Chapter Twenty-One
Skylar Parish
December doesn’t get much colder than November here in Florida. Jeans and a long-sleeve thermal are more than enough to keep me comfortable as I hop out of my car and head toward the entrance of Angie’s Diner.
Last night, after Ashley left and everything was settled, Everett and I had a cozy night in, but my mind couldn’t settle.
I keep thinking of Jacob on a terrible loop—of how even he, someone who has not known me longer than a few months, could truly see me.
I’ve turned into a paranoid, anxious thing. With Everett going through all of this trouble and pain to give us our happily ever after, I feel tremendous pressure to make sure we get it.
But how can we, if someday I lash out at him and ruin it all?
It was easy before now; just being best friends gave me the right to be vague or pissy—I was never close enough to truly hurt him.
He may believe he was well within the field of my viciousness, but once you connect with someone so intimately, the possibilities only grow that much stronger.
The last thing I want to do is hurt Everett, and yet this malice inside of me is not biased. It will present itself to anyone, and apparently, despite my best efforts, at any time. I cannot control it the way I thought I could.
Jacob is a prime example.
So what am I to do? Giving Evie up is not an option. There has to be something else that can be done, and I’m overwhelmed trying to figure out what that something else might be.
I will have to debate this thoroughly another time, though, as I spot Everett leaning against the entrance to Angie’s.
He looks amazing—dressed simply enough that he doesn’t look out of place but still put together in his blue jeans and his long-sleeve button-up. His blond hair is tousled, and it must be an intentional choice since there’s no wind today.
Everett is watching his Converse tap against the concrete, his hands fiddling with the ends of his shirt. Is he… nervous? Surely not.
We have frequented this diner together more times than I can count in the past four years. Our booth is engraved with a million memories—all of the staff knows us. But this is our first date, and if I’m honest, I’m a bit nervous myself.
How do I act? Is it fine for us to continue on just being Sky and Evie, and not something new in the presence of our romantic developments?
I guess I’ll find out today.
Everett’s head lifts as I approach, his eyes lighting up at the sight of me. His body language shifts into something more relaxed, the stress lines on his skin smoothing.
I think I’ve already found my answer: things are as they always have been, and how they always should be. It’s just us. Together.
“Good morning,” I greet, stepping in front of him.
Everett smirks. “It’s noon.”
“Yes, well, one of us has been up since seven, and I’m pretty sure it’s not you.”
“Keep dogging on me,” he starts, reaching out to run a hand through my hair, “and I’ll be forced to remind you of how you cried once puberty hit.”
Fucking asshole. The only downside to dating your childhood best friend? They know everything about you.
Or, in my case, mostly everything.
“Do that, and I’ll tell everybody that you measured your dick every other day our freshman year of high school,” I shoot back.
Everett only grins harder, taking my hand in his as he drags us inside the diner and toward our booth.
I figured it might feel at least a little weird to be so openly together for the first time, but it truly doesn’t. My claim on Evie predates our shift toward romance, so it feels no different now to declare it in this new light.
Everett is mine, just as he always has been.
“Boys,” Jenny coos, approaching our booth. “You want your usual?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Everett replies smoothly.
“How are things? How is school?” Her eyes dart between us expectantly.
“It’s good,” I tell her. “We had a few finals this morning, and I’m pretty confident about them.”
“Me too.”
“That’s great!” Jenny shouts. “I’ll get ya a milkshake, on the house. You need to celebrate!”
She scurries away, scribbling on her notepad and sliding the paper through the window to the cook.
“She’s like a doting grandma,” Evie observes, smiling after her fondly.
“She’s known us for a long time,” I add.
Everett turns his attention to me, and in his eyes and his soft smile, I can see every version of ourselves that has existed together.
Here at this booth, running down the dock to jump into the ocean waves, sitting on my bed as we studied. We have lived this same day a million times, over and over again, side by side.
I will never get enough of it. There will never come a day when I look across the table and wish to see another face.
“What are you thinking about so seriously?” Everett asks, raising a brow.
“Oh, nothing. I’m just reminiscing about that time you slipped on your dirty laundry and blooded your nose.”
He groans, rolling his eyes at me. “You’re so mean.”
I am, and Everett doesn’t realize the depth to which it saturates inside of me.
Soon enough, Jenny brings our food to the table, and our conversation is cut short. She places a basket of chicken strips and fries before me as her eyes catch where Everett has intertwined our hands over the tabletop.
“What is…” She pauses, flickering her curious gaze between the two of us. “Oh! And this whole time I thought you two were best friends!”
She laughs, laying a hand over her heart.
“What do you mean?” Everett asks, clearly oblivious to what she’s seeing as he stares at his food hungrily.
“I just wasn’t aware that you two were dating! It’s so nice to see young couples these days.”
Everett freezes, his hand gripping mine so fiercely that I can feel his pulse. I think his idea that being far away from Rockhill means we’re free to be as we are is starting to fall apart right before his very eyes.
“Thanks, Jenny,” I cut in. “We aren’t really screaming it to all the citizens of Sinclair quite yet, though.”
She nods quickly, bringing her fingers to her lips to mime that her mouth is sealed. “Oh, yes! Of course! I won’t tell a soul.”
