Hand on my forearm, Harlow attempted to pull me away. I let her. “Let’s go get Soul and Rico.”
The walkhome along the beach took twice as long because Harlow and Soul kept stopping to take pictures.
The straps of her heels were around his fingers, and her arm was looped through his while they laughed at their whispered conversation.
“You look wound up,” Rico pointed out, his arm draped around my neck. He pulled me into him and lightly smacked my jaw with the back of his hand. “Who pissed you off?”
“Nobody.” The lie came easily. I didn’t shrug his arm off me. Instead, I loosely wrapped my arm around his waist and accepted the staggered cadence of our walk, keeping my eyes on the water while my best friend’s hold on me tethered me to my common sense.
I was not losing my shit over Harlow her first night back in town.
I wasn’t.
I wasnot.
Moonlight and the smell of saltwater mixed with Rico’s cologne.
It smelled like home.
Onyx Cove had the type of water that attracted more paddle boarding than surfing. The only time we got choppy waves was during hurricane season. Otherwise, the water I obsessed over every day was gentle.
Our grandparents liked to say it was because we took good care of the island, so the island took care of us in return. It was atime-honored reciprocal arrangement. One I benefited from and wanted my future offspring to enjoy too.
But I needed a partner for that…
We made it back to Rico’s house in companionable silence. Soul and Harlow headed straight for the kitchen for Gatorade and ibuprofen while Rico and I climbed the stairs.
“How many days is Harlow staying here?” I asked once we reached the second-floor landing.
“All of them,” he said with a grin.
“What you mean all of them?” I walked to the guest room I’d been in for the past six weeks, stopping with my back to the door.
“She’s staying all summer.”
“Here? In this house?”
Rico folded his arms across his chest and looked me up and down. “Yeah, nigga. In this house.”
Right on cue, laughter from downstairs traveled up the stairs.
Rico walked over to a hall closet and pulled out an extra blanket while I walked in my room, trying to make sense of what he said.
Harlow was staying with us all summer?
I could do her little pop in visits because she rarely stayed more than two days at a time.
But the whole summer?
All three months under the same roof?
I couldn’t even think about it without my chest getting tight.
Flicking on the light, I sighed, needing sleep more with each passing second. But I didn’t make it far before I froze in the doorway.
A bright pink suitcase was opened beside my bed, all the contents in chaos with some spilling over the side.
I could see the story of her getting ready even though I hadn’t been here and a smile kicked up the corner of my lips.
