He turned and my cheeks went warm, wondering if he’d caught me staring at him. If he did, he didn’t let on. “Well, I should get going.” He started toward me and my heart kicked into overdrive at his slow steps in my direction. “Coffee tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” I croaked, my mouth dry. “I’ll meet you at Carly’s. Nine okay?”
Jack smiled down at me, leaving only a foot of space between us. “Thanks for taking a chance on me today.”
His voice soaked into my skin, leaving it tingling as though charged with electricity. I stared at his lips and wondered what would happen if I just popped up on my toes. As I was considering my options, Jack took a loose strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear, smoothing it gently out of my face. “See you in the morning.”
Only when he was gone and the front door shut did I exhale.
12
Holly
Jack’s image visited my dreams for the second night in a row. This time, the scenes were more vivid and lifelike. Fragments of the day spent together at Sunset Bay provided the backdrop. Only, instead of ending with the promise to see each other the following day, we tangled in the sand, bodies and mouths blending together.
My lips tingled as though the searing kisses had been real, as I opened my eyes, blinking the dream away. I smiled down into a pair of big blue eyes and ruffled the fur on Hunter’s head. My alarm went off as I snuggled with his warm little body and he licked my hand. “You wanna go see your girlfriend?” I asked, smiling down at him. His ears perked and I laughed. “Guess that’s why they call it puppy love, huh?”
Hunter wriggled free of my grasp and hopped out of bed, and I hurried to follow quickly behind, knowing that if I didn’t get him outside soon, I’d likely find a puddle when I got up.
While Hunter waddled around, sniffing for the perfect spot, I flipped through the notifications on my phone. I’d had it with me the day before but had silenced it before getting into Jack’s car. It had been the first afternoon in over a year that I hadn’t spent glued to my phone.
Rachel had texted a few times, raving about her surfing-turned dinner date. I wanted to call her to get all the details and to ask for advice in the predicament with Jack. I needed another perspective to help me figure out what I wanted.
The walk back to the car from Joe’s had been stilted and uncomfortable, and I knew it was entirely my fault. I had so many walls and defenses built up that had been there for so long, I couldn’t even see them before I’d met Jack. Yet, somehow, he’d thrown a light on and I could see my fears and doubts so clearly.
I switched the phone off and promised to call Rachel later. As it was, I had less than an hour to shower and get ready to meet Jack for coffee, and ten minutes of that time would be needed to walk down the beach at Hunter’s stop and go pace.
I called for him to hurry up and get inside. He begrudgingly trotted up the steps and into the house—sneaking past me before I could dust off his feet—and left a trail of sandy paw prints as he raced into the kitchen to see if the dog food fairy had visited his bowl while he’d slept.
“I know, buddy. I know.” I sighed at his disappointed expression and refilled his bowl, before leaving him to hurry upstairs and work the windblown tangles out of my hair.
By nine o’clock, I had Hunter tied to the bike rack, and was waiting near the front door for Jack. My heart was racing and I couldn’t keep from fidgeting, playing with my hair, and adjusting my billowy, off the shoulder top. I’d dressed up—only a little—in a pair of black capri pants and a flowing, emerald green blouse.
“They’ll be here soon,” I said, looking over at Hunter, who was on alert, his ears perked and his tail ramrod straight. Moments later, his tail began whipping back and forth, and I followed the line of his intent gaze to see Jack and Princess running up the beach. A flashback from the first time I’d seen them popped into my head, and I cringed, remembering how weird and awkward I’d been after chasing Hunter down.
“Morning,” Jack greeted as he slowed his running pace, and came to a stop a foot away from Hunter. Princess kept running but circled back when Jack whistled for her, calling her off a seagull hunt. She looped around, tongue hanging out, and stopped to exchange friendly sniffs with Hunter, who was beyond delighted to see her.