Page 191 of After All This Time

It’s where I’d go to clear my head when shit hit the fan.

When I was driving, I knew I was coming here without a second thought.

I knew Dani would come after me because that’s the kind of person she is. She’s determined and incredibly relentless. She’d stop at nothing to make sure I was okay, always putting my needs above her own.

The way she’s looking at me right now is killing me. She’s standing in front of me, anger fueling her up.

Distraught over all of these emotions racking my brain, I fall onto the sand in a crouching position.

She sits down in front of me with a look of concern.

I think she knows there’s a chance I could drown myself in my sadness and pain.

I meet her gaze. “I’m sorry I said that to you. I’m sorry I keep blowing up in your face and snapping at you. I don’t even know why you’re here, sitting in front of me. I’m such a fucking mess. You deserve to be with someone who has their shit together.”

She shakes her head, huffing. “I’m a mess, too. I don’t want to be with someone who has their shit together. All I want is to be with you. You have no idea what was going on in my head when I couldn’t find you. I thought I lost you for good. Fuck, the thought of losing you hurt so much. It felt like a million tiny knives were stabbing me all over my body. Don’t you ever do that to me again.” She crosses her arms underneath her breasts, brows furrowing. Tears are pouring out of her dark brown eyes that I love so goddamn much. “Promise me,” she politely demands.

“I promise.”

“We can be broken together and help each other heal over time.” She takes a moment to look at me, wiping tears off my face. “I love you. I just want you to be okay. I care about you too much.”

“I know.” I smile at her like I’m seeing her for the very first time. “I love you, too.”

We both get on our knees to hug each other, landing back on our asses because the sand is too hollow.

After I tuck a stray tendril behind her ear, I crash my lips into hers.

I will follow this woman to the ends of the earth. There isn’t a world that exists without her in it. She’s it for me.

It’s unfortunate that we were brought back together this way, but I believe my dad did this on purpose. He knew Dani would come to the hospital. He knew she’d take care of me, comfort me, and love me in a way that feels like a dream. A dream I never want to wake up from.

Thank you for everything, Dad. Thank you for bringing Dani back into my life. I’m going to miss you so fucking much.

We’re sitting on the sand in front of the ocean, waves crashing onto that shore with a humid breeze swirling around us. The sun is setting, filling the sky with a variety of pinks, purples, and oranges.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it’s beautiful,” I say, looking at her.

Dani has always been a beautiful view. My beautiful view.

She turns around. “You’re missing it.”

“I don’t need to see it. I have a gorgeous woman sitting next to me.”

Her cheeks are flushed and she’s giggling like a lunatic. “Here we are. Together as boyfriend and girlfriend. Life knows how to throw crazy shit at us, doesn’t it?”

“It definitely does. Like you said, we were inevitable.”

“Indeed we were.” She smiles, her eyes twinkling.

I lean into her, our lips meeting one another. My tongue requests entry into her mouth. She happily grants it.

Eventually, I pull my lips away from hers. “I can’t wait to take you home.”

“Why?” Her lips curve up to form a seductive smirk.

I study her from the neck down, bringing my eyes back up to hers. “So, we can finish what we started before we left the house earlier. That's all I’ve been thinking about. Ripping your dress off your body and kissing every inch of your bare skin. Prepare yourself because it’s going to be a long night.”

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