“Hey, Ms. Harris!” he calls back, shaking his head with a smile.
He gives me a quick peck and leads me down the steps. Once we get inside his car, Chase tangles our fingers together, kissing the back of my hand twice before placing our hands on my knee. Comfortable silence fills the car while he taps his thumb on mine to the beat of the music on the radio. The oldies station filters through several upbeat popular tunes before playing the slow ballad I sang at the outdoor bar a week ago. I look out the window, watching neighborhood trees give way to ocean waves, thinking about everything that has happened in a week.
“Hey,” he says with a gentle squeeze of my hand. “What’s got you thinkin’ over there?”
“Just…this song,” I say.
“It’s the same one from the bar.” He nods, smiling over at me.
“You remember it?”
“How could Inotremember it? I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever forget.” He pulls our hands up to his lips, pecking kisses on my thumb before setting them back down on the center console. It’s cute and romantic, and even though this is a new thing, I like the little ways he touches me. I feel desired. It makes me feel like maybe Ashlie was right, and thiscouldend well.
Despite it being prime tourist time, the beach is nearly empty. Sparkling pebbles glimmer in the sunshine as we walk hand in hand along the beach. “So where did all these crystals come from?” Chase asks, stooping to fill his hand with the stones and letting them sift through his fingers.
“Garbage.” I sit down on a nearby boulder at the water’s edge, taking off my shoes and letting the waves tickle my toes.
“Garbage?”
“Yeah. Literal trash. This place used to be a dumping site.”
He tilts his head, eyeing me with a skeptical look. “How does garbage turn into crystals? Are you messing with me?”
“Nope. It’s glass from old broken bottles that were dumped off boats at sea. The sand and sea water smooths out the glass and deposits it back onto the shore.”
He studies the pebbles in his hand, letting them sift back down to the ground through his fingers. “They’re so small, though. Shouldn’t there be bigger pieces?”
“There used to be a lot more, but tourists kept taking them as souvenirs. Now it’s illegal to take glass or anything else from this beach, but the damage has already been done. Tourists leave with something shiny, and all we’re left with are tiny pebbles.”
“What a shame. There’s something about the ocean taking trash and turning it into treasure that feels poetic. Magical. It fits Fort Bender perfectly.” He stands, wiping his hands on his jeans as he comes to sit next to me.
“Speaking of magic, Bender lore says the blue glass is the rarest to find on the beach. Whoever finds a blue pebble will have all their dreams come true.”
“But…” he says, pulling me close and nuzzling my nose. “My dreams have already come true…”
“Thatwas the cheesiest line you’ve fed me yet,” I say with a giggle.
He leans down and kisses me until the smile wipes off my face. It starts off slowly, but soon, we’re grasping at each other, chests heaving as we sit here in this beautiful place, water lapping at our feet. When we pull apart, our noses stay snuggled together as his thumb caresses my side.
“I missed you today.”
“Oh yeah? What did you miss?” I arch my brow.
“Everything. I’ve gotten used to being around you.”
“Me too,” I whisper, leaning in for another kiss.
After a while, he sighs, pulling back enough to say, “We could skip family dinner tonight…”
“And miss hearing embarrassing stories about you? Not a chance.”
“I haven’t embarrassed myself enough around you? Now you need sources?”
“Yep.” I pat his thigh before wiggling on my shoes and standing. “Sources and references. Maybe a bibliography too. Have to make sure you’re fully vetted.” I wink, and he laughs as he slips his hand into mine.
This feels good, spending time with Chase and letting myself like him without restraint. Opening up to him—sharing about Evan and letting him into my world just a little—has tunneled out some capacity to be at ease around him. The nerves I used to feel have turned down to a low, manageable simmer. He told me he would spend the summer falling for me, but I think, unwittingly, I’ve been falling for him too.
“Kayla…”Chase says from the seat next to me, breaking up the pleasant “what if” thoughts that have been scrolling through my mind the last several minutes of our drive. I blink, shaking my head to clear the haze and realize we’ve pulled up to The Bluffs Estates.
