Chapter 39
At the first rays of the morning sun I’d left our improvised bed and gathered up my clothes.
Vince wasn’t awake; he just gave a light sigh as I slipped out of his arms and our sweaty, sticky bodies moved away from each other.
We’d made love one more time last night.
As opposed to our first, however, the second was quick and intense.
Afterward, we had just looked into the night sky for a while before falling asleep to the sound of the waves.
And it was the same sound that accompanied me back to Kay’s house.
The sand was still cool, the beach empty.
I was looking forward to my morning run, even though the previous night had left its mark.
My groin was aching, my lids were heavy.
But it had all been worth it. Perhaps the night with Vince had even been the best night of my life.
I had never felt anything like it. So much at the same time.
There had never been a person for whom I wanted to turn my whole life upside down.
Because at that moment I hadn’t been one hundred percent honest with him.
It would change so much for me if I got involved in a long-distance relationship with someone who lived in Hawaii.
Who wasn’t part of the tennis world. Yes, I could move my training base, but I’d have to separate from Milan.
I doubt that he would move to the other side of the world with his wife and twins because I had fallen in love.
And how my parents would react to that was also difficult for me to assess.
We were incredibly close and were used to never being apart for long.
And then there was the undeniable fact that the island was miles away from anywhere in the world.
It took five hours by plane alone to get to the American mainland.
Eleven to New York. And yet there was this voice inside me telling me that it was doable.
We could do it. Vince and me. The voice was loud as I made my way along the beach.
And a little quieter as I took the stairs up to Kay’s house. But it was there and wasn’t going away.
* * *
“How’s Laurie doing?” Gabe asked. “She recover a bit from the shock?”
I was lying face down on the table and doing my best not to drift off. Training had been tough, had taken everything I had.
“Yeah, she slept fourteen hours straight.” I’d texted with her a little during my break. “How did you find out about it?”
“Holden Chipman told me this morning.”
“Is that…”
“Griffin and Tristan’s dad. He’s the head of Ocean Security.”
“Oh, right.” I remembered what Chip had told me about his dad at the barbecue. And yesterday his name had come up in relation to the empty lifeguard tower.
“And my neighbor,” Gabe added.
“The Chipmans are your neighbors?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“Yep.”
“And you talk to them?” I blurted out and immediately regretted it.
“Why wouldn’t I?”
I swallowed. “Well, I just thought, I mean…Kay had mentioned…”
“Holden and Dana are good people. My kids spent a lot of time with them. Their house was like a second home for Keiko and Millie.”
It was the first time I had heard him say Keiko’s name.
“What happened wasn’t their fault,” he added softly.
But Chip’s? I didn’t say it. Gabe was also pushing my right heel toward my bottom, and I let out a groan.
“You’re really tense today. What’s up?”
Thank God on was lying on my stomach so he couldn’t see how red I’d turned.
“Dunno.”
“You shouldn’t have dropped our appointment yesterday.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I replied understandingly.
He repeated the movement with my left heel, which proved to be no less intense.
“We just missed each other the other night, by the way.” No idea why I was bringing that up. “You were just leaving as I was coming back from Vince’s.”
He stopped for a second but didn’t say anything. I gathered up all my courage. “Can I ask you something, Gabe?”
“Hmm.”
“Why aren’t you together? You and Kay?”
I heard him take a slow breath and then let it back out.
“It’s impossible not to see that there’s something there,” I went on timidly.
“That so?” he murmured, and I wasn’t sure what he was referring to.
“For me it is.”
“You can turn over.”
I wasn’t counting on him having anything else to say on the topic, which is why I was so surprised when he did. With an expression somewhere between brooding and regretful.
“Kay and I… It’s complicated.”
“Complicated doesn’t have to be bad,” I replied, thinking of me and Vince.
He looked at me pensively. “No, it doesn’t. But…you’ve got to be ready for that.”