Page 15 of Just Try, Again and Again

“Damn right, I do.”

“You must think I’m a basket case, don’t you? I have both Mommy and Daddy issues.” Her demeanor is playful as she says this, but her tone says otherwise.

“Not at all. In fact, I think I might be in love with you.”

She rolls her eyes, probably thinking what I said was a joke. “Very funny.” I don’t want to embarrass myself further, so I play along.But shit, I might actually be in love with her. Twin flame and all that crap.

12

Bryce - 18 years old

It’s our second day in Honolulu. I hate to give her credit, but Astrid was right—I needed to get a damn suit. And Haruki needed to get a dress since I made her my plus one. So we decided to spend yesterday shopping to get it out of the way.

I pick up my coffee mug and quietly walk across the room to the sliding door leading to our outdoor seating area. The weather is nice early in the morning, with a slight breeze, perfect for us to do something fun on the island. She wants to visit the less urban areas.The Elsham Cove of Oahu, she said.We didn’t come here to see buildings and the inside of a mall, Bryce.

The screen of my phone shows me different activities we can do and places we can visit when I hear footsteps approaching. I look up and spot my cute girlfriend in her white pajama shorts and a tank top. “I missed the sunrise,” Haruki says as she rubs her eyes.

“We were up until two in the morning partying. You needed the sleep.”

“I need coffee,” she says, her hands already eager to grab my mug. She takes a sip after mouthing the wordthank you, and I get the urge to proclaim my feelings to her again.

“God, I’m in love with you,” I say, half-joking. I’ve never said it to any girl before. And it’s not a word that’s often said to me, either. Not by my friends and not by my father. I haven’t been with a girl long enough to reach the love stage—funny, since I’ve only known Haruki for a blip. But now that I’vesort ofadmitted my feelings to her on the plane ride here, it’s like I’ve opened the floodgates. I can’t stop saying it. I only pray she’ll say it back someday instead of giving me her shy smiles and eye rolls.

“Oh, come on,” Haruki says, her cheeks flushing. She tries to look away, but I spot her lips twitch before she presses them together, trying to hide the smile.

“You’re supposed to sayI’m in love with you, too, Bryce,” I tease. Grabbing the coffee from her hands, I take the last gulp before I grin. “You can tell me when you’re ready. But you know it and I know it; you’re going to say it before we leave this island.”

“You are one cocky guy, do you know that? We literally just met.”And then we spent every waking moment together.We’ve spent a little over two months together, glued at the hip. If we had met up once a week, this thing would have been going on for over a year. Other people are already getting hitched on that timeline.

Haruki giggles next to me, her eyes focusing on the view from our bungalow’s patio. The ocean looks like it goes on and on. My body is getting antsy at her not saying those fucking words back to me, but I’m not going to push her.

Why do I need to hear the words come out of her mouth? I have no fucking clue. Maybe because I know my time with Haruki will not last much longer. We have an expiration date, and maybe, just maybe, that’s why I need her to tell me she feelsas strongly for me as I do for her. Then, at least, I’ll know that it isn’t all in my head. That I’m not this loser who throws himself at the first girl he has strong feelings for.

Other people see me as party Bryce, jock Bryce, or Arthur Simmons’ son. But Haruki…she knows the entirety of me,Bryce 360. I already know I won’t let anyone in as deeply as I have let her in, because once she leaves, there’s no coming back from that. It’s going to fucking suck. I probably should have stopped at giving her a ride to Elsham Cove. At least I wouldn’t be a goner.

“So, what are we going to do today, boyfriend?”At least she’s admitting I’m her boyfriend now. Baby steps.

“Well, you want the Hawaiian Elsham Cove experience, correct?” We both grin. We know she said that as a joke, but what my girlfriend wants, my girlfriend shall get. “We’re going to Shark’s Cove.”

“Why does that sound like a fake thing?” she asks, her eyes narrowed. When I take out my phone and Google the place and show her that it’s real, she rolls her eyes as she grins. “Okay, let me take a shower and then we can head over to the breakfast buffet. Sound good?”

By the timewe pull into the parking lot in our rental Jeep, the place is already half-packed with couples and young families clutching their snorkel gear and reef shoes. Haruki grabs her tote bag from the backseat and we follow the small crowd that’s making its way down to the beach.

“This is gorgeous!” Haruki gasps as she looks at the ocean from up here, one of her hands shading her eyes from the sun. “I wouldn’t mind waking up to this view every day.”

I watch her from a distance, feeling forces tug at my heartstrings. “Who knows? Maybe after you’ve traveled, you’ll end up moving here.” She turns her head to me and her gaze softens. This is a plea for her to stay with me, and she knows it. “Have you considered what you’re going to do after this trip?”When I have to move to Radinger and start college.

Haruki loops her arm around mine and we start walking down the path. “Bryce,” she says. “I know you’re worried about what’s going to happen, but for today, let’s just enjoy ourselves, okay?”

“Okay.”

We walk in comfortable silence, following the pace of a family of four in front of us, until we reach the bottom of the trail. After packing our phones, wallets, and Haruki’s camera in a wet bag, I pull my shirt off to get ready for the water. From the corner of my eye, I see Haruki doing the same. She has a low-cut, blue, one-piece on under her dress. When she turns around and bends to get our reef shoes from her bag, I have to actively think about my dad’s upcoming wedding and look away from her ass to stop my dick from creating a tent in my boardshorts.

“You ready?” she asks with the most adorable smile on her face.

“Ready whenever you are.”

There are multiple tide pools with kids playing in them due to the water being clear and shallow. I wait until Haruki looks at me to tilt my head to the side, suggesting to her that we go to the main cove itself where you can really swim and not just soak in children’s piss. “Just like Elsham Cove, you can’t go to this place and not visit the actual Shark’s Cove. You know it’s a pet peeve of mine.”

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