Page 93 of Magic or Madness

I manage to let him go, adjusting my bikini for the third time, and feeling confident in the skimpy piece with Ozzy by my side.

No matter who enters my life, temptation or not, nothing will ever compare to the way Ozzy has nestled into my soul, making a home for us both filled with all-consuming love.

It’s my greatest honor, and best adventure, living this life with him. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world as he holds my hand, leading us toward the bright, sunny beach in his hometown, bringing me on the date of my dreams.

This day,with this group of people, has been one of the best of my life. We’ve spent hours in the water, becoming one with the sea and taking everything it has to offer. We’ve played in the waves, the sun shining down on us as we welcome the day, leaving the heaviness of yesterday exactly where it belongs.

“Come here, Bambi.” Ozzy smiles, taking my hands as a small wave crashes beneath our knees.

“God, Ozzy. I haven’t been to the beach since I was a little girl,” I breathe, smiling up at the sunshine and breathing in the salt air.

“Tell me about it,” he says softly, cupping my cheek with his hand, rubbing gently with his thumb.

“I was seven, one of the better summers we had, and my mom drove with the windows down, blasting the music as we flew down the highway. I remember being so excited, in my brand new purple bathing suit, and big floppy hat, like you see in the movies. We packed a picnic, and spent the entire day in the water, playing in the sand, and collecting seashells,” I say, sighing deeply as I recall one of the only happy moments of my childhood.

“It sounds like it was a perfect day.” He leads me further into the ocean, the waves splashing against my waist with his grip firmly around me.

“It was. Mom was impulsive like that when she was sober, or at least not drinking herself into a mess, and we had so many adventures that started at sun up and ended way after nightfall.” I shake my head, attempting to pull myself out of a place I no longer want to be reminded of.

I loved my mom, but she comes with a lot of baggage, shit I smashed onto rocks in the form of a plate.

I look around at all the couples, families, and friends enjoying their day, and it brings warmth to my heart. This isn’t just a memorable day for me, I realize, all these strangerssurrounding us are building their own perfect day, and we’re all just trying to bring a little positivity to our lives.

Some may be replacing bad memories with new, fresh ones, with exactly who they’re meant to be around, or creating new traditions with the people they love the most.

“Fallon, where’d you go,my beautiful girl?”

“I’m here, baby. Just enjoying the moment,” I answer, wrapping my arms around his neck.

He gently kisses my forehead, and I close my eyes, not wanting to forget a single second of the magic happening around me.

“I seem to remember a certain pretty, purple-haired girl who wanted a seafood dinner by the ocean, ring any bells?” He recounts from memory, exactly verbatim as I’d described, and my eyes snap open to meet his.

Something washes over me, almost feeling like nostalgia, and I can’t help but share a small detail that I thought was buried deep in my subconscious.

“Purple was my mom’s favorite color, you know. Everything we had when I was little was decorated in various shades, lavender, lilac, violet, even indigo, which I classify as blue … but she loved fucking purple,” I laugh, fidgeting with the stray strands of hair in my face.

Ozzy doesn’t say a word, just staring into my eyes as I speak, and it’s one of my favorite things about him – the unrelenting eye contact he gives me. Like my words are the most important thing to him, and he’s looking directly into my soul while he listens.

It’s been this way since the moment I spoke to him in the diner.

“Of course, when we moved around all those things got lost, but her favorite color was purple,” I finish, feeling a bit lighter after sharing that with him.

“My favorite color is purple, too,” Ozzy says, tangling his hands in my hair and bringing my body against his.

“Hey, love birds! Get over here!” Oliver calls out, interrupting our intimacy and demanding our presence harshly.

“Whenever you’re ready, I’d love to hear more about her, Fallon,” he whispers, kissing my cheek and leading us out of the water.

Everyone’s crowded on the blankets, sipping beers and having snacks from the bags we packed. Pepper is tucked under Lex’s arm, her blonde hair flowing down her back as she smiles up at him.

Max and Journey are tossing a football a few feet behind us, sharing jokes and laughing – something I rarely see from either of them.

My eyes land on Cami, laid out across the blanket, her black and gold bikini shining in the sunlight. Her dark hair is wrapped in a loose ponytail, and her thick sunglasses take up most of her face, the lipgloss and tanning oil glistening off her body.

Oliver sits beside her, resting his hand on her thigh and mindlessly scrolling on his phone.

I can’t help but smile at them all, our silly little dysfunctional family, and they’re all perfect in their own ways.

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