“Yeah.” My hand sped up, and my balls tightened. “I’m gonna?—”
“Yes,” he breathed out.
And between one heartbeat and the next, I let go. It wasn’t like the orgasm I’d had in his arms, with his hand on me—finger inside me. It wasn’t the same as being able to share his breath and feel his heart beating against my own.
But being able to hear him ragged and coming apart was enough for the moment. I could be patient. There was so much more for us in the future.
“Wow,” Creek said after a long moment of catching our breaths.
I laughed and fumbled for my discarded T-shirt to clean myself up. “Yeah.”
“It’ll be better with you,” he murmured.
I smiled as I tossed the soiled fabric across the room, then curled up on my side, holding the phone close. “You’ll have me soon,” I told him.
He sighed quietly. “I really like the sound of that.”
So did I. God help me. I fought back a yawn and lost, and he laughed as my jaw popped loud enough to be picked up by the receiver. “I’m wrecked.”
“Me too,” he said. There was a heavy pause, and I waited for him to speak again. “Listen, if I’m quiet over the next couple of days, just know it’s not you. Okay? This is all new for me, and I’m adjusting the best I can. Nash told me that all of this might make me an asshole sometimes, and I’m done taking my shit out on you. So please be patient with me.”
“I’ll be anything you need me to be,” I promised, meaning every word. When I yawned again, he chuckled. “Sorry. I think I’m going to knock out, like, in the next ten seconds.”
“I’ll let you get your rest,” he told me softly. “I miss your face, Point Break.”
God, I never thought I’d want to hear that little nickname again, but now it was spoken with waves of affection, and somehow, I loved it. “I miss yours, Sergeant Grumpy. I’ll be here if you need me, and I’ll see you soon.”
“Good night, darlin’.”
“Good night.” I couldn’t bring myself to hang up, so I just let myself drift to the sound of his slowly evening breaths.
Creek was not as MIA as I’d expected him to be over the next two days. I had work to occupy me. Finals were coming up, so I had to create the fitness test, along with the Health and Wellness exam. Plus, I had volunteered for the graduation committee while waiting to hear if I would be assigned prom duty, so I was definitely distracted.
But in the small moments of silence, there were text messages from him that got me through my day. Photos ofthings he’d seen on his daily walks, a couple of selfies, to which I responded with several red-faced, sweaty ones from my workouts. I went to the beach the day before our date and sent him a couple of shots of some seals that had decided to join the surfers, and I had Kaleo take a video of me catching a couple of ankle slappers and wiping out on the sand like a damn grommet.
I figured it would give him a chuckle, and maybe it did, but Creek just sent back a wall of hearts, which made my own beat harder in my chest.
“You look happy,” Kaleo said, dropping down next to me in the sand.
I was lying on my back next to my freshly waxed board, my leg off and my stump drawing soft circles in the sand. The sensation was slightly uncomfortable but not as bad after all my work desensitizing it. I could feel his eyes on my leg, but he was one of the few people who didn’t make me feel like some sideshow exhibit.
“I think I am happy,” I admitted. The feeling in my chest hadn’t gone away. Nothing had cooled, even after not seeing Creek over the last few days. “It’s weird.”
Kaleo laughed and nudged my knee. “You used to be.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. I’d been content, and I’d had moments of happiness, but it had never been like this. It had always felt like something was missing. I could smile and laugh and make people feel good about themselves because that was what I was good at, but there were still big spaces inside me waiting to be filled.
After a single date, Creek wasn’t doing any of that, but I could feel the potential. And that mattered.
“I have a date,” I told him.
“With the guy I sent the video to? The asshole Army guy?”
“I may have misjudged him,” I hedged.
Kaleo laughed and rolled his eyes. “No shit. Well, I’m happy for you, brah. You deserve a good guy.”
It made me feel good to know I didn’t have to defend Creek even after all the complaining I’d done about him. I was riding high on a small surfing success—because getting on my board at all was everything, and then knowing that tomorrow, I’d be seeing Creek again.
