to fall. Eventually all vacations must come to an end.
Drew has one more day on the island; I have one more hour.
“I’m happy for you, Drew.” I close my eyes until I find the strength to speak again. “I told my parents I’m changing my major to interior design.”
“Don’t forget I was the one who pointed out your mad visionary skills.”
I want to laugh, but I can’t quite make the sound come out. “I also told them I’d head back to the mainland tonight. I need to spend some time with them both before I head back to school.” I exhale slowly. “So, I guess this is our goodbye.”
He crushes me to his chest and I nuzzle into his shirtfront, savoring his warmth. My nose tingles with a warning of tears, but I don’t care about crying. I care about leaving.
I care about Drew.
I lift my head, pull back slightly to see his face and prepare to answer a question he asked me weeks ago. An answer I’ve only shared with my closest friends and family. “You asked where I go when I close my eyes.”
Drew blinks and then takes my face in his hands. “Yes.”
“I close my eyes to escape. To take a tiny break from reality so I can remind myself to breathe and focus on something that calms. Sometimes it’s clouds, or water, or even a color. But lately…” I swallow the swelling emotion in my throat. “Lately, whenever I close my eyes, I see you.”
Tears slip down my cheeks, and Drew swipes them away with the pads of his thumbs.
“I want to be more than your escape, Joss.” He kisses my tear-dampened face. “A lot more.”
“You do?”
He leans in closer, his smiling words a whisper in my ear. “This is the part where you say you want that too.”
“It is.”
Drew holds out his palm to me. “Where’s your phone?”
“What?” The excitement I hear in Drew’s voice is like a shot of caffeine to my bloodstream. I hand him my phone.
Several quick swipes on my screen later, he turns the phone toward me.
A map. Of the two-hour route that separates our universities.
“What exactly are you suggesting?” The teasing in my voice is outweighed by a desperate hope that he means what I think he means.
“I’m suggesting we become officially more than island neighbors.” The curl of his bottom lip relaxes into a lazy grin. Quite possibly my favorite grin on the planet. “And I’m also suggesting you stay here tonight. Let me take you out on a real date. We can catch the ferry together in the morning.”
“Tonight? But—”
Drew drops his hands from my shoulders and holds his palms to the air. “You can stay in the sewing room. You can even borrow that pink housecoat you loved so much.”
I swat at Drew’s arm playfully. My parents can wait one more day. “Deal.”
“Yeah?” He steps closer and pulls me against him once again, as if I was made to fit into the contours of his chest, feel the rhythm of his heartbeat, notice every detail of his fresh, ocean scent.
With a single finger, Drew lifts my chin and leans close. His cool lips taste like the open water he holds so dear, the perfect combination of adventure, fun, and freedom. This is not the kiss of a casual island fling. This is the kiss that starts a new chapter, a new season, a new beginning.
This is the kiss that took an unusual summer and made it unforgettable.
The End
About the Author
Nicole Deese is a lover of fiction. When she isn’t writing, she can be found fantasizing about “reading escapes,” which look a lot like kid-free, laundry-free, and cooking-free vacations.
Nicole is a Kindle best selling author of The Letting Go series and A Cliché Christmas , book one in her new Love In Lenox series. She writes clean contemporary romance with an inspirational twist, and lives in beautiful north Idaho with her swoony husband and rambunctious sons.
Other books by Nicole Deese:
The Letting Go series:
All for Anna
All She Wanted
All Who Dream
Love in Lenox series:
A Cliché Christmas
A Season To Love (Feb
Drew has one more day on the island; I have one more hour.
“I’m happy for you, Drew.” I close my eyes until I find the strength to speak again. “I told my parents I’m changing my major to interior design.”
“Don’t forget I was the one who pointed out your mad visionary skills.”
I want to laugh, but I can’t quite make the sound come out. “I also told them I’d head back to the mainland tonight. I need to spend some time with them both before I head back to school.” I exhale slowly. “So, I guess this is our goodbye.”
He crushes me to his chest and I nuzzle into his shirtfront, savoring his warmth. My nose tingles with a warning of tears, but I don’t care about crying. I care about leaving.
I care about Drew.
I lift my head, pull back slightly to see his face and prepare to answer a question he asked me weeks ago. An answer I’ve only shared with my closest friends and family. “You asked where I go when I close my eyes.”
Drew blinks and then takes my face in his hands. “Yes.”
“I close my eyes to escape. To take a tiny break from reality so I can remind myself to breathe and focus on something that calms. Sometimes it’s clouds, or water, or even a color. But lately…” I swallow the swelling emotion in my throat. “Lately, whenever I close my eyes, I see you.”
Tears slip down my cheeks, and Drew swipes them away with the pads of his thumbs.
“I want to be more than your escape, Joss.” He kisses my tear-dampened face. “A lot more.”
“You do?”
He leans in closer, his smiling words a whisper in my ear. “This is the part where you say you want that too.”
“It is.”
Drew holds out his palm to me. “Where’s your phone?”
“What?” The excitement I hear in Drew’s voice is like a shot of caffeine to my bloodstream. I hand him my phone.
Several quick swipes on my screen later, he turns the phone toward me.
A map. Of the two-hour route that separates our universities.
“What exactly are you suggesting?” The teasing in my voice is outweighed by a desperate hope that he means what I think he means.
“I’m suggesting we become officially more than island neighbors.” The curl of his bottom lip relaxes into a lazy grin. Quite possibly my favorite grin on the planet. “And I’m also suggesting you stay here tonight. Let me take you out on a real date. We can catch the ferry together in the morning.”
“Tonight? But—”
Drew drops his hands from my shoulders and holds his palms to the air. “You can stay in the sewing room. You can even borrow that pink housecoat you loved so much.”
I swat at Drew’s arm playfully. My parents can wait one more day. “Deal.”
“Yeah?” He steps closer and pulls me against him once again, as if I was made to fit into the contours of his chest, feel the rhythm of his heartbeat, notice every detail of his fresh, ocean scent.
With a single finger, Drew lifts my chin and leans close. His cool lips taste like the open water he holds so dear, the perfect combination of adventure, fun, and freedom. This is not the kiss of a casual island fling. This is the kiss that starts a new chapter, a new season, a new beginning.
This is the kiss that took an unusual summer and made it unforgettable.
The End
About the Author
Nicole Deese is a lover of fiction. When she isn’t writing, she can be found fantasizing about “reading escapes,” which look a lot like kid-free, laundry-free, and cooking-free vacations.
Nicole is a Kindle best selling author of The Letting Go series and A Cliché Christmas , book one in her new Love In Lenox series. She writes clean contemporary romance with an inspirational twist, and lives in beautiful north Idaho with her swoony husband and rambunctious sons.
Other books by Nicole Deese:
The Letting Go series:
All for Anna
All She Wanted
All Who Dream
Love in Lenox series:
A Cliché Christmas
A Season To Love (Feb
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