MATT
We had planned the beach vacation since returning from Geneva. Now that we were on our last day of it, I was wishing we could stretch it out longer. Unfortunately, the next morning we were taking Jourdanne to Yale. Her new life was about to begin, and Leandro and I would have to go back to the way things were before.
“Matt,” Jourdanne called to me from across the beach. She was laid out in the sun in her peach-colored bikini. She looked gorgeous, and not just because of the perfect curves of her body. No. She was happy, truly and completely happy. I met her in the hot sand as she raised a bottle toward me. “Can you put sunscreen on my back?”
“Of course.” I knelt beside her as she flipped over. I began rubbing the sunscreen on her back as she relaxed and closed her eyes.
“This is nice,” she mumbled.
“It is.”
I looked out across the beach to find Leandro swimming in the crystal blue waters. The weather was absolutely perfect. A clear, blue-sky day with eighty-degree temps. I could exist within that day forever and feel complete.
As I lowered my hands around Jourdanne’s ribs, I gave her a little tickle, and she squirmed and rustled around laughing.
“Matt!” She reached over to me and tickled my side, and it got me good. We both laughed and teased each other for a few more minutes until Leandro made his way up to the shore.
“Am I ever going to pry you two apart?” He teased us with a smile.
Jourdanne curled her finger at him. “Come here.”
I sat back and watched them kiss. The beach wasn’t exactly empty, but none of us cared who would see. We were happy—all three of us together. And when you’re happy and comfortable, what else could matter?
After Leandro and Jourdanne leaned back from each other, I casually glanced at my phone to check the clock. It was time to go. We had to be back at the hotel and packed before bed. It was a two-hour drive to Yale, and Jourdanne had to arrive before ten if she wanted to have her pick of the rooms.
“Hey…” I got their attention. “We have to pack up. It’s time to go.”
Jourdanne looked at Leandro, then her eyes found me. She had the most tender gaze I’d ever seen then. She wanted to go to Yale, but she also wanted to stay with us. Anyone with eyes could see that.
Leandro got up and threw his towel over his shoulder. “Come on.” He reached out to help Jourdanne get to her feet. “We’ll go have a nice dinner tonight. To celebrate you.”
“Okay, if you insist.” Jourdanne remarked, as she smiled at him. Leandro walked ahead to the car, and Jourdanne and I collected our things.
“Don’t be long, I’m hungry!” Leandro called back.
Jourdanne gave him a smile as she tucked back her hair. “Um, Matt?”
“Yeah?”
“What if I didn’t go?”
I had my back to her as I folded a towel. “To dinner?”
“No. To Yale.”
I faced her immediately to see the expression on her face. She wanted to go; we all knew that. But she was willing to give up her dream for Leandro and me. I just couldn’t let her do that.
“Jourdanne, you have to.”
She drew in a sharp breath. “Do I?”
“Yes!” I went to her and gripped her arms gently, but firmly. “Yes, you must. You can’t work so hard to just give up on yourself.”
“That’s not what I’m doing.”
“Then why?”
Jourdanne crossed her arms tight around her body as she squinted in the sun. “What if I found another dream to chase?”
No. I was afraid of this. Sweet Jourdanne with a heart of gold had fallen in love. Love, though, made people do stupid things. I wanted to keep the summer going forever, but that just wasn’t how things worked. We’d had our fun, and it was time to get serious. Jourdanne had wanted to attend Yale for years, and she did everything to get herself there.
“Jourdanne, the summer is over now. The only dream you need to chase is the one you’ve always had.”
Jourdanne was silent for a moment, then she looked up at me with a delicate smile. “Yeah.” She nodded. “You’re right.” She grabbed her beach bag and pulled it over her shoulder, then she went toward the car without another word.
Jourdanne had her college bags packed and ready even before we took the beach vacation. They were in the trunk of the car as Leandro and I drove toward Yale. The car was often eerily quiet as we all kept looking out the window at the nothingness of the atmosphere. Of course, the landscape was truly gorgeous. Trees and hills everywhere, but I knew that we were all lost in the thought that today was the final day of our time together.