“Right. Because uncomfortable isn’t fun, is it?” She started to walk up the beach away from me.
“Hey, I thought we were talking.” I jogged to catch up to her.
“I’m going to tell Eden goodbye and head home. I don’t know what to say to you, Mason.”
“How about something that doesn’t make my head spin?” I glared at her harder than I intended to. She had me switching emotions faster than the waves rolled in.
“Your head? Are you saying I’m throwing mixed signals?” She sounded incredulous.
“Just tell me what in the hell happened in San Antonio, Syd. Can you do that?” I stopped huffing for a second to calm my voice. “Let’s not argue about it. Let’s not get mad. I want the straight, honest truth.”
“Which part? The part when I confided in you and told you things I’ve never told anyone, and then you kicked me out with a fucking credit card the next morning. Because that’s the part that really sticks out to me.”
I scratched my head. “I told you I had a business meeting. Two to be exact. How could you be mad at me for that? I made sure you were taken care of.” Was she seriously mad about that?
She stormed farther down the beach. “I can’t do this. I’m angry. I can’t talk about it without getting angry. I can’t look at you without wanting to claw your eyes out.”
“That sounds a little harsh, sweetheart.” She had walked past the bonfire party. This part of the beach was completely dark. I had to step closer to try to see her face.
“I’m serious.” She spun to face me. “I’ll leave. You can go back to the party. We don’t have to do this.”
“We need to do this. I don’t play games. If this is some kind of game to you, which I’m starting to get that feeling, I’m out. When I saw you this morning and then down by the beach again tonight, I thought I needed to say something. Try to apologize for something. Although I don’t know what had you so pissed.”
“You. You had me pissed,” She seethed.
“Because of the credit card? What about the stunt you pulled? I called. I texted. I had the damn bellhops looking for you. Do you know what it felt like when I thought you were missing?”
“Missing? Why would I be missing?”
I threw my hands in the air. “I don’t know. Maybe because you had just told me a horrific story about how your sister is on the run.”
“You thought I ran?”
“No. I don’t know what I thought. I only knew I couldn’t find you. I thought you were lost or someone took you.” I sat on sand. “Saying it out loud sounds damn ridiculous.” I laughed.
She sat next to me. “So you weren’t mad about the schedule? You were trying to find me?”
“I thought I had made that clear. I turned the hotel upside down.”
She stared ahead. The green light passed the red one on the horizon. “I’m sorry I made you worry. I shouldn’t have done that.”
“No, you shouldn’t have.” I hung my head. “But I know now why you did it. You thought what you told me didn’t matter.” I shifted in the sand, twisting my body toward her. I didn’t care that she closed her eyes when I held her face between my hands. “I know what it’s like to carry family secrets. I wouldn’t disregard something like that. I felt honored that you shared it with me.”
Her eyes fluttered open. I wished I could see the hazel flecks under the stars. “But, the way you acted. You were a jackass.”
“Ok, so maybe I was focused on the meetings. They are multi-million dollar contracts. Fifty million if you want to know. I was slightly preoccupied. It didn’t mean that night wasn’t important to me.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah, oh.” I leaned toward her. The air suddenly seemed still and calm as if the waves weren’t rolling toward us any longer. Nights on the beach could be cold, but I didn’t feel the chill on my skin. How was I back in this situation again? The same beautiful girl kept landing in my hands. “I’m going to ask you something I have never in my life asked someone.”
“What’s that?” Her voice had lost some of the anger and resentment.
“Can I kiss you?”
“Why would you ask me that? You usually just do it.”
“Because this time is different.” I steadied my breath. It was all I could do not to kiss her now. My heart was racing.
“Different how?” she whispered over the breeze.
“Different because we’ve both already walked away once. Kissing you now changes everything.”