TWENTY-THREE Quincy #2
“It’s just an observation.” She stretches out her legs and waves at Mia making her way over to us, her hands full of bottles of water. “Hello, sunshine.”
“Hi.” Mia distributes the drinks and plops on the sand, smiling from ear to ear. “This is so fun, isn’t it? The fresh air. A breeze. Good friends. It doesn’t get much better, does it?”
“The only thing that would make it better is if Sebastian and Quin got into one of their usual arguments, but I haven’t heard a peep of disagreement.
” Harlow smirks my way. “Three hours in a car together? He’s on your show—which I watch, by the way.
The chemistry between you two is new. Is there anything you want to tell us? ”
A lot of things, I think.
Mia would be ecstatic if she found out Sebastian and I were sleeping together. She’d probably try to plan a wedding.
Harlow would be supportive of my long overdue orgasms.
For as much as I want to share, for as much as I hate hiding things from them, I want to keep it a secret for as long as I can.
I like having Sebastian in a way no one else gets to have him. When we’re together, he’s not the guy on the news. He’s not an internet personality with millions of followers and dozens of women in his inbox, vying for his attention. He’s not the weather boy everyone thinks they know and love.
He’s quiet. Softer and unsure. Someone who tells me about all the places he’s seen on his travels around the world and all the places he wants to visit.
He listens when I talk about where I see myself in ten years, nodding along to the hopes and dreams I’ve been scared to share with anyone else, not because they wouldn’t be supportive, but because it’s intimidating to bet on yourself and know you could fail.
I’ve discovered who he is away from the screens and fanfare.
He’s a guy who cares about his loved ones and the environment.
Who would be happy to never post a photo on social media again but does so because he’s a man of his word who honors his brand deals with small businesses that look to him for extra revenue thanks to his large following.
It’s just us, him and me, and it’s magical.
I pick up a handful of sand, letting the grains run through my fingers. “We’re maturing, I guess.”
“I think it’s nice you’re letting him be on your show.” Mia pauses to smile at me. “I know how important that part of your life is to you. You’ve worked so hard to build the audience you have.”
“We’ve all worked so hard.” I point at Harlow, laughing when her red hair gets caught in the wind.
“Har was voted by her fellow bartenders as someone with exceptional influence, and The Hideout has won multiple awards. And you, Mia Dunn, are somehow putting out two bestselling books a year while you volunteer at the Orlando Food Bank and plan a wedding.”
“Do you ever run out of ideas, Mia?” Harlow asks.
“I can make anything into a romance story.” Her eyes flick over to a couple sitting a dozen yards away.
“Like them. They’re sharing a Publix sub.
He’s moving her chair so she’s in the shade.
She’s not afraid to eat a handful of chips in front of him.
Considerate and familiar, but without a ton of PDA.
I imagine they’ve been friends for years.
They’ve always hung out in big groups, but recently realized they have feelings for each other.
This is the first date they’ve been on just the two of them, and the beach is the perfect spot to hang out without it being too awkward. ”
“And if things aren’t going well, one of them can swim out to sea and start a new life with the dolphins,” Harlow adds, and I burst out laughing.
“Exactly.” Mia reaches for our hands. “I can’t believe this is our last summer together like this.”
“Are you going somewhere we don’t know about?” I ask, lacing our fingers together.
“No. I just mean things will be different after I get married. We want kids, and then it will be soccer practice and art classes and ballet lessons.” She sighs. “I hope y’all don’t forget about me when I’m driving a minivan.”
“You think soccer is going to get rid of us? Please.” Harlow snorts. “I’m going to be the cool aunt your kids call when they want to run away for the night because you’re making them eat broccoli.”
“I draw the line at a minivan.” I squeal and jump to my feet when Mia pours ice cold water on me. “I take it back! Minivans are wonderful vehicles.”
“That’s more like it.” Mia looks over her shoulder and waves to Richard. He points up at the gas station on the corner of the road, and she nods, standing too. “Time for some snacks. Does anyone want anything?”
“I’m good. I was going to go for a dip to cool off, but now it’s to warm up after someone wanted me to freeze to death.” I stick out my tongue and head for the water. “I thought we were friends, Mia.”
“Best friends,” she calls out, smiling when Richard loops an arm around her waist.
“I’m going to go flirt with the lifeguard again. Come get me when it’s time for food.” Harlow waves and skips in the direction of the lifeguard stand.
