out to me until today.
Shell necklaces, hand-woven purses, coastal rings, truly anything you can think of, they have it.
But a small magnet catches my eye.
#1 Teacher.
It’s purple and white, reminding me of the tasteful bikini Capri wore on the yacht the first week we met. But my golden girl is a teacher, and a sexy one at that.
Is this the cheesiest gift I could give her? Fuck yes. Will she love it? I don’t know. Am I gonna get it for her anyway? Sure am.
Especially now that I know what made her become a teacher. I appreciate her even more.
There’s nothing shallow about Capri. Past situationships with women have shown me they were only with me for my money. I can afford much more than a silly magnet.
Hell, I could buy the whole shop.
But this feels more like something Capri would appreciate. Something she would cherish far more than a designer bag.
I pay the cashier and hold it tightly in my hand, making my way back home.
Capri goes back to work in just a few days, and I have a feeling she could use some help. I know she’ll refuse, leaving me no choice but to show up without warning.
Jot it down as another thing I have no issue doing without asking.
Time to be there for my #1 teacher.