CHAPTER 12
COOPER
The days go by so damn fast, it feels like they’re slipping through my fingers.
Days of Li and I goofing around under the hot sun, of being inseparable, of touching all the time.
Days of having fun, of exploring the island, of eating food that looks questionable but ends up being quite good, and nights filled with midnight swims in bioluminescent waters and lying on the beach under the stars.
Days and nights I’ll never forget for as long as I live.
We’re leaving tomorrow.
That is, if we don’t cripple ourselves, or get stranded somewhere in the tropical greenery around us in the meantime.
“This is fun, isn’t it?” I shout at Liam, throwing a grin at him over my shoulder.
He rolls his eyes at me, even as he smiles back, pedaling faster so we’re right next to each other on our rented bikes.
“Oh, yeah. If we don’t count the four times we almost got lost, and the three times we almost crashed into palm trees, this is loads of fun.”
He’s not wrong.
“Oh, hush, you. No grumpy talk allowed on our last day here.”
“Is it grumpy talk when it’s true?”
“Oh my God, there’s so much wind in my ears, I can’t hear you!”
“That’s too bad, sweetheart. I was about to suggest we ditch the bikes and make out against a palm tree.”
I stay quiet for five whole seconds.
Damn him.
“Okay,” I mumble, already turning the bike off the narrow, asphalt road.
Liam is grinning when he joins me, one arm wrapping around me while he backs me slowly against aforementioned palm tree.
“So you could actually hear me.”
“Maybe. Can you repeat it, just to make sure I heard right?”
He swoops in and kisses the living daylights out of me, pining my body with his while he reduces me to a mushy mess.
I’m pretty sure he’s the one helping me stand when he pulls back.
“Was that clear enough for you?”
“Uh huh. Loud and clear. You’re welcome to repeat it any time you want, by the way.”
He flashes me a smile that makes my heart flutter violently in my chest, and I fist the material of his T-shirt tighter, holding him close.
I don’t know what kind of expression I have on my face, but Liam’s smile softens.
I’ve been feeling kind of wistful all day, the sky full of thick, gray clouds, matching my mood.
“Are you sad we’re leaving, baby?”
“Yes and no.” I shrug. “I’m sad our honeymoon is over, but I get to go home with you, and that’s all I really want.”
The wind blows a tiny bit stronger than before, ruffling Liam’s hair, blond whisps catching briefly on his eyelashes. Still, his gaze never strays from mine.
“The things you say, Coop.”
God, that rough voice.
So many tingles.
“They are the best, I know.”
He chuckles, and I join him, the sound interrupted by an ominous, distant rumble.
“Is that—”
“It is.”
“Let’s go,” I say, grabbing his hand and pulling him after me.
We hop on our bikes and make our way back, the air around us shifting from unnatural stillness, to strong gusts of wind that make the sea ripple violently.
The horizon has darkened considerably by the time we’re almost at the villa, and the air is now thick, warm, and damp, pressing heavily on our skin.
The scent of impending rain fills my senses as the clouds advance more quickly now, faster than we can pedal, the sky no longer in the orange, pink, and purple hues we got used to all these days, overwhelmed by layers of slate and charcoal gray, instead.
For a few moments, I think we’re going to make it. But when a deafening crack shakes my bones and the first drops fall on my face, I know there’s no chance of that.
The skies split in half just as we leave the bikes, and torrential rain pours down on us, soaking us to the bone in seconds.
Liam and I freeze, staring at each other like we don’t know what just happened even though we’re literally still breathing hard from trying to outrun this for the past ten minutes.
The laugh that bursts out of me catches me by surprise. I’m not even sure why I’m laughing when my thighs are burning from pushing myself too hard, when my body is starting to shiver something fierce.
Or maybe I know exactly why I’m laughing in the middle of a tropical storm.
I’m happy, and the reason is standing right in front of me, looking at me like I’m too good to be true, taking my hand and pulling me inside our room to get me out of the downpour.
My Li.
We’re dripping all over the floor when we’re inside, the glass doors still open, letting in the sound of the pouring rain.
My laugh fades, and the drumming beat of my heart drowns out all other sounds when Liam comes closer, his eyes roaming over my face and shivering body.
“Are you cold?”
I nod.
“Warm me up?”
I smile when he exhales shakily.
“Let’s get you out of those clothes, sweetheart.”
His touch is so gentle as he strips us both down to our boxer-briefs, making sure to towel off any excess water from my hair.
Rough, filthy-mouthed Liam sets my entire being on fire.
But gentle, soft Liam makes my soul sing.
He gathers me into his embrace, his skin warm despite the cold rain that just drenched us, and I sigh when that warmth seeps into me, making all shivers seize.
“I suppose you can check tropical storm off your list,” he mutters, amusement dancing in his eyes.
“Definitely.” I cuddle closer.
“I love the rain,” he rasps, his breath puffing against my temple before I feel his lips.
“You do?”
“Mhm...” His fingers run up and down my arm, and I’m trembling for a completely different reason this time. “It was raining when I first realized I was in love with you when we were just sixteen. And it was raining when we kissed for the first time. How can I not love it?”
My heartbeat stutters, and I lift my eyes to his, needing to see it—to see the love I know will be staring back at me from that forest-green gaze of his.
I don’t say anything, unable to speak for a while, but I crane my neck to kiss him, my hand threading in his still-wet hair, keeping his mouth on mine.
He parts my lips, and I feel it all—our past as best friends who got in all sorts of trouble together, and our future as partners who love each other more than anything.
It’s all there, in that raw kiss.
It’s all there.
“Hey, Li?”
“Yeah, Coop?”
“Where do you see yourself in five years?”
His eyes widen, and I wait. I wait for the realization to set in, for him to remember the last time I asked him the same thing, back when we were eighteen and I didn’t know if he’d save a place in his life for me.
Fierce love floods his gaze.
“With you,” he says simply, and it’s enough. More than enough.
It’s everything.
“Wanna go to the arcade when we go home?” he asks, a playful smile curling his lips that only grows bigger when I crawl on top of him.
“With hot dogs and ice-cream?”
The storm rages on outside, but I can only hear Liam’s heart beating beneath mine.
“Uh huh.”
My grin matches his when I lean in.
“It’s a date.”