“I know you can’t really do that, but I want to believe it when you say it.”
“I promise that I’ll find a way for us to be together somewhere down the line. I love everything about you, Emma, and I want those days on the beach with you,” he said and kissed her.
That night would always stand out as the beginning of everything for them. Not everything would go as smoothly as Jasper thought through the years, but just like he promised, he would find a way back to her.
The next two days would go by quickly in what was the best time of their lives, and then all that would be left was a goodbye. That was the difficult part because for as much as they didn’t want to, they had both fallen head over heals in love.
Chapter 7
Someday
The vacation was over, and Emma was about to be going back to Hawaii with her parents to meet with Trent and Ally. She wasn’t ready to go. It had all passed by so quickly. Why couldn’t she and Jasper have slowed down time somehow and really savored every moment they had together? On the morning before they were supposed to leave, Emma was lying in bed trying with everything she had to go back to sleep. No matter what she did, she couldn’t stop thinking about what she was about to be walking away from, though. How was she going to walk away with a simple goodbye? Hadn’t this week meant more than that? She had decided. A simple goodbye wasn’t going to be good enough. Emma had to talk to him and tell him how she really felt. She got up and quietly walked out into the hallway. When she got to his door, however, she couldn’t bring herself to knock. Emma hadn’t thought this out well. His family was asleep inside. Should she really knock on the door and wake everyone up just because her heart felt like it was breaking?
While she was questioning that, the door suddenly opened. Jasper was on the other side, and when their eyes met, she knew that his heart was breaking, too. This wasn’t as simple as they thought it would be at the beginning of the week. Without saying a word, he stepped out into the hallway and hugged her. Then they sat back against the wall, and Emma laid her head on his shoulder.
“This sucks, doesn’t it?” Emma asked.
“Yeah. I knew I would miss you, but I didn’t think I would feel this way. I haven’t slept at all tonight. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is you leaving. I don’t know what to say to make this better either. I should just say goodbye or I’ll see you later, but those statements seem like something that’s way too casual about what I’m really losing here.”
“And what is that?”
“You. I don’t want to acknowledge it. I want to pretend that we’ll talk on the phone, and when I come to visit next year, nothing will have changed, but I know better. You’re beautiful, and some guy who can make you really happy is going to notice how great you are before I can get back to you. This isn’t just a see you later. It’s a goodbye to what might have been, and for as much as I should be able to man up and let you go, I don’t want to.”
“I don’t want to either. You’re wrong, though. I can wait on you. We’ll talk and text, and . . .”
“No, Emma. If there’s one thing I don’t want, it’s for you to be waiting around for a once a year thing. I love you, and I want you to be happy. I just know that I’m not going to be very happy without you. I guess that sounds selfish.”
“It doesn’t sound selfish at all. I don’t know how I’m going to manage without you. I don’t want to go back to dating losers. Sometimes I think that’s all there is where I live.”
“That’s not true at all. You’ll find someone.”
“You say that like you want me to.”
“Of course I don’t, but I don’t want you to waste your life waiting on me either.”
“So what do we do then?”
“We let each other go for now, and I make you a promise. When I’m eighteen, I’ll find a way to be close to you, and if you still have an interest, I’ll be honored to pick up where we left off. In our visits over the next few years, we’ll let things be exactly what they are. If you have a boyfriend, I’ll act accordingly, but if you don’t, I’ll act just like I did this week. I don’t think my feelings for you are ever going to fade, but I know we both need to live, so I’m saying that we should leave this behind until I can find a way to be close to you permanently.”
“So you’re basically breaking up with me then?”
“No. I could never do that. I’m letting you go for a while so we don’t have to come to the conclusion that the distance is too much for us in a few weeks. I don’t know if we were ever officially together anyway. I considered us to be over the last few days, though.”
“It sounds like a breakup to me. I get it, though. I just can’t believe this week.”
“What do you mean?”
“I fell in love, visited places I never thought I would see, went on the perfect date, and now the boy I love is letting me go when I really don’t want him to.”
“He’s also telling you that he’ll make sure this all works one day, if you’ll have him.”
“There will always be a place for you with me. I love you, Jasper. You don’t know what this week has meant to me.”
“Yeah, I do. It’s been the most amazing thing I’ve ever experienced. I’m not going to say goodbye or even I’ll see you later. I’m just going to say this. I love you, and some day I’m going to make sure I get to tell you that every day,” he said and kissed her.
