Page 22 of Claiming His Labor Day

“I looked for you,” she said. Her voice was demure and soft. “For weeks after that night. I went back to the field, hoping you did too. Hoping you’d be looking for me. Call me stupid, I don’t care. I wanted to see you again. I needed to see you again.”

I chuckled and started to laugh. I didn’t know why, but I couldn’t control it.

“You’re laughing?” She stood up and glared at me. “You think this is funny?”

“No. Not at all,” I tried soothing her.

“Then what the hell are you laughing about?”

“If you only knew the lengths I took to try to find you after that damned carnival, you’d be laughing too.”

“Wait. What?” She dropped her arms and stared. “You looked for—”

“I did go back to that field. The morning after. The sun was barely up, and the carnies were tearing shit down. I asked almost everyone there, but no one knew who you were,” I shook my head. “For weeks and weeks afterwards, I went to bars, restaurants, you name it. I even went to the art gallery in town, but they couldn’t help me. Perhaps, because I figured you like the finer things, you were looking for me in biker bars and I was looking for you in cocktail lounges and art galleries.”

“You looked for me?”

“I tried denying what I felt for you, but I couldn’t,” I took her hands and put them to my mouth. “I couldn’t stop thinking about you, Naomi.”

Her soft chuckle was beautiful, and I stepped up to her. I wanted to gather her into my arms, but when I reached out, she took a step back and looked away.

“What is it?”

“It’s too late, Devlin. I can’t do this.”

“Do what? What do you mean it’s too late? It has only been two months. What could have changed since that night at the carnival? What has you so guarded?”

“You’d be surprised,” she turned away, her hands covering her face.

“Mia seemed adamant about me finding you. She gave me the impression that there is something I should know.”

“Damn it,” she spat out.

“Talk to me, Naomi,” I pleaded. “Please,” I forced her back around, to look at me, pulling her arms down. “I have been tearing my hair out wondering about you. Dying to know where you went, and now, that you have somehow finally dropped back into my life you won’t even talk to me?”

“Why do you want to know me so badly. I’m not like those other girls. I don’t fit into your world,” she said softly.

“My world is diverse. All walks of life, all types of people. You’d fit in perfectly. If anyone has a problem with that, they can screw off.”

She shook her head, and I knew I wasn’t getting into her head. “I can’t. Just leave me alone.”

“I can’t do that.”

“You should go back to her.”

“To who?”

“That girl you were with.”

“Lindsey? Our relationship has been platonic for months now. It’s always been you, Naomi.”

“You don’t even know me.”

“Then give me the time to find out about you, so that I can justify how I feel. Can’t you at least give me that chance?”

“You don’t want me, Devlin. I’m… damaged.”

“What do you mean, damaged?”

“I’m… we’re too different!” She was raising her voice, and her anger levels were heightened. “I can’t be with someone like you,” her eyes were glued to a piece of leaf that was still stuck to her hands.

“You just told me yourself that you looked for me. There was something there. You have to admit that.”

“Yeah, well, I was naïve.”

“Just two months ago? That doesn’t make you naïve. You’re scared of something. Something happened, or someone said something to you. Naomi,” I pulled her face up to meet my gaze. “Talk to me, please.”

She didn’t. She merely wiped the sand from her legs and walked away, and I watched her, helpless to stop her, helpless to convince her to give me that chance.

Naomi slowed her pace, her hands going up to her head. I watched as she collapsed to the sand and I ran to her. “Naomi!” I couldn’t get to her fast enough. I knelt by her side and rolled her to her back. She was still conscious, but her face had lost all its color.

“What happened? Are you okay? You’re white as a ghost,” I said.

“Yeah,” she forced herself to sit up. “It’s just the heat. I’ll be fine in a minute.”

I scooped her up and started back to the party. “I want you to get checked just to be safe.”

“No, Devlin. Really, I’m fine. I just got heated. Please don’t make this a big deal. A little water will cool me off.”

She looked to the ocean, and I stopped. “I don’t want to go anywhere,” she said, her expression softening.

I carried her to the ocean and felt the water around my feet. I walked into the waves with her still in my arms. She felt incredible against my chest. The water reached my knees, and I stopped.

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