Page 69 of I Wish He Would

My eyes roam over her face, taking in the splay of freckles on her forehead and cheeks. Her adorable nose. Her soft pink lips. Her brilliant blue eyes that match the sky.

“You.”

I move to where I can stand, not wanting to have to worry about treading water. This is the kind of moment I want to put everything into. Alyssa’s hands tighten around the back of my neck, and she pulls my mouth the remaining distance to hers.

Our lips move in a hungry dance, starved of each other for years. But now that they’re finally reunited, they’re making up for lost time. Consuming. Tasting. Devouring. Savoring.

She tastes sweet and tropical like her coconut coffee. Earlier this morning she said she’d drink one every morning, and I’d gladly supply them to her to make her happy and to taste the sweet, intoxicating flavor on her lips.

I’m filled with an insatiable need to be closer, and she must feel it, too. Her legs tighten around my waist, and her hands tug at the hair at the nape of my neck. I take the opportunity to slide a hand from her thigh to her lower back, grazing the bare skin between her workout top and leggings. Each press of my lips to hers is connected to the next like the rhythm of the ocean’s waves rocking us.

This feels like it’s been a long time coming, but it also feels like coming home. That sigh of relief when you step back into your own space. If comfort were a person, it would be Alyssa.

Kissing her has felt out of reach—a distant memory, like the sun sinking toward the horizon. It looks close, but no matter how far you swim, you can’t grasp it. But now with her legs around my waist and my lips exploring hers, it feels like the sun is mine once again. She’s setting my entire body ablaze.

But for her, I’d burn.

Our first kiss was amazing, but this one tops it. It’s more passionate in the kind of way that only comes from knowing someone deeply. It serves as a reminder of how much of an idiot I was three years ago. How could I pass up this because of my career?

Alyssa is more than the sport I love. More than the woman I’ve been falling for. She’s my best friend. The person I look for in the stands each game. The one I want to cheer me up whenever I have a hard loss. And the one I want to celebrate the wins with. She’s my person. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize it.

I infuse every promise into each kiss. All the vows I can’t say out loud yet, but hope to one day.

When we finally pull back, I rest my forehead against hers, unable to form words or move. I wonder if she just experienced the same euphoria as me. From the way her chest is rapidly rising and falling, I’d say it’s a safe bet to assume she did.

The ocean waves gently rock us, bringing a grounding sensation I’m in desperate need of after that world-rocking kiss. I press a kiss to her forehead. When I finally meet her gaze, Alyssa and I are wearing matching smiles, and her cheeks are tinged with a pink that has satisfaction coursing through me.

I’m about to tell her how amazing that kiss was when I notice Bianca and Bradley on the beach, staring at us with disgust, before stomping off. Well, as much as someone can stomp in sand.

“Do you think they saw?” I gesture toward their retreating figures.

Alyssa turns her head, and when she faces me again, there’s a new emotion there. I almost think it’s hurt. But I don’t know what reason there would be for her to feel hurt after what just happened between us.

Alyssa untangles herself from my waist to stand in the water beside me. “Probably.” She averts her gaze. “We should go eat breakfast and dry off. I don’t think either of us wants to hike in wet clothes.”

I stare at her in shock, wondering how we just went from making out to this. “Uh, yeah. Don’t you think we should talk about that kiss, though?”

She hugs her middle as a wave rocks gently against us. “We should just call it what it was: us being caught up in the heat of the moment.”

I blink, refusing to believe she didn’t feel the same things I did. I mean, before we kissed, she said she wanted this, too. So, I thought we were on the same page. I thought we both wanted a relationship that extends beyond this vacation. But I guess I was wrong.

“If that’s what you want,” I whisper.

“Let’s forget it happened.” Alyssa stares out at the ocean, her brows furrowed and jaw set.

I can tell there’s more she wants to say, but I know her well enough to understand that she needs time to process things. So, even though it kills me to leave things how they are for now, I’ll give her space to work through whatever’s going on in that beautiful brain of hers.

“Okay.” I know she mentioned eating and drying off before we hike, so I motion behind her. “What do you think about lying on the lounge chairs and ordering food poolside?”

She nods. “I’ll go grab some chairs if you want to grab our stuff.”

“Oka—” She’s gone before I can finish the word, running away from me at the surprising speed of a player stealing home. I shake my head, still trying to process how I just went from cloud nine to feeling like I have a weight shackled to my ankle, dragging me to the ocean floor.

I throw out our watered-down drinks and toss our sweat towels from that torturous Pilates class into a dirty towel bin. I grab two menus from the poolside bar and meet Alyssa in a sunny spot beside the adults-only pool. I take a seat on the open chair next to her and hand her a menu. I also hold out my sweatshirt, dry from its safe spot on the sand. “Want this?”

She stares at the menu. “I’m good, thanks.”

I blink in shock. What the heck did I do wrong?