“I love you, too. Well, I guess we should try to get some sleep before morning,” Emma said and started to stand, but Jasper wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
Throughout the early morning, he held her as close as he could, and they talked about who they would be together in the future. Emma thought they would reunite in a year and pick up where they left off. That was just a fantasy, however. Jasper waited that whole next year to reunite with her. He never dated one person, but when they visited her family the next year, he discovered exactly what he expected. Emma had moved on. She had a boyfriend. First loves are always special, but they’re rarely permanent. In a way, he was happy for her. In another, he was heartbroken.
Every year after that until Jasper was eighteen, either he or Emma were in a relationship when they saw each other. Still, he always came back to her in his mind. He didn’t know how yet, but he would find a way for them to be together. He didn’t believe in things like destiny. Jasper believed in choice, and he had decided a long time ago that he was going to find a way to be with the girl who was both beautiful and also one of his very best friends in the world.
When it got time to choose a college, Jasper made a surprising choice. He wanted to go to The University of Hawaii. His parents knew why he was going there. The love had never left his eyes when he looked at Emma. They tried to talk him out of going. Betting his entire future on a girl who might not love him seemed stupid, but Jasper was determined. This was a risk that was worth taking if he even had a one percent chance of succeeding.
Epilogue
Jasper’s flight landed in Hawaii on an early morning, and he was exhausted. He never could sleep well on planes, and classes were supposed to start the next day. He was a little worried about getting used to the time change, and honestly, he was starting to wonder if this whole thing was a mistake. He had come here with almost no plan. Sure, he had a dorm room, but who would he be rooming with? He came there to get close to Emma, but he had barely spoken to her about things. Did she even care that he was there?
As he stepped off his flight, the answer to that became readily apparent. Emma was waiting on him at the gate. He immediately smiled and hugged her.
“How was your flight?” she asked.
“It was slow and boring. It’s great to see you, though.”
“You, too. I was thinking, and I talked about it with my parents. Do you really want to live in the dorms? I hear it can be a madhouse in there.”
“Not really, but I don’t have any other options.”
“Maybe you do. My dad bought these lot
s in our neighborhood a few years ago, and he built me a house on one of them. That was their plan all along, but I didn’t know if they would actually do it. To make a long story short, I have this big house that also has a huge electricity bill. I’m working part time to pay the bills, but I could use someone to pitch in and maybe even just keep me company. What do you say? I can probably get you a job at the diner I work at after you get settled in.”
“I don’t know.”
“It’s okay. I just thought I would offer because I wouldn’t want to stay in the dorms if I had another option.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to. It’s just that I’m wondering if your dad would like you living with a guy, even if that guy was only me.”
“I talked to him about it already. I have a boyfriend, and he knows that we’re just friends. He trusts me, and just as importantly, he trusts you, too. So what do you think?”
“I think I’m in. Thank you for this. I loved the idea of moving here, but I hated the thought of having to deal with all new people. Having at least one person close who I know and trust will make this so much easier.”
“No problem. Now, let’s go home, roomie,” Emma said and smiled.
Jasper had noticed that Emma said she had a boyfriend, but that was okay. He would be her friend and wait for the right opportunity to come. When it did, he would never let her go again. That much he was sure of.
For Emma and Jasper, their journey back to love wasn’t going to be a simple one. Jasper thought he would be able to sweep her off her feet in a few days, but it would actually take months. Still, he was right about one thing. Once he had her in his arms again, she would never want to leave. It all started with a few simple words and a well-timed kiss, but that vacation they took when they were fourteen had planted the seed of what would be the rest of their lives. Back then, he was the right boy for her, but the timing was all wrong. At age eighteen, the stars finally aligned for them, however, and two people found the love of their lives on the sandy beaches of Hawaii.
Notes
This book has been in the making for a long time. People who have followed my work from the start probably recognized many of these characters. My first series was the Wrong series, and it started out with Nathan and Sam. (Emma’s parents) Since I finished up with the third book in the series and Emma came into existence, I’ve been planning to write a spinoff book featuring her and some of the younger characters. Many people have suggested that I continue the series by featuring these younger characters in what has been a spy series, but I didn’t want to do that. The Wrong series is over, and I wanted this novel to be a book all of its own without the shadow of what came before it looming over it, so I wrote it so anyone could pick it up without having read anything that came before Jasper and Emma’s college years in Hawaii. I was so happy to finally get to write this one. Having this idea swirl around in my head for years while I was finishing the rest of the series and working on other projects was torture, but now I’m finally finished. I have to say that I love how it turned out. I think this story has all the romance, friendship, and character perseverance that I originally planned. I hope you enjoyed it, and I can’t wait to share more in the future. I can’t say that Emma and Jasper will ever pop back up, but you never know with me. I really loved being in their world once again, so who knows? Thanks for reading. As always, my readers are my number one reason for continuing to share these stories. Thank you.
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