I bravely pulled my tank over my body away from the camera, then slid my shorts down to my feet, kicking them off. “Last time you weren’t exactly ready to kiss my lips back to their normal color.”
“I’m here now.” Emotion deepened his voice, added a touch of hoarseness.
“Yes.” I clung to his hand. “You are.”
His jeans fell.
I was pretty sure Will’s plan when he woke up this morning wasn’t to numb himself to death and dive into frigid cold water without a wet suit.
But that part of him was back, the adventure, and the fear had completely disappeared from his eyes. I knew it because when he looked at me, he looked at me, not through me. I wasn’t a puzzle anymore.
I was just me.
We dove head first together, hand in hand.
And when our heads bobbed up, the sun winked behind the horizon, blanketing us with dewy pink sky.
Will’s mouth met mine in a frenzied kiss.
I met him half way as we kissed and kissed and kissed until my teeth started chattering.
Finally a cut was yelled.
And the crew ran toward us with towels and blankets.
When I looked over at Will, I expected him to be freezing his ass off, maybe still a bit hesitant, shy.
Instead, he was smiling brilliantly like he’d just been reborn.
And maybe, maybe he just had.
I’D NEVER EXPERIENCED this sort of freedom before, maybe when I was a kid but even then nothing but money and fame surrounded me. Angelica Greene, the girl who had destroyed my heart, crushed my soul, made me a shell of a human, had breathed life back into me.
And yet, it wasn’t just her.
It was the realization that every road I’d taken had been because of her, and had been wrong.
It’s easy to lose yourself in someone you love.
Easier still, to lose yourself in someone you hate.
I pulled the blanket tighter around my body and searched frantically for the one and only girl I wanted in my arms.
Zane was currently handing her another blanket and exchanging the wet towel for another dry one.
The lightness in my chest only grew when I locked eyes with Ang from across the beach, her smile was bright — free.
I started walking.
And then walking turned into a slow jog.
Until I was sprinting toward her.
And lifting her into my arms, twirling her around, and crushing my mouth against hers. Our lips molded across each other while I slid my tongue inside. Heat spread down my body.
Someone whistled.
A few people started cheering.
And when we both finally came up for air, the magical moment was gone, because Andrew was standing there with a knowing smirk on his face.
Like he still had something over me.
Over us.
I glared and then gave him a smirk of my own.
Because I’d won.
He’d lost.
“Hey.” Ang wrapped her arms around my waist. “What was that for? I thought you weren’t into public displays of affection.”
I kissed her again just because I could.
“Yeah, well I figured it was time to change that, besides, someone reminded me that I used to strip on stage so there’s that…”
Zane snorted next to us. “And you think I’m bad, I swear for an entire year I was convinced you didn’t even own anything other than loose tanks and shirts with holes in them.”
“Will!” A familiar voice called.
I looked over my shoulder as Trevor approached, his grin wide.
Ty, and Trevor made their way through the crowd. We’d all aged since our last world tour when I’d turned twenty-two.
And every single one of us for the better.
Trevor was married with three kids and basically invested all of his money and decided to produce with Ty who had started his new label and basically did what he did best since he was still single.
Played the drums.
And got laid.
But he still looked good.
And then there was Andrew, standing on the outside, when he used to be always standing by my side.
I was the lead singer and he’d been the only one in our little group that had picked up the slack with vocals more often than not.
An uncomfortable silence settled over all of us before Trevor averted his eyes from me to Ang.
“Hey, Ang,” he said softly, then pulled her into a tight hug.
I expected her to flinch, to default into what was comfortable, but instead she returned his hug and pulled away only to wink and say. “Someone finally married you, huh?”
He barked out a laugh. “Yeah, apparently I’m not, wait what did you use to call me? Allergic to commitment? A hater of love?”
“I believe I told you that you were going to die alone too,” Ang said thoughtfully.
Zane burst out laughing behind her.
“Hey, man.” Trevor shook his hand. “When you gonna leave your label and come over to The Dark Side with me and Ty?”