“Because I matter …”
“I think I’ve proven that to you.” He glanced toward the sand and back. “I’m here.”
I exhaled, the tingles now in my lungs and throbbing in my chest. “I didn’t expect to hear from you once I got home from Vegas.” His fingers hadn’t left my hip, and I intertwined ours together. “But having you here has been so fun.”
He stared at me but said nothing.
The tingles turned to a heavy ache.
“I’m going to say something that isn’t going to be easy.”
I hadn’t been able to read his eyes a few minutes ago, but I could now.
I could see his words as clear as the sky.
“If the circumstances were different …” I voiced.
He nodded, the movement appearing to almost cause him pain.
And now, that pain lived in me.
My throat was so tight that air hardly moved through. “I get it.”
That didn’t mean I accepted it, that I didn’t hate it, that I didn’t want to scream at what could be.
But Jenner hadn’t lied to me. He didn’t try to play me. He didn’t bullshit me.
He gave me truth.
And it hurt more than anything, but I understood.
How could we maintain something as magical as I wanted like this?
Different time zones, thousands of miles between us, my future so uncertain.
And those were just the things on the surface.
I had to be realistic about our situation.
But that certainly wasn’t going to stop me from enjoying the rest of our time at the beach and the following two evenings he had planned. It didn’t matter where we were or what we were doing. Jenner’s hands were never far from my body, his attention never straying from me.
I felt like the center of his world.
I relished in it.
On the morning when he was scheduled to leave, I woke up, naked on his chest, my fingers running through his patch of dark hair. Instead of heading for breakfast, we decided to order room service, and once it was delivered, he brought it out onto the patio, overlooking South Beach and the beautiful, vast skyline that edged the water.
As we sat next to each other, nursing large cups of coffee, I finally dipped my fork into the cream cheese and raspberry jam that had squirted out the side of the stuffed French toast, and I brought it up to my mouth.
“Mmm,” I groaned. “You have to try this.”
I cut off a piece, the bite generous and dripping in maple syrup, and I held it out to him. As he surrounded the fork, I watched those beautiful, kissable lips and the bob of his Adam’s apple as he chewed. His beard had thickened in the last few days, the hairs becoming even softer as they lengthened. I touched them as he swallowed, his face almost nuzzling against my hand.
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, my stare moving to his fingers, their length, the short nails at the end, remembering how they had felt on my body when I woke up to him rubbing my back.
“Delicious.”
I nodded. “Isn’t it?”
And so was the feeling inside me.
Damn it, I would miss him.
Such a big part of me was wishing we could do this every morning. The other part of me knew that was impossible.
That didn’t stop me from dreaming.
Fantasizing.
Wanting to buy myself even more time with him.
I checked my phone, seeing that in only two hours, his private plane would be taking off.
I took a few more bites and placed the metal cover over my plate. “I know you were planning on taking the SUV to the airport, but I’d like to drive you.”
He set his fork down, abandoning his eggs for coffee. “You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
Once his hands were free, he stared at me for several beats and tapped his lap and said, “Come here.”
I got up from my seat and planted my butt on his thighs, wrapping my arms around his neck. A spot that was far too comfortable. A place that could so easily feel like home. I adjusted my body, snuggling my back against his chest, my feet balancing on the banister of the balcony, his chin resting on top of my head.
“Fuck … I’m going to miss this.”
My eyes squinted shut, the sensation in my heart becoming too much, his words sending me right over the edge.
I didn’t respond. I just held his arms as they crossed over my navel, and I felt the slight sway of his body, like the ocean breeze moving past us.
“How often do you find yourself in Florida?”
I felt him breathe, the air warming my hair.
“At least once a quarter. I have several clients here.”
“Are all the trips planned far in advance or surprises like this one?”
“Both.” He paused. “I’d have to look, but I don’t recall any more trips down here until the end of the year. That could always change though.” His arms tightened. “What about California? Do you ever make your way out there?”
I filled my lungs several times, holding in the air after each inhale. “It’s actually where I’m from.”
“No shit?”
“Yeah … I grew up in LA.” I stilled, feeling the pounding in my heart. “I do go back—holidays, birthdays, special events, things like that. But now that graduation is coming up, I have too much to do, and I won’t get a chance to return. Plus, my parents will be coming, so there’s no reason to fly home to see them.”
He turned my body to the side, so he could take in my face.