Page 81 of Entangled

He shrugs and grabs the champagne bottle from the cooler. “I promised shock and awe.”

I let my eyes drift for a moment over the fire-painted ocean and sky surrounding us, the brilliant horizon an infinite line locking us in our own private world. My lips lift up into a small smile as I bring my gaze back to his.

“Consider my world rocked.”

His playful eyes crinkle around the corners, voice dropping intimately as he pops the cork on the champagne. “And to think this is only breakfast.”

A soft laugh leaves me as I watch him pour us champagne and coffee. I reach out for my coffee first, of course, bringing it to my mouth and blowing softly on it before taking a sip.

“So.” I cock a brow at him and smirk playfully. “Is this where you bring all the girls to impress them?”

“Um.” He laughs nervously, “No.” Grabbing a waffle, he puts it on his plate and adds some whipped cream to the top while speaking. “Have I brought other people to do this? Yes. Family, friends.” He tilts his head from side to side with a small grin. “And maybe a couple flings have tagged along with the group throughout the years. But not like this…” He waves his hand at the table between us. “This is new for me.”

I grab a strawberry and pop it into my mouth to get away with not replying, still trying to come to terms with my feelings for him and unsure of what to say in response to his own revelation.

He swallows down a bite of waffle and grabs his champagne, taking a sip before his eyes lock with mine. “I call it chasing the sun. Most of the time, when I’m not trying to impress a certain girl, I’ll just point the boat toward the direction the sun is rising and keep going till it’s up. Started doing it after my mom passed. I would steal my dad’s boat in the middle of the night and come out here. It was probably the only time I felt some kind of peace.” He leans back in his chair with a shrug. “Then, when I was in the Navy, I’d wake up before everyone else and go up on deck. It just… I don’t know. It gave me hope. This promise from the universe, a certainty that no matter how dark things got, the sun would always rise. That one constant in a world full of ever-changing variables.” He shrugs again, a small grin playing at his face. “It’s really all you need. To know that no matter what happens, there’s always the promise of a new day, a fresh start, a whole world on the precipice of possibility.” Bringing his champagne up, he clears his throat and takes a sip. “I wanted to share it with you.”

His words hit me hard, causing me to dart my eyes down and shovel food onto my plate without really paying attention to what I’m getting. Not quite knowing how to respond when faced with such blatant hope and optimism.

Jace Fucking Dawson. What am I going to do with you?

I shove some food into my mouth, chewing slowly and enjoying the explosion of flavor before swallowing and looking back to him. “Well thank you, Yoda.” I grin. “Seriously, this is amazing. I only wish I had brought my camera to capture it.”

“Don’t mention it, my Padawan, and there’s always next time.” He throws a strawberry into his mouth, dimples flashing. “So how have the journals been coming? You haven’t said anything in a couple days.”

“That’s because there’s nothing to say.” I roll my eyes and grab my champagne, taking a sip while settling back into the chair. “They’re boring.”

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

“For most people, probably not.” I sigh. “But I’m all the way up to a year after I was born and… they’re just boringly ordinary. There’s nothing. I mean, I don’t think my dad was exactly some epic love for her but she did love him in her own way. The life he gave her. They were happy.” I shrug, a little bit at a loss these days when it comes to how I feel about both my parents. “From everything she writes, he was a pretty calm guy, a good husband. The most exciting thing I’ve read about recently was how I was apparently a hellacious baby who screamed all the time.”

“Now that I can believe.”

“Shut it, Dawson.” I laugh. “Maybe I’ll start making you screen them for me because I just learned a whole lot about their post-baby sex life that I would have been quite happy having never known.”

“Uh.” He squirms in his chair. “Yeah, no thanks. I mean, I’ll do whatever I can but… just not that.”

I narrow my eyes on him.

“Please.”

“Mhmm.” My lips twitch up and I take a sip of my champagne. “She did love your mom like a sister though. She writes about her a lot. How much Anna’s friendship meant to her.”

He nods. “I’m glad the feeling was mutual.”

“I just…” I look out to the sun as my shoulders droop under the weight of all the unanswered questions in my life. “I don’t get it. They seemed happy.”

Jace is silent for a minute before speaking softly. “I don’t know. I wish I had an answer for you but… I guess we all wear masks from time to time.”

His words hit me like a slap in the face and I whip my head back around, breath stuttering out of my chest as I stare at him in shock.

“And what mask do you wear, Jace?” I snap, regaining my ability to speak and knowing I’m being unfair but… fuck, I can’t stand those words now.

He leans his head back in surprise, eyes searching my face. “Well, that hit a nerve.”

I lift my chin in stubborn challenge and his eyes narrow on me.

“Alright, Delacroix. We can go there if you want.” He rolls his shoulders, resituating in the chair. “I like you, El. Probably more than I should, considering I don’t even know how long you’re planning to be here. And definitely more than you would want me to considering that panicky little look you get any time things start to verge on the topic of an us. But I do.”

---