Tide Changer

Eighteen

The sky was a blend of purple, orange, and red. Waves engulfed the sand, leaving a foamy trail as they retreated. Rys and I strolled along the beach hand in hand, listening to the noise of the ocean and the faint sounds of music drifting from the fair.

"You know what bothers me?" I asked.

Rys put an arm around my shoulders, bringing me closer. "After what you told me, I'll risk saying lots of stuff."

"Not lots. Just having to turn on my phone. I realized I'd need to because I put my number on the business cards. It'd be unprofessional if a customer tried to reach me and couldn't."

"Probably should've listed one of mine instead."

I would've, I wanted to say, if what we had wasn't temporary, but words froze on my tongue. I didn't want to spoil a wonderful day with reminders of everything good inevitably coming to an end.

This month, he was mine, and I was his, and Kaia was right — being with Rys was what I needed, even if heartbreak was in store.

"Guess I have no other choice but to quit being a coward. Not tonight, though."

A cool breeze sent shivers through me. Rys rubbed my arm with his fingers and kissed my temple. "Let's go home? I don't want you to freeze."

We picked up the stuff we'd left on the sand and walked to Rys's place.

"Let's go to the living room first," he said, unlocking the door. "You can leave the bags there."

He let me in and put the key on the white table in the foyer. I took off my sandals and followed Rys to the den. Now that it was dark outside, my surroundings were nothing but silhouettes.

"I'll turn on the light," Rys said, pressing a palm to the foyer wall.

A warm amber glow lit the room. I dropped my bags on the carpet, whipped around, and stared at him. "Rys?"

His shoulders rose and fell as if the pink, gold, and silver balloons filling the room and the bottle of champagne on ice were ordinary.

"What, mi cielo?"

"It's not my birthday."

He uttered a hushed laugh. "I know. We're celebrating your first sale."

There was no way he'd done all of this in the evening because he was with me, and he took a long time getting to the fair venue in the afternoon, which meant he prepared everything before knowing how it'd go.

"But you didn't know there was going to be one."

Rys smoothed my hair back. "Of course, I knew. But we would've celebrated anyway because you tried."

Tears strained at my eyes. I blinked, only to make it worse because some of them spilled, wetting my cheeks.

"Oh, fuck." Rys breathed, crushing me close. "Lyra, I'm sorry."

I laughed through tears, nose pressed against Rys's shoulder. "What for?"

He moved his hand over my back in circles. "Making you uncomfortable."

"I'm very much comfortable. I'm just not used to this. What you did is..."

Wonderful. Thoughtful. Something they said every girl deserved but hardly ever got from immature boys with huge egos.

"Amazing," I said. "What you did is amazing."

Rys squinted as if he doubted my honesty.

I skimmed my lips over his cheek. "I mean it. Thank you."