“When I first laid eyes on you at the end of your driveway, I thought you were the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen in real life.”
“And now?”
Normally, I wouldn’t take the bait—I didn’t do the whole fishing for compliments thing—but she sounded fragile, and knowing how I’d hurt her, even if it had been unintentional, made me want to soothe any old ache and make it all better.
“Nothing’s changed. You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.”
Even in the dim light, her smile was hard to miss. “Thank you.”
“You’re not going to doubt me?”
“Nope. I like what you said too much to chase it away.” Her toes connected with my shin in a light tap, then I captured her foot between mine.
“Should I mention that you’re so hot, I’d eat your ass every day of the week if you’d let me?”
A laugh burst out of her and she wiggled her foot away from me. “Too far, Alex. Too far.”
“I’m just sayin’...”
Still grinning, she tucked her hands under her cheek. “Do you want to know what I thought when I first saw you?”
“That I was a weird kid you felt sorry for?”
She shook her head. “I only found out how weird you were when I got to know you. That day, I had been watching you skating for a while before you noticed me. And when you stopped to talk to me, I could barely breathe. You were wearing Dickies that hung precariously low on your hips and an old Red Hot Chili Peppers shirt. I thought you were too cool for the likes of me, but your freckles made you just adorable enough for me to be able to speak to you.”
“Adorable is just what I was going for.” Even though being called adorable rankled me slightly, I liked hearing Yael talk about that day. I couldn’t get enough of it—or this conversation.
“No, Alex, you were so, so cute. All nervous and perfect. I liked you from the very first second.”
My hand slid into the empty space between us, and she slid hers to meet mine. Our fingertips barely touched. It wasn’t enough, but everything all at once.
“Too bad I screwed it all up,” I said.
“Yeah…well, I think I helped us out along the way,” she admitted. “But I don’t hate you so much now. Maybe this is why I came on this trip.”
“What?”
“Closure—not with Harris, but with you.”
My fingers curled into the mattress. “You want us to be closed?”
“I’m tired of fighting you. So yes, I’d like to chain a safe to our past and let it sink to the bottom of the Finger Lakes.”
Her mouth opened with a noisy yawn, and I knew I was losing her to sleep.
“I don’t think I’m done talking about everything,” I said.
“I know there’s more, but I really am tired. We’ll talk more about how beautiful I am tomorrow, okay?” Her eyelids were drifting down, even as she fought the good fight to stay awake.
“Okay. We’ll talk tomorrow.” I kicked her leg. “Don’t forget we’re friends now while you’re sleeping.”
Her eyelids fluttered closed. “Did I say we were friends?”
“It was implied.”
“When you kissed me earlier?”
“Nah, that was just me grabbing a taste while I could.”
She reached out blindly until she found my arm. “Don’t flirt with me when I’m half-asleep. And don’t stare at me either.”
“I promise, Boo.”
With her lips tipping into a smile and her hand on my arm, Yael fell asleep. The crazy thing was, after a few minutes of watching the steady rise and fall of her chest, I fell asleep too.