Finally Ours (Harborview #2)
38. Angela
98%
38
ANGELA
After Carter and I celebrate his thesis submission in various positions all over my house, we go to Huddle’s Point for a fire with our friends. Cat and Jamie bring a bunch of summer salads, and Hunter sets up a portable grill. We eat while the sun is setting, and stay well into the night afterwards, sitting on beach blankets and staring out at the water.
The water is dark and perfectly smooth, like black ice on asphalt. The sky is set with glittering stars which are reflected in the calm water, and where sea and sky meet there’s no clear distinction, making it feel like the entire world around us is made up of stars and night.
“This is where it all started,” I say to Carter. “Where you first approached me at that summer party.”
“And we still can’t believe you hid that from all of us for nearly a decade!” Cat shouts from the blanket that her and Jamie are sprawled on, before dissolving into a fit of giggles.
“You’re wrong, Angel,” Carter says. “Even if this is where I finally gathered the courage to make a move, all of this,” he continues, gesturing at the space between us, “started the day we met. I could feel it then, even if I couldn’t name it. I knew that you would be the…” He trails off, his voice thick with emotion. “That you would be the most important person I ever met, and that loving you would be the best thing I ever did.”
“Carter Steel, you old softie,” I say, leaning into his warm body. “You’re the most important person I’ve ever met, too,” I admit.
He pulls me closer, and kisses the top of my head. “Want to take a walk down the beach?”
“Definitely,” I say.
We get off the towel and each grab another beer to take with us. We walk, hand in hand, down to the edge of the water. Our feet are bare and I shudder as the cold water hits me, swirling through my toes.
We walk along the shore in the dark, only the stars and the lingering gleam of the fire lighting our way. But with Carter next to me, I’m not scared at all, not anymore.
He’s all the light I need.