I shrugged. The memory was gone. All I could smell was salt and sea.
Charley waggled her finger at me. “Oh, no. That’s the Dark Side talking. You could catch a gate tomorrow and be back on the slopes in forty-eight hours. You never know.”
You could catch a gate tomorrow.
I didn’t want to leave Charley tomorrow. And part of me—the terrified part that kept me awake at night—whispered that I didn’t want to leave Charleyever.
That feeling hit me harder than the quake. Then like an aftershock, I realized I was lucky I hadn’t lost her already. A gate could’vesnatched her yesterday. I swallowed, knowing I was a fool. Knowing I’d wasted time, the most precious commodity on Nil.
“What is it?” Charley asked. “Are you okay?”
“Just thinking. Listen, we’re a little behind in your island tour package, and if I’ve only got forty-eight hours, we’ve got a full schedule.” I grinned. “Are you game?”
“Hmm,” Charley mused, even as she stifled a grin. “What did you have in mind?”
CHAPTER
29
CHARLEY
DAY 24, LATE AFTERNOON
Thad and I sat on driftwood, waiting for the tide to come in so we could close the doors of the fish pools. Then we’d fish, or so he said. I prayed we wouldn’t go back empty-handed.
“Why are you staring at me?” I asked, self-consciously wiping my cheek. Nil had no mirrors, which was a major pain.
“I’m taking your advice. Focusing on the good, and the gorgeous.” Watching me, he laughed. “Which isyou, by the way.”
“That’s what being on a semi-deserted island does for you,” I said. “It’s worse than beer goggles.”
“Look.” Thad’s grin vanished as he spoke. “If anyone’s sporting Nil goggles, it’s you. I don’t know whether the guys back in Georgia were blind or too scared to ask you out or what, but you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met. More than that, it just clicks with you. Half the time, you say what I’m thinking, or what I would’ve said if my thoughts weren’t so messed up around you.” His lazy grin was back. “You do things to me, Charley with ane-y.”
I was quiet. Natalie’s words echoed uncomfortably in my head.Thad’s never paid attention to any girl here… until you.
“What?” He frowned. “Right now I have no clue what you’re thinking.”
“It’s just—are you sure you’re not just feeling the days? I mean, feeling like time is short?” I paused, hating what I was about to say, but I had to put my nagging fear out there. “Doing something you normally wouldn’t do?”
Thad tilted my chin to look at him. “Oh, I am most definitely feeling the days. Timeisshort, and I’m definitely doing something I wouldn’t normally do.”
His admission crushed me. I closed my eyes.Live in the moment, Thad had said at the Nil Night. Does that mean live without fear of the future or regard for it? Because while Thad might be ready for an island fling, I wasn’t. Not with the only guy I’d ever wanted, not with the one guy I might not be able to keep. My mind flew through the Dark Side and nearly shut down.
“Open your eyes, Charley,” Thad whispered. His fingers cradled my chin. “Look at me.”
I did. His sapphire eyes held mine. “Back home, I would’ve never told you how I feel, not yet, anyway. I would have played the game, trying not to get burned.” For a second, he looked unsure. “Then again, maybe I would’ve told you, knowing the burn was worth the risk. Because you’re just that amazing.” His blue eyes blazed with an intensity that I’d never seen—not in Thad, not in anyone.
“But we’re not home, we’re here,” he said softly. “And I’ve got nothing to lose telling you how I feel, nothing but time. You’re right, Charley. Nil does change the way you see things. Nil makes everything more clear. What’s important, what matters. And for me, that’s you. This might sound crazy, but I feel like I’ve been waiting for you. Not just here, but in my life.” He smiled, his lazy smile that made my breath catch. “Told you it sounded crazy.”
It did sound a little crazy, because I felt exactly the same way. And I was too shocked by his admission to find words.
“Don’t you feel it?” he asked, his eyes searching mine. “The connection between us? Tell me you feel it. Tell me I’m not crazy, or at least tell me I’m not alone.”
“You’re not alone,” I whispered.And neither am I.
Leaning forward, I kissed him.
Thad’s lips were salty and sweet, and kissing him felt like the most natural, most perfect thing in the world. Inanyworld. Reaching up, he pulled me closer and crushed my lips to his, his hands cradling my cheeks, his thumbs caressing my jaw, then his fingers slid into my hair and there was no doubthewas kissingme. It was still not enough; he trailed kisses along my neck to my shoulder, and then his lips were back on mine.
