Page 52 of Blinded By Loyalty
“Your parents never brought you?”
She shook her head. “Nope. No time for it. I preferred Sylvie anyway. She was more fun.”
We stopped at the end of the pier. Simone leaned against the rail and inhaled the sea air. I moved in behind her, snaked my arms around her waist, and put my lips near her face so I could kiss her often.
“What’s one thing you want to do before you die?” Morbid question? It was, but I honestly wanted to know the answer.
“You mean like a bucket list thing?”
“Sure. Anything you’ve always wanted to do.”
“Hmm. I might have to think about it.” She entwined our fingers, and my eyes fell on her bracelet.
“Take your time. There’s no rush.” God, I wished it were true.
The sky changed colors before my eyes in shades of pink, purple, and orange. I never appreciated the beauty in the world. The ocean, desert, and mountains all existed without my notice. Animals and other people were things surviving each day like me. We were all nameless, faceless beings. I didn’t think about them and I was sure they never thought twice about me. Life was busy and chaotic, especially in my line of work. It was sad I took it all for granted.
“I thought of something.” She tilted her face toward mine, smiling.
I couldn’t resist kissing her lips. “What’s one thing you’d like to do, baby?”
“See the country, but from the ground.”
“Like a road trip?”
Her smile widened. “Uh-huh. When I was in grade school, I remember kids coming back from summer break, bragging about traveling through all the states. I had thought it was the coolest thing.”
“What’d you do during the summer?”
“Mom always took me to France.”
“I’m sure there were kids who wished they went to Europe for the summer.”
“Probably, but I felt like I missed out. I’ve never been through the Midwest. I’ve only been to large cities. Seattle, Dallas, New York City, and Boston. There’s so much more in America to see than just the major metro areas.”
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting ‘take a road trip’ for your answer. But it sounds fun. I’d love to do it with you.”
“Then let’s do it!” She twisted around and hooked her arms around my neck. “This summer, we’ll load up my car or yours and just drive. We can go through every state, see what we want, and continue to the next. It will be amazing.” Her face beamed brighter than the sun.
I felt like an asshole for getting her so excited. What was I to say? Deflect. It always works.
Gripping the back of her neck, I pulled her in for a kiss. Hopefully she’d forget, but I doubted she would. Her brain was probably working overtime planning the trip already. Nice job, Pérez.
“Aww, look at them,” an elder voice said.
I cracked an eye open to investigate. A few yards down from us was a couple, both with white hair and toothy grins staring at us. The man put his arm around her shoulders, turning her away from us. I appreciated the gesture.
Simone and I continued kissing for a long while. By the time we stopped, the sun had set, and the old couple was gone. It was chilly out, and Simone was huddled into my side.
“What’d you think of the sunset?” she asked.
“It was beautiful, but I was a little enraptured with you. I hardly paid attention.” We strolled back the way we came.
“Enraptured, huh? Excellent word choice. But no worries. We can come back tomorrow evening or Saturday or Sunday. Or all the days! And you can kiss me like the world is ending every time.”
I felt my heart splintering. Jesus, I wouldn’t make it through the night. I was so sick with grief and regret. I still needed to see Conrad one last time too.
My phone vibrated in my pocket as we trudged out to my truck. I didn’t want to check who’d texted me with Simone in my arms, in case it was Will or Conrad. I got her door, helped her in, and slowly made my way to the driver’s side as I read the text from Will.