Page 53 of Despite It All
Thank fuck.
“Guess it’s just us, Wy.”
We start down the beach after her sisters give her snarky “have fun” comments that make Wyla’s cheeks turn pink. She fidgets with the hem of her white button up as we walk.
“Was Stevie okay when you left?” I ask, to distract her.
“Yeah, she was good. I imagine she fell asleep in the car as soon as they left the parking lot.” A smile pulls at her lips. “She told me she had the best day ever today. I know it seems silly but I love when she tells me that. Makes me feel like I’m doing at least some days right.”
“You do all of the days right, Wyla.”
Wyla chuckles then looks out at the water. “I could think of a few days that weren’t my best.”
I reach for her hand, taking it in mine. She looks down at them for a second but doesn’t pull away. “Everyone has those days, Wy. But you are an amazing mom. It’s veryclear to everyone that me being here really doesn’t change much. You are perfectly capable of taking care of Stevie on your own, and you should be proud of yourself.”
Wyla presses her lips into a thin line. “I am. I just think I could have done some things differently.”
There are countless things I would have done differently with her but I’m starting to think this worked out exactly how it needed to. I wish she could see it the same way.
“Hey, what did you tell me the first day? We can’t change that we’re here now, okay? So, do me a favor, baby, and let all of this go.”
Wyla doesn’t say too much for the rest of the walk. The further we go, the less people are on the beach. After about fifteen minutes, there’s not a person in sight and we make it to the start of this rock pier. The big rocks pile together to stretch out about a hundred yards into the ocean.
Wyla starts to climb up one of the smaller ones. “Come on, there’s a nice rock about half way in that’s good to sit at.”
I follow her up, letting her take the lead. She goes from rock to rock carefully, but I stay close behind her in case she falls.
We make it a little past the halfway point and she stops to sit on her butt then hops down to a rock lower down.
“I didn’t realize the walk on the beach was going to turn into a free climb,” I say before following her down.
The rock is flat and almost like a hole, the rocks around it are maybe three feet higher, but it's more on the side of the pier, closer to the water. The waves crash alongside the rocks in front but they aren’t hard enough today to reach this spot.
“I see Stevie gets her over exaggerations from her father.”
I step onto the rock with her, placing my hands on her hips. “I had to give her something. What is it they say about every rose having thorns?”
Wyla tenses slightly at first, but then relaxes. “You are not quoting Poison song lyrics right now.”
“You just better be happy I’m not drunk or I’d sing it.”
She laughs and pushes me back slightly to sit down, leaning against the taller rocks. “Careful, Jett, I’m pretty sure that would qualify as karaoke. And you don’t like karaoke.”
I sit beside her and rest my arms around my knees. “There was a girl a few years back who changed my mind.”
Wyla looks at me and smiles her scrunch nose smile that I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of. “She must have been really good.”
“She was the best.” My eyes trail down to her lips. I’ve been dying to kiss her again. Wyla was the best at a lot of stuff… I crave the feeling of her more and more.
Wyla’s eyes track mine and her lips part slightly. I want to take it as the green light but then she says, “Fuck it.”
The moment her lips graze mine, I want to yell,fucking finally, but instead I show her that’s how I feel about kissing her. One hand cups her face pulling her in more and my tongue begs to explore her mouth.
Wyla moans and climbs on top to straddle me. When she hovers over my body, I pull her in, needing to feel her everywhere. My hands can’t decide what part to touch either as they go from her hair trailing down to her waist to her ass then back up.
Wyla starts to roll her hips. “Fuck, Jett,” she moans.
I know when we first got here there was no one around and especially now that we’re dipped back in this hole I have no hesitation about pulling her tighter to me and grinding with her.
