14. Reece
14
“Iwish I could take you out on a real date,” Isaac whispers in the darkness, his fingertips running up and down my spine, a shiver chasing the movement.
“Tonight doesn’t count?” I tease, trying to lighten the mood. We’d had a great time with Vienna at the Book & Barrel, but it wasn’t the same.
Not even close.
“You know what I mean.”
“Maybe we should,” I say even though it lacks conviction. A promise we made years ago shouldn’t hold so much weight but it does.
Turning my head, I meet his gaze, the moonlight creeping in through the gap in the blinds. He’s so handsome it hurts. The boyish features I’d fallen for have been replaced with strong angles and cut muscles, but his eyes—his eyes are the same glorious dark-amber color that I’d lost myself in time and time again.
“If you were staying,” he starts, swallowing the obvious hurt before continuing, “I wouldn’t hesitate. But I don’t think it’s worth it for either of us to have to deal with the fallout if it’s only for a few more weeks.” His voice is barely a whisper as he adds, “I wish I could get you to stay.”
I wish that too, but I don’t know if I could let myself come back here—even if I want to. What Isaac and I have is incredible, but how long until I become the same girl in this beach town that I was all those years ago?
And he’s right.
Even though my brother is being unbearable right now, he’d be devastated if he knew we messed around only for me to pack my stuff up at the end of the summer again.
“Nothing else has changed, Isaac.” I sigh defeatedly. “My mother is unable to hide her disdain for, well, everything I do, and my brother is so wrapped up in his own head he can’t see what’s going on around him.”
“We can handle your mother,” he says quietly.
“But what about Mads? He needs to find some balance, and I can’t do that for him. He’s gone from obsessing about fire to obsessing about fire and Marigold, and while I’m happy for him, he’s a loose cannon.”
“I can handle him.”
“But you shouldn’t have to,” I whisper, pressing a soft kiss to Isaac’s lips. “I love him, but seven years didn’t erase all the reasons I couldn’t come back here.”
“Maybe Marigold will soften him up,” Isaac says, trying for levity.
“It would help having her on our side, especially considering she knows about us,” I say, looking past him at the wall for fear I’ll admit I can’t live without him and beg him to move with me.
“Well, she kind of caught us in the storage room.”
“But I mean she knows.”
“Did you tell her?”
“I didn’t have to.”
“Is she going to tell Mads?”
“Of course not.”
“How do you know?”
“He’s so focused on her he can’t see what’s going on around him. That’s on him, not us, and besides, it’s girl code.”
“Girl code?”
“Yeah. And it’s not fair that he can be open about wanting my best friend, but I can’t do the same in return.”
“I thought Vienna was your best friend.”
“She is, but Marigold is too. We clicked, and no matter what happens, I know that we’ll always be like that.”
Isaac stares at me unconvinced, but it’s true. Marigold was a bright spot to coming back to Love Beach, and our friendship has been easy right from the start.
“So, what do we do?” I ask, startling myself that I’d said the words out loud.
Isaac studies me for a moment, before pushing up and settling his body over mine. Even after so much time apart, the man knows me better than I know myself.
He’s an anchor in the storm brewing inside me.
My anchor.
My chest squeezes at the thought of leaving him again, at packing up and moving away from the town I’ve come to love again.
Away from him.
My face must give something away because before I can take my next breath, Isaac’s mouth is on mine, his kiss bruising and all-consuming as he presses me into the mattress.
“Let go, Reece. Give me every second till you’re gone.”