14. Gavin
Gavin
“So, how did breakfast go?” I ask Emmett as he starts taking off his clothes, revealing his black board shorts underneath.
“It was good. We caught up, drank, reminisced. It was nice.”
“Good,” I sigh. “I’m glad it was good. I’m sure some classic Emmett time was exactly what she needed.”
“Emmett time is good for everyone.” He winks, getting comfortable on the towel next to me.
“What are you two up to?” Alexa questions, eying the two of us.
“Anything you want, honey,” Emmett replies.
“Ignoring that.” She holds her hand up to Emmett’s face, and turns her attention to me. “Did you send your brother to spy on Dani?”
“What? No! Breakfast was his idea, remember? You were there last night when they made plans.” I pause and let the next words escape in one breath.
“We may have discussed after you left how we can get her to realize Sam’s a piece of shit and she should dump his ass, so Emmett used this morning to plant the seed. ” I hide behind my hands.
“Gavin! You can’t do that! She’s smart. She’s going to realize what you’re doing—” She looks around for a moment and turns to Emmett. “But how did it go?”
“It actually went well.” He shrugs. “She definitely has doubts.”
“Whoa,” Alexa and I both say.
“How the hell did you get that out of her?” Alexa says. “I’m her best friend and constantly get the brave face routine.”
“Emmett has a superpower,” I say. “Somehow, he can get people to be really vulnerable around him, and then he hits them with the tough love.”
“Remind me to stay away from you,” she says.
“The fact is, she’s here, which is progress already,” Emmett starts. “But I’ve gotta go back to Pennsylvania tomorrow. It’s on you guys to keep the small gap in the window open. Get her going out more. If she keeps hiding inside, the window is going to close.”
As we start brainstorming more weekend activities, Dani makes her way back over.
My chest tightens, and heat creeps up my neck the moment I see her.
She’s in a black one-piece swimsuit, held together by loose laces up both sides that reveal glimpses of skin between the crisscrosses.
A thin strap wraps around her neck, lifting her breasts just enough to create a curve, and I can’t look away.
Every nerve in my body is suddenly aware of her.
I subtly move my book over my lap, because there’s no hiding my growing erection.
“Alexa Li!” Dani yells. “I’m going to kill you!”
“No, you’re not. Because you look hot!” She smiles back.
“You know I don’t wear stuff like this. What were you thinking?”
“That you’re your own worst critic and it’s time to show off your hot bod. Help me out, boys.”
“If you weren’t my soul sister, I’d take you home.” Emmett grins.
“See?” Alexa yells.
“Sam’s a lucky guy,” I say.
What the fuck is wrong with me? Of all the things to say, that’s what comes out of my mouth? Apparently, Alexa and Emmett can read my mind because I have two death glares coming my way.
Dani offers me a small smile.
Emmett leans close to me, whispering, “You know what I’m thinking?”
“Hmm?”
“I think these girls need to cool off a bit.” He winks.
“You’re really trying to piss them off, aren’t you?” I shake my head.
“Hey, I leave tomorrow. You get to deal with the fallout. I’ll take Alexa, you take Dani?” Emmett holds out his closed fist.
“Fine.” I bump his fist with mine in agreement.
“One, two, three!”
We spring to our feet and scoop the girls onto our shoulders, fireman-style, laughing as they scream and kick the whole way to the waterline.
“Put me down!” Dani yells, pounding her fists against my back, while Alexa shrieks, flailing wildly. I’m laughing so hard I can barely keep my balance.
Emmett and I charge into the waves, cold water slapping our legs and spraying in all directions. We toss the girls in once it’s deep enough to hit our chests. They pop up moments later, laughing and sputtering.
“Oh, you’re so dead,” Alexa deadpans, swiping wet hair from her face. She glances at Dani, and when they share a conspiratorial nod and grin, I realize they’re not actually mad.
Before I can react, Dani leaps onto my back while Alexa flings herself at Emmett, both trying to knock us into the surf.
The thrill of having Dani pressed close in her tiny swimsuit makes my chest tighten in the best way.
I don’t even try to fight her. She topples me backward, and we’re pulled under together, water churning around us.
The force of the waves spins us, and Dani ends up straddling my front.
For a moment, the chaos of the ocean fades, and it’s just the two of us suspended in time.
I can’t open my eyes, but I don’t need to.
I can feel her. My hand drifts up, fingers tangling in her hair, and pull her forehead to mine.
