“And?” Abby interrupted.
“Hekissedme,” Kelsi confessed in a rush.
“Shut the fuck up! And you’re on the phone with me and not in his bedwhy?”
“Abby, we literally just started really talking to each other again. We can’t fall into bed together like the past four years are behind us or never happened.”No matter how much I wish we could.
“Ehh fine, fine, that will come later. But remember, my shovel is ready and at your disposal.” Abby paused for a second, then added, “Get it? Disposal? Like, body disposal?”
“I got it, Abs,” Kelsi said dryly.
“Okay, kill my buzz why don’t ya. But seriously, are you going to text him later?”
“No, I think I’ll wait and see him tomorrow. I don’t want to push anything too fast.”
“Fair, but you’ve also known each other your entire lives. I don’t think you can move slower than you two have. You’re practically glacial.”
“Fine.” Kelsi reluctantly chuckled because, well, Abby did have a point. “But I’m still not pushing anything further tonight. He’s out with his friends and I have an early morning anyway.”
“Okay, play it safe, I guess. If I don’t see you in the morning, good luck babes!”
“Thanks, Abs. I hope you get a good and incriminating photo of your subject tonight.”
“Oh, I will! Love you!”
“Love you too.” Kelsi hung up, chuckling again as she locked her phone and grabbed her oversized brown leather work purse off the passenger seat before stepping out of the car. Kelsi lockedit behind her and stood in the driveway for a minute, breathing in the faintly salty air.
Virginia Beach was far enough away from major cities that there was minimal light pollution, and many stars were visible in the sky, though it had nothing on the stargazing in Oyster Shoals.
She loved these moments. There was something about the vastness and beauty of the universe being more evident that made her own problems feel small, like she could almost forget they existed.
Unfortunately, that night was overcast, and she was only able to catch glimpses of the Big Dipper and Orion and the waning moon when the clouds drifted and parted for brief moments.
Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, relaxing in the beautiful night before once again resuming her walk to Abby’s front door. She thought about what Abby had said earlier.Should I go for it?
Smiling to herself, she decided she was done living her life in fear of being hurt. It was past time for her to fully seize the moment and be honest with herself and, most of all, Dylan. It had been amazing having him back in her life the past few weeks, resuming the friendship she hadn’t realized she’d so dearly missed. After kissing him tonight, she knew she never wanted to go back to a life without him. Being in his arms had felt like finally coming home, and not because they were both back in Oyster Shoals.
It was all because of Dylan—hewas her home.
After locking the front door behind her, she pulled her phone out and typed a message to him quickly.
Kelsi: See you tomorrow :)
Her phone chimed with a response only a few moments later.
Dylan: Counting the seconds until then, Red.
She fell asleep smiling.
* * *
She floated through the morning, pulling on her lucky green suit and spritzing herself with perfume. She took extra care with her makeup and hair, twisting it into a simple but elegant knot at the base of her neck, with Dylan in mind more than the jurors.
Back in Virginia Beach, Kelsi easily fell into her regular pretrial ritual and headed to the cafe by the courthouse to grab herself a coffee and Dina’s favorite croissant again. She always had nervous jitters before a trial and liked to be at the courthouse early enough to go over her notes a couple times to prepare for the opening statements.
The parking lot was mostly empty, only a handful of cars sporadically parked throughout, so she had her choice of parking spots. She pulled into a spot close to the entrance and climbed out, securing her work bag over her shoulder cross-body style and holding her phone and the paper to-go bag with Dina’s croissant in one hand.
Kelsi locked her car and walked six paces toward the front steps before she heard her name shouted from somewhere behind her. She spun on the spot and looked around the parking lot in the hazy morning sunlight, searching for who else was here this early and yelling for her. Her stomach soured and she crossed her arms, lightly scrunching the paper bag under one,when she saw the man striding across the empty spaces in her direction.
