Page 293 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 9
I laughed. “I don’t know. Why is deciding what you’re going to do for the rest of your life so freaking hard?”
He kissed my temple. “Because the rest of your life is a long time. What if you knew you’d only have to do it for five years? Then what would you choose?”
“None of the above.”
J.J. laughed.
“Do you have a coin? Maybe I can just let the fates decide.”
“Are you a believer in fate?”
I looked up at him. A few months ago, the answer would have been an easy no. But now? I had wound up on the other side of the country next to his lifeguard stand for a reason. It was like we needed each other. Maybe I was here to show him that long distance could work. And he was here to show me that not all men were utter garbage. If we hadn’t met, would I still be hung up on Aiden? Would he still be scared of commitment? “I think when life is good, it’s easy to believe in fate. But when it’s bad, it’s a little trickier.”
“So right now?” He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. It immediately blew back in my face from the light ocean breeze.
I smiled up at him. “Right now I’m a huge believer. What about you?”
“There were so many ways in which this summer could have played out differently where we never would have met. I mean, you could have stayed in Cali. I could have gone straight to New York. I’m just happy we’re standing right here together.”
I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him. “We were a long shot. But I’m kind of liking our odds now.”
“Me too. So let’s both be believers in fate. Flip a coin. What major would be heads and which one would be tails?”
“God, I can’t even narrow it down to two.”
He laughed.
“I know I have to figure it out. But nothing seems as glamorous as staying here.” We both stared out at the water. The stars reflecting on the surface shimmered in the night.
He sighed. “Tell me about it.”
“I just want to stop time and stay in our little Rehoboth bubble forever.”
“Well, you said forever. So it’s not a commitment issue.”
I looked up at him. “No, it’s not a commitment issue. I just don’t know if I’ve tried the right major yet. And now I’m running out of time.”
“Hmmm. Engineering or math?”
I laughed.
“I’ll help you figure it out this summer. I promise.” He pulled me closer, resting his chin on the top of my head.
I’d spent my whole life trying to figure it out. But he seemed rather sure of himself. And I believed his promises. When his arms were around me, I felt so safe and secure. I pressed the side of my face against his chest. His heartbeat was the only sound I loved more than the ocean.
We stood like that for a long time. His arms wrapped tightly around me, both of us staring out at the water.
“Is it ridiculous that I’m starving?” he asked. “The portions at that fancy restaurant were so freaking small.”
I laughed. “I have the perfect thing for that.” I grabbed his hand and led him back up to the boardwalk. We made our way through the Saturday night crowds.
My apartment was dark as we walked up the wooden steps. Kristen had kept her promise to spend the night out, and the thought made my heart race. I was going to be alone with J.J. all night. That was a first for us. For the past few nights I had crashed at his place, but his roommates were always around. I didn’t even know if he’d want to spend the night. Maybe he preferred to sleep alone in his own bed. Or maybe he did something really weird in his sleep like yell profanities or sleepwalk naked. Honestly the last one didn’t sound so bad to me. It would give me time to really study his body without him even realizing I was staring.
“It looks like your mind is going a mile a minute,” he said.
“What?” I laughed as I pulled out my key. “Hardly.”
He grabbed my hand before I put the key into the lock. “We can go out for dessert if you want. I wasn’t expecting for your place to be empty. I just wanted to get to know you better, Jellyfish Girl.”
