“I’ll never be ready,” I said solemnly.
“This has been the best summer of my life. You hear me? The best.”
Reluctant to leave, I pulled away from his embrace. “I have to go. My parents are waiting for me.”
“I–I,” he stuttered before looking down at the sand. “I love you.”
“I love you too.” The words slid effortlessly from my teenage lips.
“This isn’t done between us. You and me,” he said, his breathing ragged. “We’re not over. You believe me, don’t you?”
I had nodded, wanting with all my heart to believe his words. Then he had kissed me. His tongue had stroked desperately in and out of my mouth, his awkward and rushed movements proof of his inexperience.
• • •
The memory faded as Walker’s voice filled my ears and his face came into view. “God, Madison. I looked for you. The following summer.” His eyes glistened, and I knew I’d lose it even more if he cried.
I willed him not to. Not here. Not in this moment when I so desperately needed to pull it together and not fall apart.
“You never went back to the beach, did you?” he asked.
I thought back, recalling how distraught I’d been when I lost contact with him. How desperately I wanted to be in touch with him and how hopeless I’d felt. My mom and best friend both told me to forget him. They insisted that he’d long since forgotten about me and I needed to do the same. I didn’t want to believe them, but I eventually stopped ignoring the obvious message his silence contained.
By the time the following summer came around and we ended up on the beaches of Malibu, I made sure to never go near our beach again.
I shook my head. “I couldn’t. I didn’t want to go back there. Too many memories. Plus, my best friend had me convinced that you had moved on. She asked me how I’d feel if I saw you with someone else. I knew it would kill me, so I never risked it.”
“Actually, I did the exact opposite.”
I leaned toward him, looking up into his eyes. “What do you mean?” As his thumb idly circled the skin on my hand, I thought about how I never wanted it to stop. I never wanted him to stop touching me. Ever.
“Almost every day the next summer, I went to that particular spot at the beach looking for you. I was obsessed, wanting so badly to see you again, that I convinced myself you’d know I was waiting. That you’d be able to sense me there.” He paused. “I needed to find you, but you never came. And eventually I stopped going.”
Shocked, I leaned away from him, my back pressing into the hard steel of my car as I allowed the realization of his words to sink in. He’d gone back to the beach to look for me? He had wanted to see me again?
“I figured you were done with me,” I whispered. “Forgotten all about me. We were just kids.”
Walker tipped my face up and snared my gaze with his. “I could never forget you. You’ve always held a piece of my heart, Madison.”
More tears fell and I quickly brushed them away with the back of my hand.
“Let’s go inside and eat,” he suggested. “Think you can handle being back in our café?” He pushed himself from off the ground and extended a hand to me.
“As long as I’m with you, I think I can handle anything.” I reached for his hand and he pulled me up effortlessly before yanking me against him.
“Looks like you’ll be unstoppable because I’m never leaving your side again.” His hands splayed across
my back as he dipped his head so his lips could meet mine.
My body leaned into his as my mouth opened, accepting him, wanting him. I reached around his neck and lightly raked my fingernails down the length of it before stopping at his shoulders. Our tongues took turns moving from one mouth to the other, every stroke, every touch making our hearts beat faster.
Walker pulled back. “We need to stop or I’m going to end up throwing you down right here in the parking lot and having my way with you,” he said with a teasing tone.
I burst out laughing. “The press would have a field day! Could you imagine? Let’s go eat. Suddenly I’m starving.”
“Me too.” He licked his lips. “But not for food.”
The café’s teenage hostess had a mini breakdown before seating us, fanning her face with her hand and shakily asking Walker for his autograph. My heart, which had miraculously found its way back into my chest, swelled with appreciation. I’d been absent for so many years from Walker’s life, but I suddenly felt like I hadn’t missed a day.