Chapter 31
Jannis
“Where are you?” Valérie’s message pulls me out of my thoughts, though I can’t even remember what I was thinking about. I was just staring blankly into space, or at the sea and the horizon.
“At the beach. You?” An hour ago, Val got up and left without a word. Not that V owes me any explanation, but it was still strange.
“Let’s meet at the reception.”
“Now?”
“Yep, and hurry up.”
I have no idea what this is about, and to be honest, it makes me a little nervous. Nevertheless, I get up and walk toward the driveway that leads right past the reception building.
Out of the blue, I hear loud barking, a scream, and then a large dog rushes toward me. I recognize Flocke from a distance, and she obviously recognizes me too, but why is she here? It doesn’t make any sense.
Overjoyed, she jumps up at me, but we understand each other without words. A hand signal is enough, and the dog sits in front of me.
“Hey, sweetheart. Where’s Dayyan?” I reach for the leash, then I see him. My vision blurs, my body goes into autopilot. Somehow, he’s suddenly standing in front of me, my mouth moves, then his.
“Can I give you a hug?” I listen to my heart and trust that Valérie is right. My heart has enough room for both of them, choosing Dayyan is not a decision against Danny. And so I nod.
Seconds later, we are in each other’s arms, and all the weight is lifted off my shoulders when Dayyan gently combs his fingers through my hair. I close my eyes, stammer an apology, but he doesn’t want to hear it. He just holds me a little tighter.
“Everything is fine.” And here, in his arms, I feel it for the very first time, deep down inside.
He’s right. No more doubts, this is good, this is right.
I carefully lift my head—I need to see him, his beautiful face, his soft, boyish features, his gentle eyes, and the open, curious smile that gives me the courage to be myself.
“Hey, sunshine.” I furrow my eyebrows questioningly and Dayyan laughs. “Whenever I see you, the sun rises for me.”
That’s nonsense, and I find it hard to believe his bullshit, but my heart beats a little faster and hey, fuck it, what the hell. “Then you’re my moon, my light in the darkness. Ma lune.”
We look at each other, neither of us looking away, the world around us is standing still. “There are certainly more romantic places here, but may I kiss you?”
We’re standing on a small street, a few boys are playing soccer behind the fence next to us, pedestrians are walking by, and Flocke is tangling us up with her leash, but behind the dune, the sea is roaring, and there’s no place I’d rather be right now than here with him.
It’s my decision, and I want this. I’ve had plenty of time to think about it, and I nod. “Yes, absolutely.”
Dayyan tenderly cups my face with both hands, then stands on tiptoes.
My eyes close and my heart explodes when our lips touch.
At first, his lips just rest on mine and I’m already sure there’s nothing more amazing in the world, but then he breaks our long kiss to replace it with lots of soft little kisses.
His lips play with mine and I want to play along, even though I don’t know how. Danny never kissed me like this.
Oh no, I didn’t want to think about him, I’m ruining everything.
I squeeze my eyes shut and suddenly he’s here.
Laughing and cheering me on. Hooting loudly, just like he did countless times in the schoolyard when he saw a couple kissing.
Grinning, he blows me a kiss, I catch it, lock it in my heart and know Valérie was right.
Tears run down my cheeks and it’s beautiful.
The young woman at the reception desk is slightly confused and a little annoyed when Dayyan returns to finally complete the check-in.
She launches into a long monologue about the leash requirement at the campsite and how it is not tolerated when a dog disturbs other guests.
“Oh, my dog knows him, we are... He is my boyfriend. She missed him.”
I stand in front of the door with Valérie and Flocke, and my grin gets a little bigger with every word.
“My God, you look silly when you’re grinning like that, so in love.” Val nudges me in the side, laughing. “But I’m happy for you”
“Thank you. And thank you so much for bringing him here. A simple thank you isn’t even enough.”
“You’re welcome. Friends?” Valérie holds out their hand to me, but I put my arm around their shoulder and pull V close to me. “Friends.”
“Suggestion—I’ll take Flocke and Dayyan’s luggage to the pitch and you can enjoy the peace and quiet at the beach a little longer before the chaos begins when everyone finds out he’s here.”
That’s very forward-thinking, my rose-colored glasses don’t extend that far at the moment.
Flocke looks a little dejected as she watches us walk away, but Dayyan doesn’t pay any attention to her.
He holds out his hand to me and I take it, still hearing Danny’s cheer in my head and laughing as freely and genuinely as I probably ever have.
We’ve been sitting close together a lot over the last few weeks.
Mostly Dayyan sat behind me, even though I am the taller one of the two of us.
As soon as we arrive at the beach, I find a spot near the dunes.
Away from the hustle and bustle, I let myself fall into the sand, and pull him between my legs.
Dayyan looks at me in surprise, but doesn’t resist, and as soon as he’s sitting in my lap, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his shoulder.
That sounds super brave and dominant, but it’s not. Brave, maybe, for me, but if he had hesitated for even a second, I wouldn’t have known what to do. “Since I’ve arrived, I’ve thought about this.”
“What do you mean?” He turns to me and my breath hitches for a moment. Fuck, he’s gorgeous. Those eyes. His pupils are so small you can see the full range of colors. Brown tones in all shades, speckled with gold, glistening in the sunlight.
“Since I’ve arrived, I’ve been wondering what it’d feel like to sit here with you like this.”
“And?”
I hide my face in his neck and take a deep breath before kissing him gently behind his ear. Just lightly, just a brief touch. I wait for Dayyan to flinch, but he leans into me and giggles. “So much better than I imagined.”