I kick off my sandals and walk toward the ocean, relaxing when the waves crest over my feet. I shuffle out until the water reaches my chest then turn onto my back, floating while I stare up at the sky.
The waves gently lap at my shoulders and I blow out a breath as a patch of clouds cover the sun. A noise catches my attention and I turn my chin, glad to see Sebastian standing nearby and smiling down at me.
“Hey,” he says.
“Hi.” I stretch my arms out at my sides then bring them down, making an ocean angel. “Having fun?”
“More fun now. I’m admiring the view.”
“Like what you see?”
“Fucking love what I see.”
Sebastian bit his fist and had to look away when I shrugged off my oversize T-shirt earlier and revealed the navy-blue bathing suit I’m wearing.
He’s making up for lost time now, moving my way and filling the distance between us. When he’s close, his thumb brushes along the string of my bikini. It’s a reminder he could take off the piece of fabric off with a single tug if he wanted to, but he’s choosing to torture himself instead.
I’m torturing myself when I stare at the salt water running down his chest. The drops cling to the hollow of his throat, the lines of his pecs.
The pink on his shoulders from a couple hours in the sun somehow makes his body look more divine, and I feel my heart stuck somewhere in my throat when he scrubs a hand over his face and smiles my way.
“You’re quiet,” he says, breaking the silence. “Everything okay?”
“I’m thinking up an insult to lob your way.”
“Anything good coming to mind?”
“Not yet, but the day is young.”
“You’ll think of something.” He slips his thumb under the strap of my bathing suit and presses into the muscles at the top of my spine. A soft moan works its way free from my chest. “You always do,” he adds, his voice a husk of a rasp.
“Do you think it’s eerie?”
“What? The space-time continuum? The possibility of alternate realities?” Sebastian moves closer, hand fully resting on my neck. “You’re going to have to be more specific, Pres.”
“We’re here, living our lives. Having a good time and enjoying a nice day.
Somewhere in this very ocean, a storm with the potential to hurt a lot of people is becoming stronger by the minute.
” I lower my feet to the ocean floor, my toes digging into the sand.
“It’s hard to balance the two sometimes.
To enjoy the good things without realizing how privileged we are to have the resources we do. ”
“The juxtaposition is hard. You’re excited for the opportunity to see something historic, but in the same breath, you’re worried about how Georgianna is going to impact communities.”
“Do you miss New York?” I find myself asking, and his answer is a low hum.
“Some days I miss parts of New York. You can get a pizza at three in the morning. I go for a run at ten p.m. and I’m not the only one in the park. It’s busy and chaotic, but I thrive on that.” Sebastian waves to our friends on the shore. “It’s not the worst place in the world.”
“What’s the weather like? Nicer than here?”
“You’ve never been?”
“No. Am I missing out?”
“Maybe. Nicer is a subjective word,” he says.
“How so?” I ask.
“Fall is better. The leaves change. There’s this crispness in the air you can’t find here. And snow isn’t all that bad. Other than that, it’s not special. It doesn’t have you, for starters.”
“What?” I laugh and splash a small wave at him. “What do I have to do with weather in New York?”
“A lot of things.”
“Like?”
“Like when I look at the sky, I think of you. Is it raining in Oak Valley? Did you remember to put on sunscreen? Is your hair starting to turn lighter like it always did down deep in July?” There’s another pause as he moves behind me.
A warm breath on the back of my neck where his lips press a reckless kiss.
Hands, anywhere they can reach, disappearing under the waterline and moving across my stomach.
My heart thumping while I greedily wait for more.
“Sometimes when I’m feeling lonely and stupid, I let my imagination wander.
The dreams I have when I’m there are ones I’ve never really let myself believe in. ”
“What kind of dreams?” I’m barely whispering, but it feels like I’m shouting. Toeing the precipice of a dangerous ledge.
“I had this wild idea that maybe you were thinking about me too. We were tied together, kind of. The stars and the moon and the tides and the sun. And us. Quincy and Sebastian. Two idiots who were waiting for the perfect time to get it right. When I was really going out of my mind, I pretended there was a world where I was the one who made you happy. Where you picked me every time.” His voice cracks.
I’m no longer breathing. “And no storm I’ve ever chased has brought me the same kind of high as that fantasy. ”