Page 40 of The Run Option

“I expected that,” I say, dodging a little white crab scurrying by.

Up ahead, Ellie and Willow are walking and laughing, their phone flashlights illuminating the sand in front of them. It’s made me happy that she’s gotten along so well with Miles and Ellie. I’m sure it’ll be the same with all my friends, and my brother too. It’s hard not to like her.

“Emmett didn’t say much, but you know how he is.”

I nod. “I know he’s still not a fan of marriage in general after Shelby left. I’m sure how fast things are moving is a red flag to him.”

“It’s a red flag to all of us,” Miles says, concern furrowing his brow. “Don’t get me wrong, Willow is great. Probably too good for you.” I let out a quiet laugh. “But you don’t have to marry her next weekend. You can wait this out, get to know each other better.”

I sigh. Little does he know we can’t wait. The sooner we’re married, the sooner Willow’s visa situation is handled. Every day we wait is another day closer to her being deported.

“I know it seems fast, but it feels right. We’re in love, and I don’t want to spend another second not married to her.”

“And you don’t want a big wedding with all your friends and family there?” he questions.

“Is this your way of saying you’re mad you can’t come?” I joke, but he doesn’t laugh.

“I feel like something else is going on here. I know you, and this whole elopement isn’t your style.”

I lift my ball cap and run a hand through my hair. “You’re right that it isn’t my style,” I admit, because there’s no point in denying the truth. “But this is what’s best for the both of us right now. We don’t want to wait, so we’re eloping. Maybe in a year or two we can do a big celebration. But the wedding isn’t the most important part anyway. The marriage is,” I end with conviction.

“You know I agree with you.” He looks up ahead at Ellie and Willow. They squeal in tandem when the tide comes up higher on their legs than expected, wetting the bottoms of their rolled-up pants. “Before Ellie, I thought all of it–marriage, love, relationships–was a sham, but now…”

I smile at the girls and at his words. “Everything’s changed.” I reach out and squeeze his shoulder. “I’m happy you found Ellie.”

“I’m happy you found Willow, even if I’m concerned about how fast this is happening.”

“I promise everything is fine,” I lie. “Don’t worry about me.”

When this is all said and done, I’m sure Miles will think back on this conversation and wish he would have pushed me more to open up. I know I’ll regret pretending things were something they weren’t. Because the truth is, what I have with Willow isn’t the same as what he has with Ellie.

There’s attraction between us, sure, but not much more than that–at least on Willow’s side. I have no idea how these next few months of married life will go. The more my feelings grow, the more worried I become that when it’s time to say goodbye, I won’t want to.

“Jase, come look at this!” Willow yells over the sound of the waves crashing. She’s standing a few feet away, her phone light pointed at the ground. Ellie is a few feet further than her, shining her light on a different spot.

The smile that stretches across my face at the sound of my nickname on her lips is proof enough that this infatuation is quickly becoming something more. I jog in her direction without a second thought.

“Wait!” she yells, holding one of her hands up. “Watch where you step.”

I stop and look down, only to find two tiny sea turtles making their way to the water.

“Aren’t they adorable?” she asks with a wide smile. Her hair is wild and windswept, and her eyes sparkle beneath the light of the moon. She looks so happy, and I feel downright honored to witness it.

“They are. I can’t believe how small they are.” I watch the two turtle siblings pad their way across the wet sand. It’s not long before my eyes are drawn back to Willow though. Watching her awestruck expression is even better than seeing the turtles myself.

“Ellie found some more down there. She said that they usually hatch in the summer, but can come as late as October.”

“Sounds like we were just in time, then,” I say with a smile.

“I haven’t been to the beach in so long, and my first time back I get to see this.” She shakes her head in disbelief, a smile on her lips.

“We’ll have to come back again sometime. I know Miles would let us stay at his beach house.”

“Ellie already invited us on his behalf,” she says with a laugh.

“You two seemed like you were having fun.”

“She’s great.” Her smile falters as she looks over at Miles wrapping Ellie up in his arms. “It does feel weird lying to them though.”

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