“Oh my God! You did not.”
He turns his back to our friends and lifts my chin. “I did. I told you. I’m not leaving you until I absolutely have to.”
“What did they say?”
“Parker teared up and nodded her agreement. Holden shook my hand, and that was it.”
“You’re staying with me?” Hot tears prick my eyes.
“I’m staying with you. And I’m driving you to the airport, and I’m not leaving your side until I have to. I almost bought a ticket just so that I could sit with you while you wait for your flight.”
“That’s crazy.”
“I know. The flight was sold out.”
“Griffin!”
He winks and turns back to our friends. “I’ll catch you guys later.”
“You going to be home later?” Oliver asks him.
“No. I’m staying with my girl. I’ll be around tomorrow after I get home from the airport.” My belly flops when he calls me his girl. “Ready?” he asks.
“I need to get my towel.”
He drops my hand and makes quick work of picking up the towel and shaking out the sand before folding it and coming back to me. He laces his fingers through mine and nods at Oliver, and then we’re walking. The four of us make the trek back up the beach to our hotel. Oliver and Karina chat back and forth, but Griffin and I are both quiet.
“You need a ride tomorrow?” Oliver asks Griffin.
“Nah, I have my Jeep here. Thanks, though.”
“Hit me up tomorrow when you get back.” He leans in and hugs Karina, whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh before she swats at his arm as he steps back from her.
“Have a safe flight.” Karina gives me a hug, then turns to face Griffin. “If you hurt her, I’ll fly here and rip your balls off.” She’s dead serious, not a glimmer of a smile anywhere in her expression. My best friend is fiercely loyal.
We step onto the elevator, and Griffin turns to face her, his hand still holding tightly to mine.
“I don’t want to hurt her, Karina. I’d hurt myself before that happened.”
“How about neither of you gets hurt? I like what’s behind door number three much better, don’t you?” She finally lets her grin tilt her lips.
“Done.”
“I’ll call you when I land,” Karina tells me as the door slides open, dropping her off at her floor. She waves as the doors close, and it’s just the two of us.
When we reach our floor, we step out of the elevator together. My hands shake as I tap our key card on the door, and the light flashes green. The room is dark and quiet. Parker’s bedroom door is open, so I know she’s not here. Without a word, I lead Griffin into my room, then close and lock the door behind us.
Wordlessly, we both strip out of our clothes and climb under the covers. We lie facing each other without a sliver of room between our naked bodies. I want to tell him that I’m falling hard, but it’s too soon for that. Instead, I rest my head on his chest and listen to the rhythm of his thundering heartbeat.
“Call me every day,” he says, his voice cracking. “Text me whenever you want. If I’m at practice or a game, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. I want to know everything that happens in your life. I want you to call and text me so much that I feel like I’m there. I don’t want to miss a single thing.”
“W-Will you do the same?”
“Yes.”
“And we can video call, right?”
“We can. We’ll have to sit down one night to figure out our schedules and plan times to video call. And I want to come and see you as soon as I can get away.”
“I can come back too. If I have a break.”
“We’re going to make this work, Peyton. There is no other option.”
“There is. Maybe it wasn’t meant to be.”
He stiffens. “I’ve waited all this time for you, so no way in hell am I letting you slip through my fingers. I’m not afraid of the work. I’m a D1 college athlete with a double major. Work is my middle name.”
“That’s different. Those are your hopes and dreams. Your goals for life.”
“And this is my heart. You are my heart.”
I suck in a breath. “Griffin…” His name is a whispered plea.
“You’re my girl, and as time passes and we grow closer, I know there is no way my heart won’t be invested,” he explains. “I’m not so sure it’s not already,” he adds quietly.
“I guess I should get some sleep. I still have to pack in the morning. It’s just… I don’t know if I can. Sleep, I mean.”
“Yeah, I don’t think sleep is in the cards for me tonight.”
“Tell me about you. Tell me everything. We have all night.”
“You willing to do the same?” he asks.
“Detail for detail,” I answer.
That’s how we spend the next several hours—talking about our childhoods, our love of sports and music. We talk more about food and family traditions for birthdays and holidays. We talk about so much that by the time four o’clock rolls around, I feel as if I’ve known him for years.
“You need to get some rest,” he says.
“I’ve always wondered what it felt like.”
“What’s that?” he asks, rubbing his hand up and down my spine.
“To lie skin to skin with someone.”
“It’s better than I imagined,” he replies. “Then again, maybe it’s the someone who makes all the difference.”
“You’re definitely my someone.”
“Get some rest,” he says. I feel his lips press to the top of my head.
Although I want to fight it, we both need to sleep. As it stands, it’s already only going to be a few short hours. I close my eyes, and the exhaustion weighs heavily as I start to drift off to sleep. It’s Griffin’s, “Fuck, I’m going to miss you,” and his soothing touch that lulls me to sleep.
I don’t want to do this.
We’re standing just inside the airport, my suitcase at my side and Griffin at the other. My sister said goodbye to Holden at the hotel to avoid the media circus that was sure to follow him. She’s standing off to the side, giving us time.
“I need to go.” The words taste sour on my tongue.
“I know,” he says, his chin resting on top of my head. “I know you do, but I don’t want to let go.”
“You have to.”
“I don’t know how this happened, Peyton. I don’t know how I got attached to you in such a short amount of time, but I feel like someone is reaching into my chest and yanking out my heart.”
“We don’t have to do this. If it’s too hard, we can step back from all of it.”
“Fuck that.” He pulls back and bends his knees so we are eye to eye. “I’m not backing away from you. Not now, and probably not ever. It’s going to be hard, and it’s going to suck, but I know we can do this. I know we can.”
“Okay.”
“Tell me you know we can do this, Peyton.”
“We can do this.” I say the words, but I’m not so sure that they’re true. I want to believe that we can, but I know we’re young, and distance is hard.