I spot him almost immediately. Of course I do. It’s like we’re tuned to the same frequency, even when we’re not speaking. Maybe that’s just what happens when you’ve spent more than half your life tangled up—emotionally, physically, chaotically—with someone.
Still, despite feeling less unraveled than I did earlier, I feel them, the moment I see him.
Butterflies.
Honestly, they should know better by now.
He’s leaning against one of the wooden posts near the fountain, looking effortlessly... edible. A short-sleeved button-down shirt, open at the collar, and clean slacks. No jacket, no tie. Just relaxed confidence and sun-kissed forearms.
It feels like a first date.
But not with someone new—with someone I used to know, and maybe… don’t fully know anymore.
I start walking toward him, and I feel it—that quiet pull between us. The way his eyes are on me.
Not just watching. Admiring.
And just like that, I’m hyper-aware of everything:
The soft brush of fabric against my hips.
The sway of the dress as I move.
The fact that… I’m not wearing anything underneath it.
I hadn’t packed for a fancy dinner tonight. And the bottoms of my swimsuit showed right through.
So here I am. Commando. In the dress he picked.
It’s weird, feeling this nervous.
Weirder still to kind of like it.
When I reach him, I clear my throat. “You went shopping?”
He doesn’t answer—just raises one brow and lets his gaze drift, slow and deliberate, back down my body. “You’re beautiful,” he says, without hesitation.
It was a compliment he’s given me hundreds of times before, but tonight, it just hits me differently.
“You look nice too.” I hike up my bag on my shoulder. “When did you?—?”
“I got a second room.”
Oh…
But it’s like he hears all my doubts.
“I wanted to give you some privacy.”
Then he takes my arm.
And, ohship.I’m feeling tingles. Everywhere.
The restaurant is set right on the beach, the outdoor patio strung with fairy lights, the sound of a mariachi band drifting over the hush of the waves.
We’re seated at a candlelit table just as the sky begins to blush pink and tangerine. We don’t say anything until the hostess finishes pouring our water and walks away.
I clear my throat.
