Chapter 4 Midnight Promises

I spent the next two days thinking about everything that just happened.

Every time I closed my eyes, I was back at that pier-Daniel's hands on my waist, his mouth on mine, the way the world had narrowed to just the two of us and the crackle of flames. I replayed it endlessly...the soft press of his lips, the quiet confession that he'd wanted to do that for a while. It felt like a dream I was terrified to wake up from.

Simon barely spoke to me the next day.

He wasn't cruel, he was never cruel but the easy rhythm we'd always had was gone. Mornings, he'd leave for his run before I woke up. Afternoons, he'd disappear with a book or his guitar. Evenings, he sat on the opposite side of the fire pit, laughing with the adults or scrolling on his phone.

I told myself he was just giving me space. That he understood this was big for me. That he was happy for me.

But every time I caught him looking at me when he thought I wasn't watching, his expression was shuttered. Closed off in a way I'd never seen before.

Daniel, on the other hand, was everywhere.

Not in the overwhelming, possessive way I'd once imagined. More like he'd finally decided I was worth noticing, and now he couldn't quite stop. He'd brush past me in the kitchen and let his hand linger on my lower back. He'd save me the best seat on the deck. He'd text me from the attic room when we were both supposed to be asleep.

On the fourth night after the pier, he sent a different text.

Meet me on the pier. Midnight,Just us.

My heart slammed against my ribs. I stared at the screen until it dimmed, then lit it up again to reread the words.

I should have hesitated. Should have wondered why he didn't just ask me in person. Should have noticed that he hadn't once held my hand in front of anyone else, hadn't acknowledged what happened at the pier beyond those secret touches.

But I didn't notice any of that, I only saw the invitation.

I waited until the house was quiet. Simon had gone to bed early-claiming a headache. I slipped out of the bunk in the dark, careful not to let the ladder creak. Pulled on shorts and a hoodie over my tank top. Tiptoed down the stairs and out the back door, the cool night air raising goosebumps on my arms.

The beach was silver under the moon. The pier stretched out like a dark ribbon over the water, empty except for one figure at the very end.

Daniel.

He leaned against the railing, hands in his pockets, staring out at the black ocean. When he heard my footsteps on the wooden planks, he turned.

And smiled.

Not the cocky grin he wore with his friends. Something softer. Real.

"You came," he said.

"Of course I did."

He stepped forward, closing the distance between us. Without a word, he cupped my face in both hands and kissed me. Not soft this time. Not testing. Deep and certain, like he'd been waiting days for this.

I kissed him back, my hands fisting in his hoodie, pulling him closer. The world tilted. The waves crashed below us. Everything else disappeared.

When we broke apart, we were both breathing hard.

"I've been thinking about that since the last time," he said against my forehead.

"Me too."

He laughed quietly, then took my hand and led me to the end of the pier. We sat on the edge, legs dangling over the water, shoulders touching.

For a while, we just sat. He traced patterns on the back of my hand with his thumb. I leaned my head on his shoulder, afraid to speak and break whatever this was.

Finally, he said, "I didn't expect this."

"What part?"

"You." He turned to look at me. "I've known you forever, Lis. You were always just.... the little girl who cried when we made her watch Jaws."

I laughed, embarrassed. "I was nine."

"I know. But somewhere along the line, you stopped being that girl, you changed."

My heart was pounding so loud I was sure he could hear it.

"I've liked you for years," I admitted, voice small. "Like... a lot."

He went still.

Then he kissed me again, slower this time, his tongue teasing the edge of my lips until I opened for him. The kiss deepened, hungry and unhurried, his hands roaming now-one sliding up my back under the hoodie, the other resting on my thigh, fingers tracing lazy circles that sent sparks through me.

I shifted in his lap, turning to face him, straddling his hips without breaking the kiss. His hands tightened on my waist, pulling me closer until there was no space left between us. I could feel the heat of him, the hard press of his body, and it made my head spin.

His mouth moved to my jaw, then my neck, kissing a hot line down to my collarbone. My breath hitched when his hand slipped under my tank top, palm flat against my stomach, inching higher. His fingers brushed the underside of my breast, then higher still, grazing my nipple through the thin fabric of my bra. I gasped, a soft, involuntary sound, and he groaned against my skin, his thumb circling now, teasing until it hardened under his touch.

The sensation was overwhelming and intense, like nothing I'd ever felt. My hands gripped his shoulders, nails digging in as he kissed me again, harder, his other hand tangling in my hair. His fingers kept moving, pinching lightly, and I arched into him, lost in the heat and the want and the dizzying reality of Daniel wanting me like this.

But it was too much, too fast.

My body was racing ahead of my brain, and a tiny spark of nerves flickered through the haze. I tensed just slightly but he felt it.

He froze. His hand stilled, then slowly slid back to my waist. He pulled back, breathing hard, eyes searching mine in the dim light.

"Hey," he said, voice rough but gentle. "We should... slow down."

I nodded, face burning, my lips swollen and tingling. "Yeah."

He rested his forehead against mine, both of us catching our breath. "You okay?"

"Mm-hmm." I was embarrassed, exhilarated, overwhelmed.

He kissed me softly-chaste, almost-then shifted me so I was sitting beside him again, his arm around my shoulders.

"Be my girlfriend," he said suddenly, voice low and serious.

It wasn't a question.

But I answered anyway.

"Yes."

He smiled, pulling me closer. "Good. Because I don't want anyone else kissing you."

I grinned so wide it hurt.

We stayed out there for hours after that. Talking, Kissing-gentler now, less frenzied. He told me about college-how overwhelming it was, how he wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life. I told him about my art, how I dreamed of studying in Paris one day. He listened like he really cared. Like I mattered.

When the sky started to lighten at the edges, we knew we had to go back. He walked me to the deck, fingers laced with mine the whole way.

At the door, he kissed me one last time-soft, lingering.

"See you tomorrow, girlfriend."

The word sent butterflies exploding through my stomach.

I slipped inside, floating up the stairs, and crawled into my bunk just as the first birds started singing.

Simon was awake.

I froze in the darkness, one knee on the mattress.

He was sitting up on the top bunk, elbows on his knees, staring at the wall.

"You're up early," I whispered, trying to sound normal.

"Couldn't sleep," he said. His voice l flat.

I climbed the rest of the way in, pulling the blanket up to my chin. "Everything okay?"

Silence.

"Where were you?"

My stomach dropped.

"Just... couldn't sleep either. Went for a walk."

Another long silence.

He didn't call me out. Didn't push.

But when he finally lay back down, the bunk creaked louder than usual.

I woke up to sunlight streaming through the window, there was something on my pillow.

Not a shell this time.

A single strand of seaweed, dried and brittle.

I picked it up, confused.

Simon was already gone.

I didn't see him all day.

And when Daniel found me on the beach that afternoon, pulled me into his arms right in front of everyone, and kissed me like he couldn't wait another second, I just told myself everything was perfect.

I turn around, to see someone staring hard at me in disapproval.