Page 5 of Lost in the Current of You

Now, nine months later, with essentially no contact since that day, there he was, standing in front of me with the brightest smile and the smallest hint of dimples that I had missed seeing so much like nothing had happened.

It was like my brain couldn’t connect to my mouth, and anything I wanted to say caught in my throat.

I had so many questions. So many apologies. So much I wanted to share with him.

But I had stood there, mouth agape as I tried to process and piece together some semblance of thought that clouded my head.

Amusement shone in his eyes as he strolled closer, suitcase in tow.

“Have I actually caught the Dakota Summers speechless?”

And with the smooth drawl of his voice, it was like magic: all my thoughts vanished and shook me into motion, the words tumbling from my mouth without a second thought.

I rolled my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. You don’t have that much control over me.” His teeth showed as he grinned wider with my words. “What are you doing here?”

His eyes flicked behind me, rubbing a hand along the back of his neck as he shrugged. “You know, airports and their allure. I just love hanging out here.”

I smirked. “You’re such a smartass.”

But he always knew how to make me smile.

He shook his head, his lips lifting as he raked his fingers through the dark brown curls on his head. The usual baseball cap he wore was missing.

I always loved his hair and the way it felt through my fingers when I brushed it from his face, comforting him when he felt overwhelmed on those evenings by the water.

“Me and the guys are on our way to Airlie Beach for the week, celebrating the end of school. Heard it was the place to be. What about you?”

Shock flooded through me as what he said sunk in. This was some weird coincidence, both of us going to Airlie Beach.

I had heard that the other baseball players on his team who were graduating were going to the Gold Coast, and I assumed they all organised together.

But clearly, I had been wrong.

“Really? You’re joking right?”

I was in clear disbelief which made Reece tilt his head and furrow his brows.

“Why would I be joking?”

“Because there’s no way we’re both going there by coincidence.”

His brows skyrocketed, and his eyes widened. No one I knew ever talked about travelling to a different schoolies venue. It was always the Gold Coast, as it was the biggest and closest. I never knew about other venues until I started clicking through the website. Diving deep into them all, I found myself stuck on Airlie Beach.

It wasn’t leaving the state, but it was better than any holiday I would have ever been on. And I wanted somewhere different and where I wouldn’t find people I knew. I wanted fresh sunlight and to breathe for a week. To be away from the pressure building on my shoulders.

His surprise shifted to a smile that spread across all features of his face. His eyes were bright, and dimples appeared on his cheeks.

“Well, this week has gotten a whole lot better.”

My lips twitched at that. It was automatic, the way our banter came to us easily, even after nine months apart.

I hummed, tapping a finger against my lips. “I think I better cancel then. Can’t risk you having a good time.”

He pressed his lips into a thin line as he took on an expression of faux seriousness. But his mouth ticked as he tried to squash them from rising and lifted a brow. “Now that’s a little mean. I hear the views are quite nice up there this time of year. Especially this week.”

I breathed a laugh from my nose and rolled my eyes. “I hope you’re not talking about yourself .”

That had his lips pulling up, bright and broad. “You said it, not me.”

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