by Ellie Hall
Her hands weren’t sure what strong, solid surface to hold onto—his muscular back or arms?
His chest rose and fell. The hammering of his heart matched hers as they continued to kiss.
It was no longer just the stars shining behind her eyes, but the whole galaxy joined and she felt weightless, timeless, and like the only two people in the universe were the two of them.
Chapter 8
Ford
When Ford’s lips found Eisley’s, they didn’t want to leave. Maybe they didn’t have to. Perhaps they could make it work. He could tell her everything and risk her response.
Her fingers caressed the back of his neck and her mouth pressed firmly against his, holding him there in that moment, on the beach and under the moon.
He didn’t have to think about risks or forever. They had right then. He got lost there as he breathed in her summery, sunshine scent. That’s all he needed. He was sure he stopped breathing. They floated in space where time and distance and the past and future didn’t matter. They didn’t need any of that. They only needed each other.
He gripped her tight, a promise never to let go again. She returned his squeeze as their hearts beat in synch. Their lips crashed and collided and explored new frontiers that were a step beyond the friendship he’d always treasured.
All that mattered were her demanding lips, her soft cheeks, her warm nose, her lidded eyes. He smoothed his hands down her back, along her arms, and to her hands taking account of the terrain of Eisley. He was prepared to plant a flag and declare the land his own.
He got lost in the new place, in the rush of warmth and desire between them until she smiled against his mouth.
They pulled back. Seeing her smile was like a present, a gift. It lit her up and made him certain there was no one he’d rather have in his life; she was the sun, the center of it all.
She bit her lip. “That was even better than I imagined.”
“Does that mean you fantasized about us kissing?” he asked.
“Only a thousand times, at least,” she said, echoing his comment about how he’d wanted to ask her on a date so many times.
Still seated in the sand, he drew her against his side. She looked up at him, really looked at him in a way that made him feel vulnerable. But he could open up with her. He wanted to tell her everything that happened after the divorce.
She lifted her finger and gently traced the scar running from the outside of his eyebrow and down his cheek. She lifted her lips to the spot and gently kissed the scar. “There’s a saying, a quote, that goes something like the wound is where the light enters you.”
“You’re my light, Eisley.” Ford’s voice was low and scratchy like the sand.
Her smile faltered like she wasn’t sure whether to smile or if a deeper, more powerful emotion was threatening to push through. “Does it hurt?” she asked after a beat.
He lifted his hand and cupped it around hers then drew it to his chest. “The worst pain I ever experienced was here. When I thought I’d lost you.”
“You left me, Ford.”
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” he said, scrubbing his hands down his face.
Her hand landed on his arm and her fingers then traced the tattoo of the Marine symbols of the eagle, globe, and anchor. Underneath was a banner with the words Semper Fidelis. He explained their meaning then tugged up his other sleeve, revealing another tattoo.
She angled to see the compass drawn in ink. “It’s tilted. Why does north point that way,” she said, gesturing to the way it was directed at his other arm.
“It points toward the Marines tattoo—it’s my true north, but so are you. I was lost for a long time, Eisley. I got the Marines tattoo first, but then this one more recently. It was like I was trying to find my way. Strange, how it led me to you.”
“Fate? Destiny? Coincidence?” she asked.
He lifted and lowered his shoulder. “Semper Fi means always loyal. I’ll always be a Marine and belong to that brotherhood, but I’ll also be loyal to you, Eisley, whether that’s as a friend or...”
Her eyes softened.
He went on, “Or if that might mean something more. Something I always wanted but was never man enough to own.”
The moonlight caught the sparkle in her honey brown eyes as they turned liquid.
“Did I say something wrong?” he asked, regretting making her cry.
She sniffled and shook her head. “It’s just not something I ever expected to hear.”
“We could try to make this work, you and me.” Hope rose up inside him, a bright, powerful feeling he had only experienced when he was out from enemy lines and safely back home. No, that wasn’t true. That was more like relief. The feeling surging through him wasn’t just gratitude for being alive, but for the beginning of making a life with Eisley, the beautiful woman before him, the woman he’d survived the war and worse for, the woman he loved.
He took her hands and squeezed, his eyes locking on hers. He’d tell her how he felt. He’d never spoken the words to a woman before, not even his ex-wife. He shoved away the memory—the hasty, desperate decision he’d made to anchor himself to life back home, to give him a reason to live. When all along the reason dwelled in him: it was the love he felt and shared with Eisley. He was sure of it. They were on the same wavelength.
He started to speak and so did she.
His lips quirked. “You go first.”
“I love y—” She cleared her throat. “I love yodeling.” She spread her arms wide as though revealing a vista with rolling hills.
Ford smirked. “You do now? Let’s hear you yodel.”
“Oh, um, I need to be in Austria to yodel,” she said.
“Have you ever been to Austria?”
“Well, no, but the hills there seem to be perfect for yodeling.”
Ford tossed his head back with laughter.
She threw him a sharp, scolding look. “Yodeling is no laughing matter.”
“I’ll be the judge of that when I actually hear you yodel.”
“Fine. Well, the truth is I love...I love yoga.” She went still.
