Page 9 of Cheesecake
A huge grin lights up her face. “Really?”
“Yeah,” I whisper, leaning in and kissing her again.
“Mmm. That’s three.”
“You gonna count them all?”
“Until Ilosecount, yeah.” She smiles and leans into me, and I inhale the mix of salty sea air and her.
“Wanna go in the water or keep counting kisses?” I ask, realizing that I am currently the luckiest man on the face of this earth. Not only do I have this precious beauty in my life, but I’m the first man who’s ever touched her. Now, more than ever, I know that I need to find a way to make this work. When she goes to college, I’ll go see her on weekends and fly her back to me every holiday. A few years is a short blip on the radar. We’ll make this work.
“I want to keep counting kisses,” she says, and I let my surfboard fall to the sand.
Penny
“Ishould have worn more comfortable shoes,” I moan, sitting on the edge of a bench as Billy oohs and ahhs at the seals as they swim toward the glass then gracefully roll away the leap out onto the platform above. He’s gone through the aquarium, talking about all the things we’ve seen like he’s the narrator of a wildlife documentary. He’s already expressed his desire to get a toy shark at the gift shop, so he’s on his best behavior to increase his chances. From the way Corey smiles whenever Billy mentions it, I feel sure he’ll be the proud owner of a plush shark before the day is out.
“Then take them off for a bit. Billy’s happy here for a while.” Corey sits beside me and gestures for me to lift my foot to his lap.
“Seriously? They’re probably all stinky.”
“I’m told I give a great foot rub. It’s fine, sweetheart.”Sweetheart. There it is again.And there goes my heart.Swoon.
“You’re really winning me over with this sweetheart stuff,” I say, lifting my foot and placing it on his thigh. “And now you’re adding in a foot massage and I’m a total goner. If I say something wildly inappropriate for the amount of time we’ve been together, just know that it’s the swoon combined with the pain and the foot fumes muddling my brain.”
“Is that so? What are you likely to say?” He chuckles as he takes hold of my foot and presses his thumb into my aching arch. I almost moan from the pleasure and instead just focus on his skillful kneading.
“Nothing.” I giggle. “I’m zipping my lips tight so I don’t incriminate myself.” I mime a zip and a lock then throw away the key.
He smiles then gestures for me to switch feet. I close my eyes as his thumbs push away the aching on that side too. “I’d say it back, you know,” he says suddenly, glancing up at me as my eyes pop open and lock with his.
“Really?”
He nods. “I have for…” He sighs. “Longer than I should’ve.” His eyes drop again, and I pull my feet from his lap, moving closer to him, and taking his hand.
“I had no idea,” I whisper, letting my body relax against his as he presses a soft kiss against my forehead.
“I thought it was one-sided, so I was going to keep it to myself. But then you mentioned your soul knowing mine and…” He releases a heavy breath.
“Then the tension happened, and it couldn’t be helped.”
We lock eyes and he nods. “I want you to know that I don’t expect you to change your plans because of me. My life is here on this island. And no matter where your life takes you, I’ll always be here for you, right on this island, loving every moment I get to spend with you.” He lifts a hand and brushes my hair behind my ear. “No matter how long or short that time may be.”
Tears prick my eyes as I swallow down the lump that’s forming in my throat. I’ve been trying so hard not to think about what happens when the date I’m supposed to leave for college rolls around. I was kind of hoping that if I ignore it and just focus on what’s going on right now, it might not even come. Maybe I could stay in this moment, loving Corey, for the rest of my days.
“I want it to be alongtime,” I admit, blinking rapidly and shaking my head to try and get rid of any sort of thought about walking away from this now that I have it.
“And it will be.Afteryou go to college and fulfill your dream. You want to be a game designer, right?”
I nod. We’ve had many conversations over the years where I expressed wanting to design games with endless world maps that keep the gamer immersed for hours in a varied story that changes each time they start anew and make different choices.
“Then that’s what I want you to be,” he continues. “I know how I feel about you, Penny. And I know that’s not going to change when you go away to school. And…” His brow knits and he looks down at our joined hands. “If it turns out that while you’re away, you realize that thisisn’twhat you want, I’ll understand. But I’ll feel the same about you then too. Because I love you, Penny. I love everything about you, and I love you enough to wait for you, or to let you go, but either way, I want you to become everything you ever dreamed you’d be.” His eyes move back to mine, swirling with emotion, longing, fear, and hope. “As long as I know you’re mine right now, I’m good.”
My heart swells so much it pushes against my ribcage and hurts like it might burst. “I really want to kiss you right now,” I whisper hoarsely. “But we’re surrounded by a bunch of kids, so I’ll wait. But I am yours, Corey—now, in the future, and forever and a day after that. I know I’m young. I know I have a lot of living to do. But I also know my heart, and in my heart and in my soul you’re the one for me. I love you, Corey. And yes, I’m yours right now, but I’ll also be yours for as long as we’re both breathing.”
“Fuck,” he breathes, wiping the back of his hands against his eyes as he takes a deep inhale and nods.
“Fuck?” I lean in so his ears are the only ones that hear me.
