Chapter 17 #2
We climb out together, slipping over the smooth stones. She squeezes water from her hair while I grab our towels from the pack. I hand hers over, but she’s already close, her fingers brushing mine, eyes soft and a little dazed.
I towel her off slowly, maybe slower than strictly necessary, my palms gliding over her shoulders, her arms, her stomach.
Goosebumps rise everywhere I touch. She does the same to me, dragging the towel down my chest, across my stomach, her cheeks flushed with warmth that isn’t just the sun.
Every accidental brush of skin feels intentional.
We get dressed in the dappled sunlight, still stealing glances, still smiling like idiots who just learned a secret only the two of us get to keep. She bumps her hip into mine as she slips her boots back on. I bump her right back. It feels natural. Easy. Dangerous in the best way.
We gather our things and hike back to where the bike waits at the tree line.
Rowan runs her fingers along the leather seat, sun catching on her damp hair.
She gives me this tiny smile, the kind that hits straight in the gut.
When she climbs onto the back, it’s with confidence that looks like she was made for this, made for me.
She slides her arms around my waist, her chest pressed against my back, her breath warm at the base of my neck.
And I swear I feel her heartbeat sync with mine.
She tugs on the helmet, giving me a look that makes me want to hike all the way back to that damn waterfall and fuck her all over again.
“Ready?” I ask over my shoulder.
She presses her hands to my hips, leans in close enough that her lips brush my ear. “I was born ready.”
I swear I feel that sentence in places I’ll show her later.
The engine rumbles beneath us, low and steady, and we pull onto the sun-warmed road. The wind rushes past us with the faint hum of the ocean.
Her arms slide around my waist, tighter than before, her cheek resting between my shoulder blades. I could ride like this forever. Just me, the road, and the woman currently making my heartbeat harder than ever.
We stop at a little burger roadside stand that smells like heaven with grease, grilled onions, and summer. The sign’s peeling, the benches are wobbly, and I’ve never seen Rowan look so happy as we stand holding hands and putting in our order.
She tosses her helmet on the picnic table and shoves her sunglasses up on her head. “This place looks like it has the best burgers."
“Maybe you're just so hungry because you worked up quite an appetite,” I tell her, already ordering two double cheeseburgers, a mountain of fries, and two chocolate shakes.
She eyes me when the tray comes out. “You got my order perfect, and I didn't even have to tell you.”
I grin. “Please. I know what you like, baby.”
She grins and eats a fry and takes a sip of her shake, a look of pure bliss on her face.
I point a fry at her. “See? I just know.”
She leans forward, eyes sparkling. “Thank you,” she says, and pops the fry into her mouth.
We sit across from each other, sharing fries. She licks a smear of milkshake off her thumb and doesn’t notice how hard I’m staring at her mouth.
“You’re looking at me weird,” she says around a fry.
I shake my head, smirking and whisper, “You’re just teasing me with that mouth.”
“Yeah,” she says softly, almost to herself. “You like it, though.”
She’s not wrong.
An older couple at the next table leans over, smiling the way people do when they see something good.
“Y’all look like you’re on your honeymoon,” the woman says.
Rowan nearly chokes on her milkshake. “Oh—uh—”
I don’t even hesitate. “Yup. Day three,” I deadpan.
The couple laughs and goes back to their burgers. Rowan grins and eats another fry. “Really?”
“Play along,” I say again, grinning.
But she’s blushing, pink creeping up her cheeks, and it's adorable.
We end up at the pier just as the sun starts setting off in the distance, the sky painting itself in streaks of gold and pink.
Rowan kicks off her sandals, walking barefoot along the wooden boards.
I follow behind her, watching the wind tangle her hair, the hem of her shorts brushing against her sun-kissed thighs.
She looks back at me over her shoulder with that soft, you’re in trouble smiling, and yeah, I already know I am.
We sit at the end of the pier, legs dangling over the water. She leans into me without hesitation, her head against my shoulder, my arm slipping naturally around her. Her skin is warm from the sun, and she fits against me like she’s meant to be there.
For a long time, neither of us says anything. The waves slap gently against the posts below. Someone’s playing music faintly in the distance. It feels… easy.
She tilts her head up, and I kiss the top of it without even thinking. She lets out a quiet sigh, like she’s been holding her breath for a long time and finally lets it go.
“I can’t remember the last time I felt this…” She trails off, eyes drifting toward the water, like the right word is somewhere in the sunlight skipping across the surface.
“Free?” I ask quietly.
She nods, slow, like the word settles into her bones. “Yeah. Free.”
And I swear… I didn’t realize how much she needed this until I saw it happen.
Rowan acts tough with her quick wit, ready to square up with anyone who tries her, but I know what she hides beneath all that fire.
The weight of Vanessa breathing down her neck.
Marilyn stirring shit just because she can.
The mess with the mayor. The betrayal with Jessica.
The pressure of the yoga classes, the shop, the expectations she never asked for.
She carries all of it alone, pretending she’s fine because she thinks she has to be.
But right now? Right now she’s just Rowan. Bare feet and sun in her hair, just breathing like nothing owns her.
And I want to protect that. Protect her. I want to fight beside her when we go back and stand with her in every single one of them.
She exhales, light and unguarded, and looks at me. “Free,” she repeats softly.
Yeah. If I have anything to do with it, she’s going to feel a hell of a lot more of that. I rest my chin on her head. “Then let’s not waste it.”
She looks up at me, and the way the sun hits her eyes says it’s game over. I lean in, slow and steady, and kiss her like the whole world’s holding its breath. And when she kisses me back, fingers curling into my shirt, it’s soft and sure and real.
I didn’t mean to fall in love my best friend. But somehow, I can't begin to fight any of this ever again. Sitting here with her, watching the sun sink into the ocean, I know that she is my entire world.