Everywhere: Book 3 of the Nowhere Trilogy

43. Just the Two of Us

Building big castles way on high - Grover Washington, Jr.

8:57 PM, Monday, March 14, 2022

"It's times like this that I suspect you love me."

Harry halts his movements, his hand frozen on her face as his startled eyes meet her serene ones. "What?" he chokes out. "Why would you say that?"

Smiling as she reaches out to stroke his jaw, Chele smiles at him. "Shhh...it's okay for you to love me."

His mind is traffic on the 405 where it meets the 105: cramped, confused, and scary. How did she figure it out? Had she heard him in her sleep? How should he respond? It's too early for those words, isn't it? He said them to Camille at 3 months and to Danice after 5 months. Both times had been too soon, as neither woman had returned the words or the sentiment at the time. Is 6 months too soon?

"Harry?" Chele asks, touching his arm. "Are you having another panic attack?"

Shaking himself, he focuses his attention back on her. "Huh?" His skin is clammy. Maybe he is experiencing another episode. It doesn't feel like before. The touch of her skin against his is comforting, and he aches to curl with her on the beach listening to the sound of the waves as the light breeze cools them.

Cautiously he shakes his head. "You suspect I love you?" His tongue is a swollen mass blocking the words from forming properly.

"It's okay, silly. I suspect I love you too."

A metaphorical window bursts open and the air from the sea flows into his lungs. "Really?" he asks, grasping her arms as his eyes search her face for signs of deception.

"Really," she sighs, standing and taking his hand as she pulls him from the sofa. Grasping his hand in both of hers, she leads him to the back door, picking up a blanket from the chair and grabbing two hoodies from the kitchen table. Opening the door, Chele guides Harry onto the back porch and down the steps to the sand where she spreads the blanket.

Had she read his mind? Settling his bum on the scratchy wool, he shifts his body so that Chele can wiggle her cute bottom between his splayed legs. As she passes over the second hoodie while yanking the first over her head, he wonders how she knew that he was thinking about creating this exact scenario. Are they that closely in tune with each other? As she leans against him, his arms wrap around her.

Her head lolls back, exposing her neck, and he can't resist pressing a kiss to the tender spot at the base. A moan escapes her lips, and he sighs in contentment. She tastes like ice cream on the boardwalk. Like lobster and caviar served with Dom Perignon. The stars provide enough illumination even if the light pollution from the nearby beach houses weren't spoiling it. Briefly he wonders if their idyllic time together with the family today was captured on camera by Los Angeles' ever-present paparazzi, but he dismisses the thought as unwanted and unconcerning. Now if someone were to snap a photo of he and Chele in this moment, he would be irate. This brief respite belong to them alone.

He hums the melody to Just the Two of Us, watching the clouds drift artfully across the moon, trailing like tendrils of smoke. His eyesight blurs with tears, but he doesn't dare sniffle for fear Chele will think he's barmy. Breathing in deeply, he smells wood smoke, salty ocean air, and the woman in his arms. Does a moment get more perfect?

==========

11:42 AM, Tuesday, March 15, 2022

Saying goodbye to Liz and the kids had been challenging to say the least, and an hour later, Chele's heart still feels a pang at the way Paige had clung to Harry in the airport lounge. Thankfully, Harry's status and wealth bought them some privacy at LAX as they waited for their separate flights. But watching her babies walk away, knowing she wouldn't get to hold them for another 6 months, nearly brought Chele to her knees. If Harry's arms hadn't been around her, she would have been a puddle on the ground as soon as the door closed behind them.