I reach for his shoulder and smooth my hand up and down his arm. “You have the same effect on me, so I’m happy to return the favor.”
“God, sunshine, what would I do without you right now?”
His words make my heart pound. I need him too, but I don’t say the words. It’s frightening to need someone, and I can’t deny that I’m a little scared to want Ben in my life like this so soon in our relationship.
As much as I thought I needed Cal, we never spent any significant time together. He was always at practice, at games, with friends, at camps. I only got his leftovers. With Ben, even though we’re totally new and got together almost as a fluke, I feel like I matter to him in a way I never did to Cal.
The thought makes me grin as I stare out the window. We eventually make it back to Charming and wind through the quaint streets.
I love this town and its sometimes sleepy vibe. Everything looks so sweet and welcoming, from the adorable awnings above the restaurants along the main drag to the flowerbeds that decorate so many windows. This place is one of the reasons I’m so reluctant to move back to California.
But the smile drops off my face when we get back to my house, and we find the front door open.
Especially when Ben and I are the only two people who have the keys.
“Wait here.” Ben’s commanding voice stops me before I can unstrap my seatbelt.
“Don’t go in there—” I call out as his door slams shut. “By yourself.”
He pops open the trunk, rummages around in the back, and stomps up the front steps with a baseball bat slung over his shoulder.
I dig out my phone and call Olly. “Can you guys come over? We think someone broke into my house.”
The phone clicks, and I don’t need Olly’s confirmation to know he’s on his way. Not five seconds later, he and Johnny are charging out of their house and across the street. I point to my porch, and they race in.
I chew on my nail as I watch all of the lights flip on. A few minutes later, Ben jogs out, his face thunderous.
I hop out of the car. “What happened?”
“I’m so sorry.” He rakes his hands through his hair.
“Oh, my God, you’re freaking me out. What?”
He takes me into his arms. “Someone ransacked your room. All of your things are trashed.”
I jerk out of his arms and race into my house, surprised to find my living room in one piece.
That nice flatscreen sits unscathed.
My kitchen is fine.
The yoga room looks like it always does.
But my bedroom...
I step around Johnny and Olly, who are blocking the doorway.
My breath catches. I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
My room is wrecked.
Clothes are scattered everywhere. My pillowcases are shredded and feathers cover every single surface. Books lie scattered on the floor with pages ripped out.
But it’s the sight of my sand collection shattered and lying in a heap that tears a cry from my throat.
Every trip I went on with my family, every time we went to the beach, those vacations we took before my parents broke up—it’s all destroyed.
I don’t realize I’m kneeling down next to the shards of glass until Olly gently grabs my shoulders and gets me to stand.
“You probably don’t wanna try to clean this up just yet. Maybe we should call Officer Rivera about this too.”
Blood drips from my hand and pools in the sand at my feet.
“Oh, damn. You cut yourself.”
I hear the guys talking behind me, and then I’m wrapped in Ben’s warm embrace. “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s get that cut cleaned.”
After Ben washes my hand in the bathroom sink, dries it, and cleans it again with hydrogen peroxide, I find myself sitting on the vanity.
“Keep the towel pressed against it to stop the bleeding,” he reminds me as he digs around in the cabinet.
He carefully removes the towel and studies my palm where blood quickly pools.
“It’s deeper than I thought it was.” His dark eyes meet mine. “You might need stitches.”
“No. I... no. I might have some butterfly bandages in there somewhere. We’ll...” I’m too flustered to finish, but he nods.
“Okay. Let’s try that. As long as we can get it to stop bleeding, it might work.”
Once he applies several Steri-Strips, the bleeding finally subsides. Then he wraps my entire hand in gauze.
I hold it up and laugh. “I look like a mummy.” Another laugh spills from me, along with several tears. “Ugh, what’s wrong with me?”
Ben steps between my legs and pulls me into his arms. I lay my head against his chest and listen to the steady beat of his heart. It’s so soothing, I close my eyes.
“I don’t remember grabbing the glass. I was just so upset, and I feel like my brain froze.”
“A network error. Or, um, a TCP connection timeout,” he teases, and I still.
Pulling back, I look at him. “This feels like a stupid question to ask this deep into... whatever we are... but what’s your major?”
See, that’s a first date question, but we never went on a first date.
His eyebrows furrow. “Computer science and business. Double degree if I can swing it.”
Of course I’m falling for the computer science hot-jock nerd.
I fold my lips and shake my head. “So... you code?” I remember telling him how it all looked like hieroglyphics, and he laughed.
“A little,” he says slowly as he studies my face. “Why? Is that a thing? You hate coders?”
Coders? You mean, like my dad, both of my brothers, and all of their friends?
I blow out a big breath. “No, I don’t hate coders.” I roll my eyes. Shrug. Make a face.
He chuckles and kisses my temple. “But ya have some strong feelings about it, huh?”
I stare into his beautiful dark eyes. “Maybe.”
“You planning to tell me why?”
I can’t help but return his smile. “At some point, possibly.”
“You gonna tell me what you’re studying? Sorry, you’re right—I should’ve asked that before now.”
“It’s okay. I’ve, um, changed majors a few times, but I think I’ve finally settled on classical literature with an emphasis on mythology.” Something my father called a completely useless major. And maybe it is, but I love classes, and shouldn’t you enjoy what you study?
I remind myself of that Emerson quote. Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
My father would think I was crazy if I ever told him this, but in my own quiet way, studying something I love and teaching yoga instead of drowning in those tech classes is my way of ‘living in the sunshine.’ Even if no one in my family understands.
Johnny pokes his head into the bathroom. He has Lily sound asleep on his shoulder. When he sees me, he nods. “Oh, good. You’re not dead. Listen, where do you want the baby? She’s drooling all over my duds here.”
I don’t know why he’s deferring to me. I look to Ben, and he shrugs.
Before we file out of the bathroom, Ben tugs on my shirt. “That’s a cool major, sunshine. I wanna hear more about it.”
I smile to myself as I follow him toward his room at the front of the house.