Emily and River meet in Miami, where they have the time of their lives, but it isn't meant to be: the next morning, Emily leaves for San Francisco, leaving both their hearts broken. They don't think they'll ever see each other again.
Emily goes back...
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"I'm so sorry!" he said, holding his hands in the air as if under arrest. "I didn't..."
She shook her head. "Not your fault," she said, turning her face away from him.
"I just wanted..." he began. I just wanted to thank you for the shirt. He didn't expect her to react like that. She had jumped, yelled at him and tried to take his hand, all within a second. It wasn't the same as when he'd surprised her while she was scrolling on her phone and she'd shrieked. This had been fear and she was frightened. Her eyes were bigger than usual and all her muscles were tensed. Was it the physical contact that bothered her? Had he gone too far?
"Don't worry about it," she said quickly. She took her brand new bag of the counter while putting her wallet back in the old one in a swift motion. Before he realized what was going on, she started walking towards the exit, leaving him behind in the store.
"Emily, wait!"
Having to wait for the automatic doors of the store to open, he tried to run after her, the sun meeting his skin the moment he stepped outside. He was just fast enough to see someone with short, dark brown hair turn the corner into a different street. Emily.
It didn't take him long to catch up with her, for she wasn't even running or making a big effort to get away from him as fast as she could.
"Emily, please," he said. "I'm sorry."
"You don't have to be," she said. Her tone was cold and formal. "I'm sorry for overreacting. Now, if you'll excuse me..." She tried to walk past River, but he wasn't one to give up.
"You didn't scare me," he tried. He didn't know exactly what had made her walk away from him, but was hoping he was on the right track to convincing her to stay.
"Don't be too nice," she said. She didn't look him in the eyes and averted her gaze so she wasn't looking in his direction.
He bit his lip. She gave him a compliment and he didn't even know how to say 'thank you'. "I have a lot more places to show you," he said.
"You should go to your sister," she said. "I'm just standing in your way."
Was that the problem? Did she feel like she was bothering him? "You're not!" he said. "I'll be there for her tomorrow, there's no rush. She'll survive one day without me. And now that you're in Miami, you have to make it worth it."
She sighed and looked down at her feet. "But-"
"You're not bothering me," he said softly, searching for eye contact. "I love to guide you around and show you the best places." He lifted his hand up, about to lay it on her shoulder, before he thought back to what happened last time he put his hand on her shoulder and reconsidered. Instead, he brushed his hand through his hair which had been tangled by the soft February wind. "I have to admit, I was taken off guard when you reacted the way you did, but now that I know I shouldn't do that, I won't. Just..." He let a short silence fall, giving her time to think. "Don't let this adventure be over yet."
