I raise a teasing brow. “Oh, is that the only reason?”
He shakes his head, leaning down until his forehead is pressing against mine, one of his hands coming up until his thumb is sweeping my cheekbone. “No… Because I’m wholly in love with you. Because when I’m not around you, I want to be. Because this road trip feels likeours. It wouldn’t have felt right finishing it without you.”
As he finishes, there’s a sudden realization that has me biting back a smile. I can’t remember the last time he stuttered. He used to be this guy who couldn’t even keep eye contact with me for more than a few seconds, and now…
“No stuttering,” I say.
“What?”
“You don’t stutter anymore, you know that?”
Tate blinks a few times as he registers my words. “I… I guess I didn’t even notice. I told you, Mae. You make me feel comfortable. It doesn’t come out unless I’m nervous. Or anxious.”
“And you keep eye contact now,” I muse.
At that, his eyes fall to the floor and his cheeks flush pink—a sight I haven’t seen in a few weeks. With a snicker, I push up on my tiptoes and press a soft kiss to his cheekbone, feeling the warmth under my lips, before plopping back on the balls of my feet and wrapping my arms around him in a hug.
“I love you, Clark,” I tell him.
“I love you, pretty girl.”
As we stand there, embracing for a while, I realize just how much he’s changed me, too. Before him, I had stopped smiling; the moments I did were becoming more and more futile as time passed. There wasn’t much that brought me the kind of happiness required to crack a smile. Before him, I was close to forgetting what it felt like to belly laugh. What it felt like not to have to wear my mask all the time. What it felt like to just exist comfortably in my own skin.
The chains around my wrists put there by Landon were gone. I wasn’t shackled by the weight of him anymore. I wasn’t convinced I was a broken, unfixable girl who didn’t deserve anyone as amazing as Tatum.
Now I know that I’m the only one who does.
He was made for me.
He’s mine.
EPILOGUE
TATUM
Monday, July 4th
Laguna Beach is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. I’d only ever been to one beach before in Seattle, but it was along Lake Washington, so it wasn’t nearly as stunning as this. Blue water, sunny skies, and the ocean breeze, with an abundance of flower gardens and palm trees. An entire month in this paradise with the girl that I’m head over heels for.
Maeve’s family rented out this beach house for the summer, a white brick oasis overlooking the ocean with an entire pool and jacuzzi attached. There are stairs leading right down to the beach, so you really only ever have to leave if you need groceries. Otherwise, everything you need is right here. We’ve been here for a few days already, and each day has consisted of tanning on the daybeds and night walks on the beach.
After about seven months of being together, Maverick and Mateo have finally warmed up to me, a different reaction compared to the last time we’d seen each other. Maeve really wasn’t lying when she said it would be nonstop competitive beer pong games, but it was entertaining to watch the three of them taking it so seriously and getting into a fight every other round.
“Hey,” Maeve’s voice pulls me from the sun setting over the waves, the sky illuminated in hues of orange and pink, “where’d you go?”
Her arms wrap around my shoulders from behind as she presses a kiss to my neck, and I twist to look down at her as she falls back on the balls of her feet. Freckles dot her nose in the summertime, her skin tanned from the sun, and her cheeks slightly pink.
“I’m right here,” I assure her, leaning down to peck her full lips.
“I was calling your name, but you didn’t answer.” She fake pouts as she speaks. “Where is your head at?”
“It’s with you,” I whisper, bringing my hand up to caress her protruding lips with my thumb. “It’s always with you.”
Her faux sulking disappears as a smile takes its place. She takes my hand in hers as she moves it further back to cup her face, and she leans into it for a second as she blinks up at me.
“I have something to tell you.”
My heart skips at that.
