“Yes, I do.” Conrad’s voice broke on the second word. “Because it’s the same way I look at you.”
Because that’s what you did at Cousins Beach. You showed up. You stayed. And you tried not to drown in the space between what you wanted and what you couldn’t have.
Belly watched the flames from the edge of the dune, a red plastic cup dangling from her fingers. She wasn’t drinking. She was counting. book 3 the summer i turned pretty
He let go.
Not yet, anyway. End of scene.
Book 3. The summer everything broke.
Three summers ago , she thought, I would have been sitting right between them. “Yes, I do
“You don’t have to pretend with me,” Belly said.