“Yoga?” he asked. “I’ve been to yoga classes. Watch me do downward dog,” he moved through the sequence his counselor had insisted would help him find a greater sense of self-awareness and peace. It had worked. He shifted into warrior next. “Come on, yogini. Join me if you love yoga so much.”
“Oh, it’s probably not a good idea on the sand.”
“There’s a beach yoga class here on Monday mornings.” That was mostly true. Ford had connected with a veteran who also practiced yoga and they’d met up once, which had mostly turned into a long conversation about being in the service.
She tugged him back down to the sand. “Okay.” She closed her eyes. “I love...I love yogurt.”
“I thought you were more of an ice cream kind girl.”
“Yes. You got me there.” She hardly met his eyes.
“Speaking of that, do you think we could go sneak some dessert?” He winked at her.
She gripped his arm as though she was intent on going through all the words starting with the letter Y until she landed on the one that she wanted. He was willing to wait. She was worth it, but the ice cream also sounded good.
He smirked.
Their eyes met and held, dissolving uncertainty, at least at that moment.
“Ford Armstrong, I love you.”
“Eisley Higgins, I have loved you as long as I’ve known you. Yet somehow, I love you more today than ever, which only tells me one thing. I’ll love you even more the next day and the one after that and so on.”
She gripped his T-shirt, tugging him close. Her mouth lifted in a smile as their eyes locked again.
His lips captured hers and they kissed with the moon shining above, bathing them in a milky light.
Chapter 9
Eisley
For the next few days, Eisley didn’t walk, she floated. She didn’t move, she danced. She would’ve been singing
too, but the virtual assistant robot had deflated her confidence when she’d driven from Baltimore to Florida.
Something had lit up inside her and she was quite sure it was as bright and strong as the sun. She’d told Ford that she loved him. He’d said it back. They’d kissed. They’d gone on a date and it was just the beginning of their future together.
As she wiped down the tables in the dining room at Coconut Cove Café at the end of the night, the tune she hummed was interrupted by the sound of her name. Somehow, she’d acquired her mother’s ability to overhear things even though she’d never dare be a gossip.
“I have no idea what’s gotten into her,” Claudia said. “She’s been like this for days.”
“And there I thought I’d be mopping her up off the floor every night,” Billie said.
Eisley turned and squeezed the rag in her hand. “What’s that supposed to mean?” Was Billie trying to burst her bubble?
Betty stepped forward. “Now, now, ladies. Billie meant that when you’d arrived in town, you were a bit,” Betty drooped, “down.”
“I wasn’t down. I’d been through a terrible breakup. Well, a year before. I’d lost my job, which I hated. But still. I lived with three other women—one who had a ferret and only came out of her room at night—”
“Why do you think that was, dear?” Betty asked, stepping closer.
“Well, I thought she worked night shifts, but I think she was actually nocturnal. I mean, she had a ferret so you never know. Not that I have anything against ferrets, but it was just smelly and—”
“You’re rambling,” Claudia said. “They mean when you came here you seemed down. Why do you think that was? I think the Florida sunshine cheered you up.”
“I wasn’t down. I’m, like, the most optimistic and happiest person I know.” She was being unnecessarily defensive but wasn’t about to give them the satisfaction of knowing the date dare had actually worked. Mostly because she was afraid to jinx it.
“I happen to think she’s in love,” Betty said.
Maybe the old woman was a psychic on top of being a sassy waitress, beloved in the community, and quickly becoming a good friend. Nonetheless, she wasn’t ready to admit all that publicly.
“...In love with a certain soldier who came through these doors last week.” Billie waggled her eyebrows.
Eisley shifted from foot to foot and then returned to cleaning the table.”
“You’ve done that one already,” Billie said, pointing to the already polished table.
“I think she was already in love,” Betty said.
“Okay, fine. You’re right,” Eisley said, tossing down the towel. “I’ve loved Ford Armstrong since I was, well, basically since I can remember. We went on a date last week and—”
All three women leaned in.
“We caught up, put the past behind us, and—” she hesitated.
“And you’re excited but also afraid you might somehow jinx the future,” Betty finished for her.
“Are you a fortuneteller or mind reader or something?” Eisley asked.
Betty beamed. “No, I’m just old. Some might say wise.”
Billie gripped the woman’s arm and pulled her into a hug.
A fuzzy, welling of emotion came over Eisley then. She opened her arms wide like her mother did and pulled them all into an embrace. She was overwhelmed with gratitude. Had she not gone to Blue Bay Beach, had her mother not connected her with the job, had Billie not hired her, had Claudia not inquired about the so-called Mr. Fisher, and had Betty not dared her to go on a date with the next guy she waited on, she may not have crossed paths with Ford again. It was a small town, but he’d recently left for a few days because he had a meeting out of town. Had everything not happened in that order, they may not have met again.
“Thanks, ladies,” Eisley said.
Billie was the first to shrug out of the hug, but Betty turned up the music—the oldies station she always played during her shifts—and they finished cleaning up.
