Page 8 of After All This Time (A Time For Love #2)

Cooper

I never want to leave this place.

That’s the one glaring thought I’ve had all day.

Everything Liam and I have done today has been so awesome.

The tour we gave ourselves around the area only served to make me more eager to explore more of this place.

The first thing we did was splash some more where the water slapped the sand, this time with more decorum than I thought I possessed.

Then, we headed towards a clearing we’d by-passed earlier that was full of wooden picnic tables, where everyone seemed to hang out to eat, spreading our own canned goods on one of them and digging in when hunger got the better of us.

I swear, when Liam pulled out a deck of cards out of his pocket, I thought this day could very well be one of the best days of my life.

We played and joked around for so long that it was only when I started feeling the skin on my face tighter than usual that I realized how much time must have actually gone by.

It’s late afternoon now and we’re riding the bikes we rented on a trail that looks taken out of a postcard—just raw beauty bathed in the light of the setting sun.

We reach a spot that we were told earlier stood a bit uphill from where we’re staying, so the bikes sure made it challenging to get here. My lungs are doing everything they can to suck in as much air as possible to compensate for the exertion, and one look at Liam tells me he’s in the same boat.

But what lies in front of us is worth it—worth the sore muscles of my thighs, worth the burning lungs, and worth the sweat that sticks the T-shirt to my skin.

Because we’re standing on a small cliff with nothing but the dark blue ocean spread in front of us, and nothing but the myriads of trees surrounding us.

The sun has begun its descent and its burning orange hue makes everything look engulfed in flames.

Suddenly, all I want is to see what Liam thinks of all this.

And he looks as entranced as I was a few seconds ago.

His sandy-blonde hair looks almost copper now, his skin showing the same light sunburn that mine is sporting. And a small smile tips his lips.

I feel the sharp twinge of sadness in my gut and I know it’s because of this moment.

This moment when it feels as if we’re the only two people in the world.

The small twinge grows into a pit when I think that maybe this is the last adventure for quite some time that I get to share with my best friend.

He must sense my gaze because he turns his head, his usually green eyes now diluted in the afternoon light. There is an indecipherable look in them as he scans my face.

I know what he must be seeing there—I’ve always had trouble concealing what I’m thinking or feeling.

I see the moment his features soften and he subtly motions with his head to inch closer to him.

And I do, because he’s one of those few people who can read me, who have always made me feel safe but also strong, like I can do anything.

So, I step closer and he raises his arm in silent invitation, slinging it over my shoulders when I fit myself against his side. I feel the tension slowly drain and I know that if I let myself completely sag against him, he would catch my weight without blinking an eye.

A small chuckle escapes me at the thought.

“What is it?” he mumbles, and his breath tickles the hair on my temple and the sweat that is already cooling there.

“It’s nothing,” I shake my head with a smile. “Just thinking we should head back down soon before it gets dark and we end up rolling in a ditch with our bikes or something.”

Liam snorts. “That’s what you were thinking? You see all this,” he says, casting a wide arm to the view in front of us, “and dying in a ditch is all you can think of?”

I pinch his side in answer, which of course makes him yelp but without dropping his arm.

“I remember someone calling me reckless, and yet here I am, showing how cautious I can be and somehow I still get criticized.” I glance at the side of his face, my eyes on the same level as his jaw. “What did I do to deserve such a best friend?”

He chuckles, flashing a hint of white teeth.

“Probably something good because I’m an awesome friend.”

“If you were an awesome friend, you would treat me better,” I mumble as I stealthily try to press closer.

How can his steady presence by my side make me so calm, I swear I’ll never know.

His arm tightens around me briefly in silent reassurance.

“You’ve got a problem with the way I treat you, Coop?” he asks in a way that is teasing and playful, and that I rarely get to hear lately.

“Nah, no problem at all,” I answer, my voice suddenly softer than I mean to.

I clear my throat and promptly nudge him in the ribs.

“Let’s get going. I’ll race you. First one down gets first dibs on food choice!”

“Coop!”

“I’m kidding, I’m kidding.”

***

The sun is quick to set after our bike ride.

We settle on our camping chairs and scarf down more of the snacks and non-perishables we brought with us.

