The Coast Between Us Novels & Stories

The teacher explained, "An hour ago, Mr. Grayson sent his assistant to pick Edith up for an urgent matter. Didn't you know?" "I see," I replied, masking my unease. "Please hold onto her backpack. I'm tied up." Hanging up, I stared at our family group chat's flawless schedule, my mind reeling. "When has it become a tool to deceive me?" I took a deep breath, opened the tracker on Edith's smartwatch, and drove to the location: an amusement park.

Between us. And no amount of showers was going to wash that away.

Hatred. "Let's get a divorce."

he agreed again. "Then I will pick you up at twelve," Daniel smiled. "We can go swimming, or take a walk along the beach and take pictures there. Let me know if you want to go surfing or something." "Let's just take a short walk around the beach," Nathan suggested, since he was allergic to sea water and exercise. "Sounds good." Daniel nodded.

Barely. But at what cost?

“You’re enjoying this way too much.” “Maybe a little.” We both laugh, and for a moment, everything feels light. Easy. Familiar. Like we’re not two people carrying years of distance and hurt. Like we’re not both trying to pretend we don’t feel something we shouldn’t. Like we’re just… us. And that scares me more than anything. Because I can feel it, quiet, warm, dangerous, blooming in my chest again. That crush I thought I buried. And I have no idea what to do with it.

“No. Actually... I thought you were brave as hell for showing up.” I didn’t know what to say to that. Nobody had ever called me brave before. Pathetic, fat, weird? Sure. But brave? I lowered my arms slightly. “You don’t even know me.” “Maybe not. But I was curious.” I narrowed my eyes. “Why?” He offered a half-shrug, like even he wasn’t sure. “You read something once. In AP Lit. Junior year. Poem about the moon. It stuck.” My brain glitched. “You remember that?”

“Carter Winthrow. This is the United States Coast Guard. Put your hands where we can see them and prepare to be boarded.” “Told you,” he said. Part of me breathed a sigh of relief, but part of me knew that having the United States military involved might not be any better. “The Coast Guard? I thought you said we were in international waters.” He shrugged. “Maybe they got permission to come out this far. Happens all the time for intercepting drug shipments.” My eyes bugged out. “Do you have drugs on board?” “I made my riches trading stocks, why would I have drugs?”

Ace chuckles and starts eating, knowing exactly why she's so flushed. Breakfast carried on as we ate and talked. I was dying for it to be over. As soon as it was, I dragged my boyfriend outside and to the beach. We needed to talk. " what's up he?" he asks sitting down on the sand beside me " last night," " What about last night? " He asks, slightly annoyed. It's as if he knew where I'm going with this. " You know we had sex with her and uh," " I know,"

Maybe this thing between us—this easy, uncomplicated thing—could actually work. Maybe it already has.