By the time I’m dressed and have thrown my stuff into my duffel bag, Amelia has a travel coffee mug ready for me.
I raise an eyebrow at her. “How exactly am I s’posed to get this back to you?”
Her answering smile doesn’t quite reach her eyes. “You’ll figure it out,” she says with a wink.
Is she really as unaffected as she seems?
I can’t stick around to find out.
I grab my keys off the counter and head towards the front door. She’s on my heels, and we say nothing until we’re beside my car. I set the coffee inside and turn back to her.
Things feel awkward. Like we’re back in the beginning, unsure of what to say to each other. Fuck this.
I open my arms, and Amelia hesitates for a moment before she rushes into them. I press my face against her hair, breathing in her scent, committing it to memory. Sunshine and peaches and vanilla. Three more things to add to the list of items that’ll forever make me think of this woman.
She pulls away from me all too quickly, brushing the back of her hand against her cheeks. When I cup her chin and use my thumb to assist, she pushes it away, laughing it off. “I’m sorry. I’m such a sap. I don’t cry. Like, ever. I’m just being ridiculous.” She gives me a watery smile. “It’s just been one hell of a summer and I’m already mourning the sheer amount of orgasms I’m losing out on by you leaving early.”
She’s mourning orgasms while my insides are twisting at the thought of leaving her, not knowing if I’ll ever see her again.
Fuck.
I’ve really gotta get out of here.
I plaster on a grin. “Babe, you’ve got Polaroids and a camera full of snaps of me in various stages of undress. I know how good you are with your fingers. You won’t be missin’ out on too many orgasms.” I lean in with a wink. “They just won’t be as gratifying as they would be if they were my fingers. My tongue. My cock.”
A pretty pink flushes her cheeks. “You might find a few surprises in your duffel bag.”
I raise an eyebrow and pick the bag up.
Her arm shoots out and she stops me. “No! Those are for later…when you’re far away from here and missing me.”
“Amelia, you tellin’ me you took dirty pictures of yourself?”
“It was Sunny’s idea. She helped.”
Hell, I love Sunny Mayfield.
I capture her mouth, sliding my tongue between her parted lips. She winds her arms around my neck and we stand there, savoring this, knowing all too well it’s the last time.
And then she unwinds her arms and lowers herself to the ground, giving my biceps one last squeeze before she steps back.
“I’ll miss you, Knox.” Her voice is laced with sincerity.
I think back to that first day, when she was just a girl I wanted to fool around with for the summer. I never could have imagined how much she’d come to mean to me. How ingrained in my soul she’d become.
Nothing could have prepared me for the pain of this moment.
I want to give her one last kiss. One for the road. But I don’t because, if I do, I may not be able to break away.
“I’ll miss you, too, Melia,” I offer, my voice husky and low.
Our eyes lock, and I think Amelia’s about to say something else. But before she can, Mrs. Mayfield’s morning greeting from down the lane breaks our connection.
“It’s that time, I guess,” she says on an exhale.
“Yeah, guess so.”
I pick up my duffel bag and chuck it into the back seat. After closing the door, I lean against it, taking in the sight of Amelia one last time. The very thought makes it hard to breathe.
She doesn’t want me to stay.
I don’t see how I can ever leave.
This was my fault. I put the blockade up, and she built her walls even higher.
Amelia told me at the beginning of the summer she didn’t want anything more. Apparently, she’s sticking to her guns.
What’s she thinking? Feeling? And then, before I can ask, she stands on tiptoes, gives me a kiss on the cheek, then lowers with a, “Thanks for the memories.” The only thing missing is a buddy punch on the shoulder. Which is funny as I feel like I’ve just been sucker-punched.
“Look—if you’re ever in the city, you can find me—”
She cuts me off, putting her fingers to my lips. “Why don’t we leave it up to fate?”
“Right. Fate.”
“And hey, who knows where we’ll both be a year from now, but maybe—if it’s meant to be—we’ll cross paths next summer,” she says, her eyes shining with what I think is hope.
I don’t have the heart to tell her I won’t be here. This was a one-off summer, and as soon as my real estate agent can get out here, the house will be advertised for vacation rentals. I suppose she’ll know soon enough.
“Maybe.”
She lifts onto her toes and swipes my mouth with hers. It’s her farewell. It’s the barest whisper that says so much, and at the same time, it’s not enough.
Without hesitation, I sweep Amelia into my arms, my mouth capturing hers in a kiss so desperate that I can hardly breathe when she retreats.
“Couldn’t help yourself, could you?” she teases, and though my heart’s crushed, I grin down at her.
“Never could with you. Plus, I needed one more for the road.”
Green eyes gaze up at me, the early morning sunlight reflecting in them. “Drive safely, Knox.”
I nod. “Will do. You take care of yourself, Melia.”
“You do the same.”
I start to turn towards my car. Then her voice calling my name stops me.
“Thanks. For everything. I won’t ever forget you.”
I shove my hands into my pockets and try to think of what to say. In this moment—this last, final moment—I feel like a little kid on the playground, kicking dirt and unsure of how to tell his crush how he really feels. Problem is, even if I wanted to, it’s too late for that.
So I do what any dumbass in my situation would do. I answer with a wink and reply, “Then mission accomplished, babe.”
Her cheeks flush pink, a cruel reminder of all those times she got hot and bothered beneath me. “You’re such an ass.”
“You love it.”
Amelia’s eyes dart up into mine, and I inwardly beg her to give me a sign. Anything.
“You wish,” she says.
There’s my answer.
This is it.
The culmination of our summer is awkward banter and a bitter goodbye.
“You better get going. Your family is waiting.”
With one last glance and without waiting for a response, Amelia walks away from me. The thought that this might be the last time I see her hits me like a shot through my heart. If she’d given me one smidge of indication she wanted more, I’d take her with me. But as I watch after her and wait, she never looks back.
So I leave, the whole time misery weighing me down at the thought of just how much I’m leaving behind.
It isn’t until I’m halfway to Nashville that I realize the bitter truth.
Amelia never offered me her last name.
DON’T FALL FOR ME, AMELIA. I don’t have time for it. I only have time for sex.