Almost - m.c

Chapter 6

I had to get used to being single.

Kelsey's P.O.V

It was my first night in Aruba & I really wanted to see the beach. The villa we were staying at was on a quiet beach. Even though the sand & water right outside our back door wasn't technically our private property, it was so secluded that no one besides the other residents had access to it. It was basically our own little piece of ocean.

I wanted to walk the length of the shore, you know right on the sand where the water raises over so your feet sink in...that's what I wanted to do.

I asked Michael to come with because why not. We had spent most of the day apart, besides our dinner, so I thought we could hang out tonight.

The sun was almost set, there was just a hint of pink & orange peaking over the horizon.

"Damn. This could be so romantic." Michael said as we started walking. "You know?"

"Yea."

"Literally. You & Kyle were going to be in paradise."

"When we booked the trip, I knew it was nice but I didn't know it was this nice."

"Yea. Sorry, should I not bring him up? Was that weird?"

"It's okay if you do. This trip is to get over him but it's not like we can ignore that it was supposed to be a honeymoon, you know?"

"Well if you want me to stop or whatever, just let me know. Sometimes I don't have a filter."

"You're fine, Michael. I won't lie, I still think about Kyle a lot. It's not that I think about him in a sense of like I wish we were together but I just think about the relationship, you know?"

"Yea. I've been thinking about Lauren a lot too. Reflecting on my life."

"Exactly."

& after that, Michael & I walked up & down the shore for probably about an hour in silence.

I let my mind wander. I thought about what my life would be like if I did marry Kyle. He was a great guy so it's not that I wouldn't be safe or happy, it's just that I wouldn't be crazy in love. I know the puppy love doesn't last forever but he & I had more of a companionate love, it was like we were so close & we had been together so long that we didn't see a need to end the relationship but it needed to end. If I walked down that aisle to Kyle, I would have a life of regret. I only want to be married once. Sure, I only wanted to be proposed to once as well but I can get over that. I only want to walk down the aisle to the man of my dreams once, because I only want to have one man of my dreams & that man wasn't Kyle.

I could see myself years from now being friends with Kyle though. I could see us both married, our children playing & we could joke about how we almost got married because he & I had such a strong friendship too that I think, with time, can still last.

If I married Kyle, I would be marrying my best friend, but not my lover.

Once Michael & I made it back to our place, it was dark & we had to actually guess which villa was ours since we didn't leave any lights on & they all looked similar from the back.

"I sure hope it's this one..." Michael whispered as he used the key to unlock the back door & it worked.

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner." I joked with him.

After being back inside, I needed to clean my feet since I had wet sand in between my toes.

"Did you want to shower first, Michael? I might take awhile."