Page 243 of Better When Shared
“I can’t believe you live so close to this and spend all your time inside gaming with us,” I said, taking a sip.
“Not all of my time. I come here at least once a week. And the view’s not going anywhere,” she replied with a shrug. “But raid night waits for no one.”
I laughed, the tension I’d been carrying since yesterday easing slightly. This was the Skylar I knew—practical, a little sarcastic, utterly herself.
We ate in comfortable silence, sharing the sandwiches and some local apples she’d brought. The wind hummed around us, carrying the salt spray and the distant cries of seagulls. It felt like we were the only two people in the world.
“Holy shit, look!” Skylar grabbed my arm, pointing out toward the horizon. “Orcas!”
I squinted, seeing nothing but waves. “Where?”
She fumbled in her backpack, pulling out a pair of binoculars and handing them to me. “About two o’clock, maybe half a mile out.”
I set my cup down and raised the binoculars to my eyes, adjusting the focus. Then I saw them—sleek black dorsal fins cutting through the water, occasionally a flash of white as they surfaced. “That’s... incredible,” I whispered, counting at least five distinct bodies moving in perfect synchronization.
“J-pod,” Skylar said, her voice warm with affection. “They’ve been coming through these waters for generations. That big one with the notched fin is Notch. The locals all know him by sight.”
I handed the binoculars back, watching her face as she tracked the whales. The wind had brought a flush to her cheeks, her eyesbright with excitement. In that moment, she looked utterly alive, utterly present, and so beautiful it made my chest ache.
“This is the perfect place.”
She lowered the binoculars, turning to me. “For what?”
“For telling the truth.” I drew a deep breath, steeling myself for whatever came next. “About yesterday. About everything.”
Something shifted in her expression. She set the binoculars down carefully, then hugged her knees to her chest, looking out at the vast expanse of sea.
“I wanted to kiss Ryker,” she said. “I’ve wanted to for a long time. But the thing is, I wanted to kiss you, too. And it was wrecking me, knowing that I couldn’t have what I wanted with one of you without hurting the other. And seeing you hurt yesterday, that was like a knife to the gut.”
My throat tightened, words momentarily beyond reach.
“That’s why this is so fucking hard,” she continued, fingers picking at a loose thread on her jeans. “I’ve been such an idiot. I acted on impulse, flirting with both of you separately. But it was online, and I never expected to meet either of you in person, not until my grandmother decided to play Cupid.”
“Why do you think she did that?”
Skylar chuckled. “Hui is a born meddler. She worries about everyone, but me most of all. And she’s convinced that she knows everything about what I need.”
I stared at her for a long moment. “And does she?”
“She sent me the two of you. Together. So that’s a solid maybe. But don’t tell her I said that. It’ll only cause more meddling.”
“So you were happy to see us when you fled into your cabin and locked the door?”
“No, that was a moment of sheer panic. I mean, I’ve effectively been cheating on both of you, with each other.”
“Was it cheating? We never laid down any ground rules, or committed to anything.”
“I know, but you felt betrayed when you found out. Don’t lie just because he’s kissed you now. I know you did. I should never have done anything to risk our friendship, no matter how much I feel for you or Ryker.” She turned to me then, eyes bright with unshed tears. “It was killing me to know that my selfish actions could tear the three of us apart. Our friendship means everything to me—has meant everything to me for years. And that’s why I ran.”
The honesty in her voice made something crack open inside me, a warmth spreading through my chest despite the cold wind. “Sky…”
“When I saw you and Ryker, I saw something there.” Her words came out in a rush. “When you were kissing. Both of you looked so fucking into it.”
I froze, heat crawling up my neck. Yesterday, against the side of her cabin, Ryker’s body pressed against mine, his mouth hot and demanding on my lips. I’d been so caught up in the moment I hadn’t considered that anyone might see us.
“It wasn’t—” I started, scrambling for some explanation that wouldn’t sound pathetic.
“It was. And it... unlocked something inside me.” Skylar shook her head, a smile breaking through her serious expression. “It was fucking hot. And something I had never dared to hope for.”