While Eisley wiped off the ketchup bottles and refilled the sugar packets, she thought about Ford’s return. In all their conversations they’d avoided talking about life when the summer was over. She assumed he was on leave and would return to some far-flung post overseas.
That thought made her droop, but the song changed and with surprising skills, Betty shimmied across the floor toward her with the mop in hand, swinging it around like a microphone stand and pretending to sing to the Elvis Presley hit.
Soon, all four women were dancing, smiling, and laughing. However, Claudia was just bopping from side to side as though not sure what to do with her arms and legs.
When the song changed, they plunked into the chairs at the usual table where they counted out tips and chatted.
“Betty, you have some good moves.”
She waved her hand dismissively. “Gus and I have been dancing for decades.”
“We should have a dance party,” Eisley joked.
“Okay, I do have some moves. Before your uncle built this restaurant, we would occasionally dance on the dock. Of course, someone would inevitably fall in and...” Betty’s eyes crinkled with laughter, likely at a funny memory. “You can imagine how that ended up.”
The women joined in the laughter.
“Have you lived here your whole life?” Claudia asked.
“Born and raised. Billie too.”
“Something like that,” Billie said quietly.
“So Betty is an original Blue Bay Beach babe,” Claudia said.
The older woman smiled. “Gus and I met at another beach down the way. It was a bonfire party back in the day. That was the first time we’d danced but wasn’t the last. You see, I had to sneak away because this town was so small everyone knew everyone else’s business.”
“Still is small and everyone still knows everyone else’s business,” Billie grumbled.
“But it was built by some amazing people, dedicated to keeping it off the map to preserve it as a paradise of sorts. Don’t get me wrong, we welcome tourists and plenty of developers have tried to come in and take our land, but—” Betty shook her head. “Over my dead body.”
“Betty owns half the town,” Billie chimed in.
“Do you live in one of those big mansions?” Claudia asked.
“No, my daddy sold that land, reasoning it was too close to the water. He’d say if there was ever a storm, anything built there would be the first to go. Obviously, prevention measures and construction methods have changed and improved.”
“I see how they would’ve been at risk. Now they’re specially built, but the old shacks that used to be along that way, would’ve surely blown out to sea,” Billie added.
Betty snorted. “Some of them did.”
“What was it like when you were younger?” Claudia asked.
“Much like it is now without cell phones. This has always been a fairly sleepy town. I mean, we have many more shops and establishments now, but the palms always swayed in the breeze, the sand has always been bleached white, and the water crystal clear.”
“You were saying about dancing on the docks. I could never do that.” Claudia shook her head.
“I thought you were a musician surely you have rhythm and can dance.”
“A classical pianist,” Claudia corrected.
“You mean you don’t let loose, pound away on the keys from time to time?” Betty asked, mimicking the motion as if the table were a piano.
Claudia laughed at the silly notion. “No, but I’ve always wanted to know how to dance.”
“I’ll teach you.” Betty got to her feet.
Claudia shook her head, but eventually, Betty coaxed her up. The others joined, even Billie who seemed to be an unlikely participant. Then again, once business was over for the day, she always let her hair down.
“I’d like to see Ford on the dance floor,” Eisley called over the music.
“I thought you’ve been friends with him since high school,” Billie asked as t
hey did the twist to the famous Chubby Checker song.
“We went to dances as a group in high school. He asked someone else to prom.”
“Like the prom queen or something?” Claudia asked.
“No, one of my good friends.”
“Ouch.” Billie wrinkled her nose.
Eisley nodded.
“Did she say yes?”
“Sure did and called me the next day to tell me all about it.” Eisley sighed at the memory. It should’ve been her. She and Ford should’ve danced together at prom.
“Some friend.”
“Not anymore.” Eisley shook her head.
As the song continued, Claudia got down, shaking her hips the same way Betty demonstrated. “I feel like I’m in one of those summer movies.”
“Mamma Mia,” Eisley shouted her favorite summer movie, which had lots of singing and dancing, and had possibly been the reason she got the job at the restaurant when Billie had asked for her taste in movies.
“I was thinking The Summer House,” Claudia said with a smirk.
“Glad you didn’t say Dirty Dancing. There’ll be no dirty dancing here,” Billie said around a laugh. “This is a family-friendly establishment.”
“Good thing I don’t really know how to dance.” Claudia lifted and lowered her eyebrows.
“Well, you’re up next. We just had to see how Eisley’s date was going to play out. You can’t get me too excited. Remember, I only work here twice a week,” Betty said, shimmying.
The four women laughed again.
“We really should have a dance party out there on the patio deck. There’s an oldies cover band we could invite.” Eisley had seen a flyer in town.
“She could bring Ford.”
Billie whistled.
“They could have their prom do-over,” Claudia added.
Eisley filled the other two in on the prom disappointment.
“Let’s do it. We’ll do it for Eisley and Ford and maybe it’ll raise some extra money for the restaurant.” Betty eyed Billie.
They spent the next hour planning what they called Beach Blast from the Past dance party with a bonfire like Betty used to go to when she was younger. Even as the night wore on, and Eisley’s eyes got heavy, Betty seemed invigorated and younger than them all as her excitement grew.