Page 32 of Until We Fall

I feel his breath catch. He doesn’t say anything, but I know he’s listening. And I’ll just keep holding on until he starts to believe.

10

The sun is bright,the ocean a deep blue, and every part of me feels at home in Clua.

That day, we rent Waverunners. The four of us jet over the waves, and it’s like a release, hitting the water full throttle, the cold spray prickling against sun-warmed arms and legs, making dark spots on our life vests.

Rory has the time of his life, his red hair brilliant in the Cluan sun, his vest buckled tight, that yellow pineapple on his arm, his smile so big it takes up half his face. I can’t stop staring at him.

I don’t try to stop. Maybe everyone notices?

I don’t care. Let them notice.

Rory’s fast, too. I expected him to be more cautious, but he hits the waves head on, laughing with each jump. Carter’s on the back of Rory’s Waverunner, arms flung out, shouting enthusiastically. Theo and I shoot along beside them, trying to keep up.

I love being with these guys.

We even see a whale. I’m not kidding—it passes right under us, tremendous and rippling through the water. Dolphins and seals, too. Theo knows all about sea life, and he gives me someinteresting facts when we slow down, rocking on the waves afterward. He even smiles a bit, and I’m glad to see him happy.

We’re all four on a high by the time we get back to our beach, the sun dipping into evening.

I don’t know what it is about this island, but time slips by. Of all the memories I have with the four of us, this trip will be one that makes me smile, no matter how many years pass, no matter how much changes.

I’m lucky to get this time with them.

I’m also a sweaty, sunblocked mess by the time Rory and I drop onto towels on the beach. Theo and Carter head off for a drink, but I’m feeling high enough on island life—I don’t need a drink. I brush off my forearms and then rest them on my knees, conscious of how I’m sitting, just a few inches away from Rory. We haven’t talked about kissing in public.

I want to pull him onto my lap and bury my nose in his neck, suck on the freckles along the top of his shoulder. Whisper how mind-numbingly sexy he is into his ear. It doesn’t matter to me who sees. I think Carter and Theo would be happy for us.

But I’m not sure how Rory feels.

Although, I doubt he would appreciate me much right now anyway, with my sweaty, salty skin all over him. He’s so neat too, sitting carefully on his towel, reader out and sunglasses propped on his head.

He seems to sense me looking at him, and he sets his reader aside. “I didn’t think I’d like the beach so much.”

I lean close enough that my shoulder nearly touches his. Fuck, I just want to pull him against me. “What’s your favorite part?”

His brows pinch. “That’s a complicated question.”

“Is it?”

His lips rise. “I think it’s you.”

I shoot out a laugh. “Me?”

His eyes move over me, my arms resting on my knees, my toes coated in sand. “You come alive.”

My smile fades. My stomach’s doing that tickling thing. The way he’s looking at me…

“Do I?” I ask.

But I know the answer.Yes, I do.

He nods. “You seem so easy.”

I wiggle my toes deeper into the sand. “Clua reminds me of home.”

Home.

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