Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94106 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 471(@200wpm)___ 376(@250wpm)___ 314(@300wpm)
She wrapped her hands around my neck. “How about if we sneak out and take a walk down the beach where the dunes get high. We can take along a blanket?”
“Nice. Finally having sand in the crack of my ass this summer will be worth it.” I brushed my lips to hers. “That sounds like a plan.”
Chapter 26
* * *
Valentina
It was now or never.
Ryan had just turned in for the night, and I’d taken a shower.
This was it. The moment of truth had finally come. A summer fling.
That’s what it was supposed to be. Get my one under the belt, stick my toe into the pool to feel the water before diving in. But somewhere along the way, it had turned into more. I tried to pretend it hadn’t, that the smile on my face was from just a good time—but that wasn’t the truth, was it?
I’d started falling for Ford before we even met. We’d connected with just text exchanges. He’d made me laugh, made me be myself—a person I’d oddly forgotten how to be. And that was before the physical connection, which had been undeniably intense from the first touch. The man could light up my body in a way I didn’t even realize I could shine. But he did more than that—he lit up my insides. I hadn’t felt as alive as I had this summer in…well, forever.
For weeks I’d been questioning how I was going to walk away at the end of the summer. But as the last days ticked away, I’d started to wonder if I could walk away. Of course I physically could, but if I did, would I be leaving a piece of my heart behind?
I looked in the mirror as I swiped on some lipstick and had a little heart-to-heart with myself. “What are you so afraid of? You’ve already fallen for him.”
I closed my eyes, realizing the answer. You’re afraid to get hurt again.
That was the truth in a nutshell. I’d made every excuse in the book: You’re too young for me. I’m not ready for a relationship. I need to find myself. But they were all defenses I’d put up to avoid being smacked in the face with the truth.
I’m terrified.
Then there was the fact that Ford seemed to have stopped pushing for anything more lately. I suppose a person can only take so much rejection. Perhaps he’d warmed to the idea of a summer fling and no longer wanted anything more.
There was only one way to find out. It wasn’t like I could put it off any longer. This was it.
Now or never.
He could go back home and jump into the dating world in a few weeks. I couldn’t imagine he’d stay celibate for two years like me.
And maybe he’d meet someone he liked.
Sometimes you don’t get a second chance.
So what if it didn’t work out? Maybe he isn’t my forever. I might get hurt. But I could also regret not taking a chance.
And I’d rather have memories than regrets.
I suddenly felt a little out of breath. I wasn’t ready for things to be over, and I needed to let him know that tonight.
I smiled at my reflection in the mirror. Oh my God. You’re really going to take a chance.
Making my decision, the feeling of impending doom I’d had the last few days turned to giddy anticipation. I grabbed my phone, still smiling, and sent off a text.
Valentina: Meet soon?
It felt like the longest wait in my life.
Shit. What if he fell asleep?
What if I don’t get to talk to him.
What if…
The tiny dots started to jump around, and my pulse raced.
Ford: Ready when you are.
Thump-thump-thump.
God, my heart was pounding.
Valentina: Meet you on the beach in five!
I found a blanket in my bedroom closet and gently opened the door. Ryan’s bedroom was right next to mine. Not hearing a sound, I tiptoed down the stairs, thankful I’d decided to put a carpet runner over the stairs so they wouldn’t creak. In the kitchen, I left the lights off while I grabbed a bottle of wine and swiped two glasses from the cabinet before sliding the back door open. I’d have to remember to thank Ford again for ridding the door of the loud squeak the other morning while I was sleeping.
The moon was bright tonight. It lit the beach enough to see and made the water, which was unusually calm, glisten majestically. At the bottom of the stairs, Ford held up a blanket, a bottle of wine, and two wine glasses.
I laughed. “Great minds think alike.”
He reached around to his back pocket and pulled something out. Holding up a bottle opener, he smiled. “Where’s your opener?”
I hadn’t thought of that. I chuckled. “Okay, you win.”
We left my supplies under the stairs and took Ford’s with us for our walk. He took my hand in his, and it felt so natural. “There’s a dune about a quarter mile up ahead and no houses in the area.”