Page 58 of Winter Break

“No, we’re good,” I said as if Dalton and I were a we. As if I had the right to speak for him.

“Night, Turner. Night, Dalt. Thanks for helping.”

“No problem,” Dalton said. “If I’m still sitting here in the morning, just wake me up before you unlock the door, okay?”

We all laughed as Casey left. Hopefully neither of them could hear how nervous my laugh was.

“Dalton,” I sighed, stepping up on the riser to stand in front of the chair. He didn’t move, keeping his casual position and gazing up at me.

Those eyes, those beautiful green eyes, were looking at me with such adoration. There was no other word for it. He smiled. I frowned, and that sparked his energy. He jumped up and took my hand, leading me toward the back of the store. He paused at the curtain.

“Do they need you next door?”

I shook my head. “Nope. Casey can handle it.”

“Okay.” He turned his resolute face away from me and dragged me, hand in hand, out the back and up the stairs to my apartment, not stopping to collect our winter coats. He had to let me lead in order to unlock the door, but as soon as we were inside, he marched me over to the couch and shoved me down.

He turned to face the view. The room wasn’t very different from when he’d been there the past year.

“You didn’t decorate?”

“You know I never do. Anita had a tree, and we were usually at your house on Christmas, so I never saw the need.”

“But isn’t that what you came here for?”

“What?”

He wasn’t looking at me as he said it. “I remember, a few years ago, you and Brett were standing in front of our tree. You had one of the ornaments in your hand, and you told him … I shouldn’t have eavesdropped, I’m sorry about that.” He paused, and I felt the need to fill the silence.

“Your brother is very loud. It’s hard to have a private conversation with him.”

He turned and smiled quickly but went back to watching the ocean as he continued. “You described your tree back in Wisconsin, how it was all religious and only had white ornaments and lights. You reminded Brett that he’d sent you a picture of our tree, and that …”

I stood and came up behind him. “It was the DeLorean. I was holding the ornament with Doc and the DeLorean. My parents wouldn’t let me see that movie. Did you know that? I told Brett that when we were freshmen, and one rainy day, we watched all three of them. I loved them.

“That conversation was probably my first Christmas back here. I was so scared that first year, ready to pretend I was just passing through town. But Anita knew, and she took me in. By the time I was at your house on Christmas Day, I understood that I wasn’t alone. I had Anita and Brett, and there I was looking at those same ornaments I’d been thinking about for two years, surrounded by family.”

“That’s what you told him. That the picture of our tree was one of the reasons you came back to Breakwater. My idiot brother made some joke about hot lifeguards being the real reason, but you insisted. Said you wanted to have a Christmas tree as loud and proud as ours.”

“Your brother isn’t all doofus. He knew what I was saying.” Dalton finally turned around. We stood face-to-face in my dimly lit room, the moon shining in, the ocean, my constant companion, grounding me where the intensity of his eyes would have me floating off to a place I had promised myself I would never go again.

“And you’ve been part of our family ever since.”

“Exactly,” I tried to say, but the word caught in my throat. “That is exactly why we can’t …”

“No!” he interrupted. “Damn it. Still my turn. I’ve waited a fucking year, Turner,” he said again, but not angrily. He was calm, determined after that initial outburst.

“Sit!”

“Okay.”

“I was a kid when we first met. Okay, so what? I’m not a kid anymore. I wasn’t when I kissed you that first time, and I sure as shit wasn’t when we … when I experienced the best few weeks of my life, and so help me God, I thought you had too!

“So what that you’re a few years older than me? That’s a thing that happens, like, a lot in relationships. It’s not like you’re my parents’ age. You’re just a few years older.

“And yeah, Brett is probably going to be surprised. But Brett is pretty much oblivious to everything that isn’t Mallory these days. He’ll get over it. Because what did he say to you that day, Turner? Do you remember?”

I nodded, and the damn tears returned. “He said it was really nice to see me happy.” I laughed through my tears. “‘Back to the Future always makes you happy, dude. And you can watch it any fucking time you want to here.’ I’ll never forget those words, Dalt.”