37. Archer #2
My mother takes my face between her hands.
“You are more than I ever could’ve imagined.
Beyond what I could’ve hoped for when I held you for the very first time.
I am so proud of you, and I can’t wait to see you soar as a dad.
” She presses her lips against my forehead before pulling back. “I love you so much.”
My dad squeezes my shoulder twice, as if in agreement.
“Thanks.” I smile. “I love you too.”
“All right. Yes. We’ve been reminded who the favorite is,” Zander jokes, standing and stretching. “Now, let’s go.”
My mom reaches toward him, making grabby hands. “C’mere and let me show you how much I love you, you little shit.”
He laughs, darting out from under the tent and pulling one of the surfboards stuck into the sand beside it.
My dad follows suit, and the two of them look back at me expectantly.
“You know I’m not supposed to—”
“It’s smooth out there today,” Dad says. “We’ll just paddle beyond the break and float. Nothing crazy.”
“Dude, you might get drafted to like…Nebraska or something and never see the ocean again. Take the damn opportunity.”
I frown. “Nebraska doesn’t have a professional team.”
“Whatever. You know what I mean.” Z shrugs, nodding to the last board laid out in the sand.
I sigh, relenting. Though, I turn to Allie. “Are you going to be—”
“Daddy, chill.” She raises on her toes to press a kiss against my mouth. “I’m totally fine.”
“God, you call him Daddy?” her father mutters as I turn around and grab my board.
“Yeah. Especially in bed.” Allie’s voice fades as a round of laughter takes its place while I walk away from the tent, my own smile playing at my lips.
The sun arches across the sky all too quickly as we soak in every blissful hour on the beach. I surf with my siblings, take a nap in the sun while Allie runs her hands through my hair, and the sound of my family’s laughter mingles with the rustling of the palm trees and the crashing of the waves.
As daylight fades, we light a fire, and my dad grills chicken and steak. After Allie eats, the baby begins kicking up a storm, and everyone crowds around us to take their turn feeling the movement.
It’s long after dark when we pack up our things and hike up to Darby and Leo’s house. My grandparents, Carter and Penelope, and Macie and Dom head home, but the rest of us stay for a while, talking late into the night about our favorite memories.
When Allie’s nodding off, curled up on the couch, I finally decide it’s time for the two of us to head back to our own place and go to bed. I gently help her up, and we say our goodbyes before I lead her out the back door and to the guesthouse.
We get ready for bed, and the moment my head hits the pillow, emotion overcomes me like a spontaneous summer thunderstorm—rapid and unexpected.
My eyes become heavy, sorrow slithering up my spine and binding itself around my throat, causing me to choke on tears. I stare at the ceiling, blinking them away, breathing heavily to keep myself calm.
I don’t even hear Allie as she finishes in the bathroom and crawls into bed beside me, not until her face enters my line of sight, and she hovers over me, features etched with concern. “What’s wrong?”
I force a smile. “Nothing, Amor. Just tired.”
“I don’t believe you.”
I shake my head, inhaling deeply, but I’m unable to hold back the wave, and my emotional dam breaks. I cover my face as a sob wrenches out of me. “I’m not ready to leave home again.”
“Oh, baby.” Allie sighs, adjusting herself to sit upright against the headboard before she loops one arm behind my neck and the other over my shoulder, hauling me against her. She lifts her T-shirt, allowing me to rest my head on her stomach. “I know. I know.”
My breath is shaky, voice trembling as I continue, “I was away for so many years, and I’ve just gotten used to being back. I… I just want more time with my family. More days like today.”
I feel this way every time I’m home for a summer and I have to leave again, but today hit harder. Now, there is more than just me, I’m taking Allie and our daughter away too. She’ll grow up without her grandparents, aunts and uncles, and eventually, cousins nearby.
I wouldn’t be the person I am right now, I wouldn’t have accomplished anything I set out to do, if it weren’t for the support of those around me. What kind of disservice am I doing my daughter if I don’t give her the same?
“We are our family now,” Allie whispers quietly, running her hands through my hair. “You’re not alone this time. I’m right here with you.”
Her voice soaks into the depths of me, where the first sparks of my soul were created. A place only she has ever reached. A soft caress, she touches me there, settling the storm raging in my chest.
“We'll be back here again someday, I know it. She’ll know this life, but she’ll also experience something bigger,” she continues. “I’m scared too. Sometimes I wish we didn’t have to leave, but I know it’ll be okay. We’ll make it okay because we’ll be together.”
I nod against her bare belly, cheek brushing against her soft skin when a sudden movement pokes against my face. I pause, and a moment later, it happens again. Almost like a rolling wave beneath her flesh.
“See?” Allie laughs, breathless. “She’s agreeing with me.”
“Hi, baby girl.” I smile, brushing my hand over the place where she kicked, immediately calmer.
“I wish we would’ve realized it sooner,” Allie muses. “I wish we would’ve just been together this whole time. Even if long distance. Even if I moved to Texas. I wish we didn’t lose out on so many years that could’ve felt like this.”
I shake my head, tracing my knuckles over Allie’s stomach. “I’m okay with how things turned out. Any other path might not have led us to her.”
Allie’s hand finds my chin, tilting it upward so that our eyes clash. I melt beneath her piercing dark gaze, every star sparkling in the night sky of her irises. “You’re right.” She smiles. “Come kiss me.”
I sit up, taking her face in my hands, feathering my lips between hers.
I kiss her languidly—slow and hot and purposeful.
The kind of kiss that reminds us both how much better we are together than apart.
The kind of kiss that tells her I’ll take my time with her, because I plan on keeping her until the end of forever.
“I love you,” I whisper, kissing her again. “Thank you.”
She elicits the most delicious moan, and I swallow it greedily as she presses against my chest, pushing me back down onto the mattress. She slowly rises, sitting up on her knees as she pulls her shirt off completely.
Her breasts hang heavy, nipples dark and hard, skin bared and glowing, sun-kissed from the day at the beach. Her curls are long, falling down her back as she sways in place, nodding toward the nightstand. “Put your glasses on.”
I laugh. “They’re just readers, Amor. I can’t actually see you if I wear them.”
She braces her palms at the center of my chest as she climbs on top of me, straddling my thighs. She slides her hands down, nails tracing my skin until she reaches the hem of my underwear. She pulls it down just enough to free my already-hard cock.
“They’re not for you to see—they’re for me to look at.” She reaches between us, sliding her panties to the side as I fix my glasses over my face. “All you need to do tonight is feel.”