The twilight looks beautiful and everything around us becomes quiet—the kind of quiet that feels peaceful instead of deafening. All I can hear is the distant whoosh of the waves hitting the shore and the barely there murmurs of other campers.

Having lit up a couple of battery-powered lamps, their soft light illuminates the place where we’re sitting, enough so we don’t stumble anywhere and break a toe.

I reach into my duffle bag next to me and pull out a small portable radio, fiddling with it for a while until I find a station that plays classic rock songs and leave it on the ground to croon away.

The breeze is crisp now, the temperature having already dropped a little bit.

I’ve never been more grateful for the sweats and hoody I put on earlier after the shower, or I’d be feeling the chill something fierce right now. A faint shudder still runs through me.

“Are you cold?” comes Liam’s low voice from my right.

I shrug. “Nah, just cooling down I suppose.”

His face is half in shadow, the small light barely casting any light on him.

“Come here.”

“Why? Are you going to cuddle me?” I scoff, even as I’m already picking up my chair and moving it closer to his.

“If that’s what you want,” he says and I can see now the teasing twinkle in his eye. “Though I was thinking more like covering both of us with this light blanket I’ve packed.” He reaches somewhere out of sight and pulls out a dark blanket that looks barely large enough to cover both of us.

I sigh when he throws it on me and it covers my lower half.

“Everything I didn’t know I needed.”

Liam huffs out a laugh but otherwise stays silent.

The night sky is clear when I tilt my head back and stare at the endless dark. It’s so clear that you can see millions of starry dots all over it.

It looks like a totally different sky than the one I get to see in the city.

“Hey, Li?”

“Yeah?”

I hesitate for a moment.

“Where do you think you’ll be five years from now?”

My question is met with silence and the sound of his deep, steady breaths.

“I honestly don’t know, Coop. Hopefully with a degree in hand and a job lined up.” He pauses and I think a small sigh escapes him but I may have imagined it. “Maybe in a relationship with someone, living in a decent apartment, things like that.”

He says he doesn’t know but his words are sure and his tone unwavering.

“That’s really nice, Li.” My voice has grown almost hushed, like we’re discussing secrets under a blanket fort.

“Do you think you’d have room in all that for a best friend who always nags you and never leaves you in peace?

” I say it jokingly but even I can hear the uncertainty that bleeds into my question.

The truth is that I’m afraid that once we go our separate ways, things will never be the same again. It’s this feeling I have deep inside that I’m going to lose something precious and that there’s nothing I can do. Which is ridiculous because distance means nothing. Not when it comes to us.

Liam would never just move away and forget about me.

Right?

“Hey.” His voice startles me out of my thoughts, and I don’t know if my galloping heartbeat is because of that.

“What?”

His eyes are full of concern in the warm light of our lamps.

“I was talking to you but you weren’t listening.”

“Oh,” I say, releasing an awkward laugh. “Sorry, I got distracted.”

He’s still looking at me that way and I really want to put on a brave face, but I’m sure it just comes out as a wince. “So, what were you saying?”

He doesn’t reply immediately, just holds my gaze unflinchingly.

“Always, Coop.”

My eyes widen as I try to understand what he’s saying.

My confusion must be clear because he adds, “You asked me if I would have room for you.”

I nod.

He smiles his Liam smile, the kind, reassuring one, the one that never fails to fill me with comfort.

“Always, Coop.”

And I know he means it. I just wish I could make this bad feeling I have go away.

“Besides,” he goes on, a smirk tilting one side of his lips, and I know he’s going to ruin what he just said. “Why would I want a calm, normal everyday life where everything happens as it should? It’s more fun guessing whether that’s the day it all goes to shit.”

“I’m sensing some kind of underlying message there but I might be mistaken.”

“Nope. Nothing underlying about it.”

I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re a bad, bad friend.”

Liam barks out a laughter and I can’t help but break my stink eye and join in with him. He’s always had a great belly laugh, even if he almost never laughs like that.

“For what it’s worth, I hope I’m done with school, too, by then. There’s only so much learning I can handle.” A yawn slips out as I finish my sentence.

I feel Liam’s hand squeeze my shoulder.

“Come on, buddy. We’ve had too much excitement for one day.”

“There’s no such thing.”

“Okay, I ’ve had too much excitement for one day and you’ll just have to go along with it.”

“Alright, I can agree to that.”