Page 77 of Tourist Trap

“It doesn’t,” I say quickly.

“No?” she asks, hopeful as she looks up at me.

I pause our steps and move closer to her, my hand moving to her chin.

“No. Not at all,” I whisper. “There is no one in this world who knows better how amazing this place is than me. And I have to think that you wanting to be here, me wanting to stay here, June living here and being your roommate was always some thread keeping us together.”

I brush a thumb over her cheekbone, and she leans into my palm.

“Fate kept giving us a million chances, and we were both too stubborn or too blind to see them.” Then her face moves to a bit of a glare, and I laugh. “Okay,Iwas too stubborn and blind to see them. But now it’s startlingly clear, and I’m not letting you go.”

A long moment passes as we stand like that, her hand lifting to hold my own cheek, her thumb brushing over my mustache the way she always does, the way I love, before she speaks.

“Promise?” I almost don’t hear the whisper over the waves, but when I do, I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her in close.

“Promise,” I whisper against her lips, then kiss her, sealing the deal.

“There,” I say a bit later, tipping my chin toward the sand as Claire searches at her feet for the perfect shell.

Her gaze follows mine before she sees it there, wet and with a few pieces of sand on it, but perfectly together. A scalloped seashell. She bends to inspect it and then grabs it, stepping into the water to rinse it off before turning back with a wide smile on her lips.

“It’s perfect,” she says, walking back to me. “Look at it! The colors are so pretty.” She looks up at me with a happy grin, and I remember all of the times this exact moment has happened over the years: the times we’d wander off, me accompanying her while she scours the shoreline for shells, yammering away while I listen silently, then handing them off to me for safekeeping as she found them.

But now she’s mine.

I pull her in close then, pressing my lips to hers in a firm kiss before breaking it.

“I’ve always wanted to do that.”

“What?” she asks, looking confused.

“You always look so happy, finding a shell. You’d smile at me, and every time, I’d have to fight the urge to just…” I press my lips to hers again, and she smiles against mine. It feels like accomplishing some grand life goal, being able to kiss her whenever I want, anytime she directs that bright smile at me.

“You were always my lucky charm,” she whispers, and I smile wide, knowing this to be true.

“I’ll do it for as long as you allow me.” Her stomach growls, and I let out a loud laugh. “But maybe we head back to the car and get you some breakfast. I think you’re going to need the energy later.” I tug her in closer, then nip at her ear, and she giggles, free and sweet, and again, my heart seems to expand in my chest.

“Energy, huh?” she asks with an amused raised brow.

“Oh, yeah.”

A blush burns on her cheeks, but without a word, she takes my hand and turns around back toward the car. We’re walking past a lifeguard stand when, as is her way, Claire shocks me. You’d think I’d be pretty prepared for it by now, but I don’t think I’ll everbe prepared for Claire’s version of wild intrusive thoughts.

“We should fuck on the beach,” she says with a sigh.

“What?” I ask with a laugh, and she turns to look at me.

“We should fuck on the beach. That would be hot.”

“There would be sand everywhere, Claire. Trust me.”

She gasps, a hand going to her chest. “Miles Miller, are you telling me you’ve done this before?”

I roll my eyes, but I feel a blush burning. “No, but I grew up here. Everyone has tried it. I tried once and decided pretty soon that it was a terrible idea.”

Her arms are crossed on her chest and somehow, despite being nearly a foot shorter than me, she looks down her nose at me.

“You tried to fuck someone on the beach but won’t fuckmeon the beach?”

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