With a wink, she disappears once more, and Everett’s grip on my poor fingers loosens.
“Thank you,” he breathes out, releasing me completely so that he can eat.
“No big deal,” I murmur.
We eat in silence for a while, our shoes bumping underneath the table. The calm chatter of the diner is creating a nice atmosphere as I steal glances at Everett existing before me.
This is nice. It’s exactly the same as every other time we’ve sat in this very booth, and it’s nice.
As Everett cleans his plate, he clears his throat, suddenly leveling me with a hesitant expression. “So, I wanted to talk to you about… Well, about my plan.”
Oh. I was not expecting this to be on our date itinerary.
“I’m pretty sure you won’t want to hear most of my opinions on the matter,” I respond bluntly, shoving another fry into my mouth.
Some of the ketchup drips onto the basket in front of me.
“I’m not asking for your opinion on the actual plan, as much as the after,” he explains. “I want to make sure, before the time comes, that you will do it.”
I stop midbite, asking, “Do what?”
“That you’ll come with me. That we can run away together.”
All of the chatter, the clanking of silverware, the shouting of the cook, are suddenly sucked out of the diner. It is just Evie and I, stuck in this silent moment.
I hadn’t truly considered my response before now. Sure, I pondered what I should do, but not what I would say if he asked. And now he’s asking, looking at me with those sweet, honey eyes, and I’m frozen.
“Um… I….” My voice trails off, my eyes falling to the bit of food I have left.
“I know it’s sudden,” he rushes out. “But I think we could find a nice place and live there, you know?”
“I have to take my RN exam after I graduate, Evie.” The words leave me in a soft, scared whisper.
“I know! But can’t you take that anywhere?”
“Yes, I can. But I have to register for my nursing license in the state I want to work in before I can take it. It’s locational.”
His face falls, his body slumping against his seat. “Oh. So you… So you have to stay in Florida?”
“Yes. For now, I want to work in Florida.” I watch him, his sorrow flooding into my body through the cord that connects our souls. “I’m sorry, Evie. I…”
“Wait! We can still live in Florida; let’s just move to the opposite side! Let’s head to Tallahassee!” He’s excited once more, bouncing in place as he grins at me.
Tallahassee? That wouldn’t… Actually, that wouldn’t be so bad. I could still get my license and visit home occasionally.
Making a decision like this on the fly probably isn’t the best idea, but I also know that my love for Everett runs deep, and as long as it doesn’t affect my future, I think I’d follow him anywhere.
I guess in the end, that means this isn’t much of a decision at all, is it?
Everett stares back at me, his smile twitching as the nerves settle in.
I grab his hand again. “In our forties, let’s move somewhere cold, okay? Like Maine or Washington.”
I watch as his eyes light up, and he whispers, “Is that a yes? Will you really run away with me, puppy?”
“I want to be wherever you are,” I reply, just as quietly.
And I think that might be getting to him more than saying I loved him did, because a fire ignites inside of him, turning him visibly red and antsy.
He grips me tighter, leaning over the table to say, “I want to kiss you so badly.”
I laugh, pulling my hand from his to finish my lunch. “Can I finish eating first, Romeo?”
“Alright, alright,” he concedes.
A few minutes pass, and Jenny brings us our milkshakes. We drink them, talking about nothing and everything, and simply enjoying each other.
As we move to leave, Everett pays the bill despite my protesting, and the humid December air flushes my cheeks as we walk into the parking lot.
“Should we go see a movie?” he asks me, gripping my hand in his once more.
“Boring,” I deadpan, shifting closer to his side.
“Alright. What about the beach? We could go sit at the dock for a while.”
“Okay. We get two hours, and then we’re going home to study. We still have finals tomorrow, remember?” I give him a pointed look as he turns to face me.
“Right, right. I remember.”
Everett is staring at my mouth, his eyes glazed and his own lips parted slightly. I know what he wants to do, and I attempt to prepare myself for it as he leans in.
No amount of anticipation could ever prepare me for his kisses. Sure, his mere presence calms me and puts my mind at ease, but the bliss? The pleasure? The simple joy of touching him?
It will always awe me—shaking me to my core.
He tugs on my hand, pulling me flush against him as his tongue pushes its way into my mouth. It traces my teeth, under my own tongue, and against the inside of my cheeks.
He’s memorizing me; he’s tasting as much of my mouth as he can manage.
I’m breathing desperately through my nose, gripping his sleeve with the hand not intertwined with his as I try to keep from making a single noise.
This kiss is so intense on his end that I’m not even moving. I’m doing nothing at all as he devours my mouth. His hand tangles into my hair, angling my head back to delve deeper into my mouth.
A strangled, pleading noise leaves me, and Everett groans in response.
But we’re still in front of Angie’s, and the windows are quite large, so I pull away from him.
“Evie,” I pant out. “L-let’s go to the beach.”
Everett places one last soft, chaste kiss against my lips. “Okay. Let’s go.”
Whether it be here or in Tallahassee, I will never give this up. I will work to manage my anger and find a way to become a version of myself that Everett can call his equal.
I love him too much for there to be another option, and though he has not said it yet, I believe he loves me just as much.
We head toward the beach, and I watch the world around me as it exists just for us—to give us another moment, just like this one.