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"Hey" Gavin rose from the chair when she came outside "Your hair’s wet"

"I’ht back"

He went inside She shrugged and slunk into the swing, pulled her feet up and stared out into the darkness

Gavin cahts out inside, ht, so there was no light casting over the water Just the sound of the ocean and her own black thoughts

Gavin put the soft blanket over her and sat in the sith her

"Thanks"

"It’s cold out here and your hair’s wet Wanna go inside?"

"No I like it out here"

"Me, too" He put his ar to the ocean, both of the you?" He pulled her closer

She didn’t want to be close to hi brought her back here She had no idea what it was

You know exactly what brought you back here, idiot You’re in love with hi you And he’s probably setting you up, too

She sighed, feeling stupid She hadn’t felt stupid in a long time She’d vowed noGavin?

"It’s just been a long few days"

"Want to talk about it?"

"Not really"

He played with the ends of her hair "Elizabeth, if we’re going to have any kind of relationship, you’re going to have to start opening up to me"

She stilled, held her breath, afraid toyou Don’t trust hi a relationship?"

"I don’t know I one So iant hole in her heart filled up with longing and need Part of her wanted to crawl up next to him, throw her arms around him, and tell him she loved him, that she’d been in love with him for years The other part of her wanted to close off her heart and run like hell "Don’t say things you don’this fingers trail up her neck "I don’t say things I don’t mean Not about this, anyway I don’t really knohat this is between us I don’t have relationships omen, but I did miss you, so I’m pretty sure whatever it is that’s between us has becoood"

He sounded so sincere She leaned back and studied his face, wished they weren’t shrouded in total darkness so she could read hi you up and asking you to talk about your past"

"Oh That No The sex was really good"

He laughed "Yeah, the sex between us is really good But there has to beout the whitecapped tips rushing toward the shore "More sex?"

Heto killto take this any further, then there has to be "

"Yeah"

"Talking’s overrated"

"Now you sound like a guy"

"That’s why you like hed "No, because I’e woe woman, Elizabeth You’re not like any other woman I’ve ever known That’s why I like you You’re coiant pain in my ass most of the time You frustrate the hell out ofabout you, and that just doesn’t work for oatee "Mysterious is sexy, you know"

He cupped her chin between his fingers and brushed his lips across hers Everything inside her tightened as he took her ht hepart She leaned into him, rested her palm on his chest, felt his heart rate quicken But then he pulled back

"Yeah, ht stand You’re not a one-night stand You’re so to have to open up and start talking todown a track she didn’t want to follow "You already know ot a whole packet of inforned with me"

He looked at her as if she’d just fed hi serious? How dumb do I look?"

"What?"

"Your business portfolio is supposed to pass as getting to know you? I’raduated college and did your ave you your start But you didn’t start to exist in college I want to knoho you were before then And if you don’t trust h to tell me--"

"Okay Fine" She pulled the blanket over her shoulders, wrapped her hair around itself, and pulled it into a makeshift ponytail The wind had picked up, but the moody atmosphere outside ed her closer and pulled the blanket over her legs "Might as well start at the beginning I want to know everything about you You know everything aboutabout him His family had become her family over the past five years because she had no family of her own

"Well, let’s see I was born and raised in Harrison, Arkansas No brothers or sisters My dad worked as a laborer, so he was in and out of work My mom was a secretary, so she held down the full-tirades I was very lucky to get the scholarship to Brown--"

"Wait We’re already on college? You skipped everything"

"My childhood’s pretty boring, Gavin I went to school Not much to tell"