My thumb brushes along her cheek, and I let myself feel it all—the warmth of her skin, the soft weight of her against me, the surge of emotions I’ve tried to keep buried for years.
I finally open my eyes, not caring about the sting of salt water.
Her eyes are closed, and for the first time since she reentered my life, she looks completely at peace.
And she’s not pulling away. My pulse quickens at the quiet intimacy of it.
At the closeness I’ve longed for but never thought I’d get again. I want to stay here forever.
But the world has other plans. She shifts, unwraps her legs, and pushes off the ocean floor, making her way to the surface. I follow her up, my heart still hammering with the memory of the moment we just shared.
“You guys all good?” Alexa asks. “You were down there for a bit.”
“Uh, yeah,” Dani says, refusing to look at me. “Just enjoying the water. But I’m gonna go back to the stuff. I need to take a breather. You guys have fun out here.”
She starts to make her way back to the shore, still refusing to even look my way. Once she’s out of earshot, Alexa turns and glares. “What the hell just happened?” she demands.
“Uh, well—” I start.
“How could you have fucked this up in the last five minutes?” Alexa shouts.
“Have you met Gavin?” Emmett cracks.
“She was happy. She was in a good headspace. What. Did. You. Do?”
Remind me never to get on Alexa’s bad side again. It’s not a fun place to be.
“We may have kinda had a moment under the water,” I murmur.
Alexa’s eyes widen.
“Nothing physical happened,” I quickly add.
“Well, something freaked her out. Bad.”
“Oh, bro,” Emmett sighs. “Tell me you didn’t.”
“I told you nothing physical happened!”
“The only thing that would have Dani freaked out that much, and isn’t technically physical, would be if you did the forehead thing.”
“Forehead thing?” Alexa asks.
“Yeah, what forehead thing?” I scrunch my eyebrows towards my brother.
“You really don’t know? How do I know about this, and you don’t?” Emmett throws his hands up in frustration but keeps going.
“Dani has always admitted she’s not a very physical person, especially when she’s stressed.
You always respected that about her when you were together.
Whenever she needed to calm down, you tried everything you could think of, but nothing worked.
Hugs made her feel claustrophobic, and talking just sent her spiraling.
“So, you came up with the forehead thing. It was your way of telling her everything would be okay without saying a word. Somehow, it was the one thing she could handle when she was most stressed. Maybe it was because it was you—I don’t know.
She told me that when you did that, she could feel your entire emotional connection in that one small gesture.
She knew how much you loved her and that everything was going to be alright. It just… became your thing.”
Fuck.
“Holy shit,” Alexa whispers.
“I had no idea.” My voice is quiet, struggling to find my next words.
“It’s no surprise she freaked out if you did that. She probably thinks it means something,” Emmett says.
“Of course it means something. You guys know how I feel about her. I just… didn’t know it meant something. I guess it was muscle memory to do it. My only thought in that moment was being close to her.”
“That act to Dani is more intimate than anything physical, in the common sense, you could have done. You could have kissed her, and she probably wouldn’t have freaked out as much.”
“I need to go talk to her,” I say, making my way back to the shore.
Dani is lying facedown on a towel, and I falter the second I see her.
She looks breathtaking, every line of her body illuminated by the sun.
For a moment, I imagine leaning over, tracing kisses down her exposed back, teasing her until she squirms, but I shake the thoughts away.
It’s not just desire, it’s the ache of missing her, the memory of how close we once were.
I brace myself and settle beside her, letting my presence speak for what I can’t say aloud.
“Can we talk?”
She turns her head to face me. Her eyes lined red as if she’s been crying.
“Dani—”
“I don’t want to talk about it, Gavin.”
“We need to. I’m so sorry. I crossed a line out there. It wasn’t fair of me to put you in that position. I got caught up and I’m sorry. I promise it won’t happen again. Your friendship is too important to me.”
“Gavin,” she sighs. “This isn’t our first close call. Maybe we just can’t be friends.”
Hearing the words sends a knife through my heart.
“Dani, I promise, no more close calls. You have my word. I meant what I said when I first showed up here. I would rather have you in my life as my friend than not at all. Please. This little group we have—you, me, Alexa, even Emmett when he’s in town—it’s the happiest I’ve been in a really long time. Let me prove to you I’m serious.”
She stops to think for a while, sitting up and turning to face the ocean. She watches Alexa and Emmett play in the water. But I watch her, internally begging her not to end this friendship we’ve built.