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Luke and I walk slowly down the sidewalk hand in hand, the breeze pushing the thin fabric of my dress against me.
“It wouldn’t have been the same without you here,” Luke says.
I lay my head against his arm and he squeezes my hand, the delicious smell of his light cologne wrapping around me.
“I can’t think of any other place I’d rather be than with you,” I say.
We continue on down the sidewalk, making our way slowly toward a cab. People walk to and from in every direction, the night alive with movement and voices.
“Do you miss home yet?” Luke asks.
I shake my head. “I am home.”
When we finally make it back to the house on Kauai, Seth’s Jeep is already in the driveway. When we make our way inside, we expect him to be in the living room watching television or something, but there’s no sign of him.
Luke lays his keys on the kitchen table and strips off his suit jacket, laying it over the back of a kitchen chair.
I step out of my sparkly white heels.
I feel Luke’s hands slip around me from behind, and then the warmth of his mouth on the side of my neck. I close my eyes softly and lean against him.
Then, just when I feel he’s about to kiss the other side of my neck, we both stop when we hear the bed in Seth’s room lightly hitting the wall. I turn my head at an angle to catch Luke’s eyes.
“Is he—” I start to say, but don’t finish.
Luke takes me by the hand, and we move into the living room. Kendra’s little black purse is sitting on the coffee table, and her black heels have been kicked off on the floor next to the recliner.
Luke and I look right at each other.
“Seth won’t admit it,” Luke whispers, “but from a guy’s perspective, I think he loves the hell out of that girl.”
I whisper back, “Well, from a girl’s perspective, I think she loves the hell out of him, too.”
Luke picks me up in his arms and carries me down the hallway to our bedroom.
Five months later—Kauai, Hawaii
I’ve never been happier, or so sure of my future, in my entire life. Granted, my future isn’t as laid out as it was before; it isn’t dictated by a ladder or the money on that ladder, and I may not know what I’m doing tomorrow, but somehow the not knowing is what makes it so exciting. It took a drastic change, and to be blindsided by love, to make me see how much better, how much more peaceful and fulfilling life can be when it’s not drowned in stress and expectations and fear. It took giving up what I thought made me the person I am—my job, my stability, my meticulous life—to see that the person I am is so much more than I ever imagined I could be. I’m doing things now that I never would’ve given a second thought to.
Luke and I do everything together: surfing, hiking, camping for days on end. I’ve never had so much fun in my life, or felt so free. I’m enjoying my job at a salon on Oahu, doing nails and washing hair and sweeping the floors, while also drawing a small income on the side from my photography. I’m doing what I love and spending more time with those I love, and I wouldn’t give up this life for anything.
Luke still works at the surf school as well as co-owning the surf shop, and his paintings have begun to draw the attention of more than just tourists and local business owners looking for a nice piece to put in their offices. He paints on commission now—the last piece he sold was to a businessman in New York who saw his work at an Art Walk while on vacation. That guy told another guy, who told a woman, who told another guy over in Italy, who told another woman in Spain. He’s doing what he loves, too, and slowly making a decent living doing it.
Paige and I are still best friends, but we don’t see each other much anymore. She moved to L.A. recently and is pursuing a modeling career, even got signed on with a top modeling agency. And she’s been dating a guy who, in her words, “surpasses her list of requirements.” I’m really happy for her and I wish her nothing but the best in life. But we’re such different people living in entirely different worlds now. Despite all that, and the geographic distance between us, it’s hard to think about us ever drifting apart. We keep in touch. And she’ll be coming here to visit soon.
But I have other friends who are like my family, and I feel at home here with them. Kendra is like a sister to me now, and even though I’m not into BASE, we get along awesomely. I doubt she’ll ever be fully over losing Landon, but she’s doing better every day, coping in her own private way—being in love with Seth, and finally admitting it, has a lot to do with her healing. And Seth, well, Seth is still Seth and he’ll never change. I love him to death like a brother, and he looks after me when Luke isn’t around. But he doesn’t live with us anymore. Shortly after I moved in, Seth took it upon himself to move out. He wanted to give us our privacy, but also I think maybe it would’ve happened eventually, him and Kendra moving in together and all. They are a weird and crazy couple; they fight and they make up and then do it all over again—I think they like it. But they’re perfect for each other. That’s pretty obvious to all of us.
Mom and Dad are going to Cozumel, Mexico, next summer. And they sold the boat.
And as far as me, I’m happy to say that my passion for photography may finally be taking off as a career, too. Aside from my website, I also started selling some of my work on a few stock photography sites. Then I began sharing on Flickr, and to my shock, I had my Flickr Moment and was featured on The Weekly Flickr and had an awesome video about my work made.
That has helped change things a lot.
And today is a big day for me—I can hardly sit still.
I hear Luke walking up the front steps, coming back from checking the mail. He’s taking his time on purpose because he knows it’s killing me. When he opens the screen door, I just freeze, staring at him from the living room.
“Did it come?” I ask eagerly.
