Page 40 of Reality With You (Arden Beach #1)

SEVEN YEARS AGO

String lights against a twilight sky. Fryer oil, booze, and a salty tang in the humid summer air. Live music and the bustle of festival goers.

T he country band finished a cover of Friends in Low Places to an enraptured, mostly drunk crowd singing along to the chorus. They cheered loud enough that people blocks over probably heard them.

Tough act to follow for an eighteen-year-old with a guitar and an amp.

It was Lennon’s first paid gig—a weekend festival on the beach with local vendors, artists, and live music.

White tents and food trucks lined the street beside a small stage erected on the beach.

It may as well have been Madison Square Garden, as proud as she’d been when she booked it.

What felt like half the city had crowded onto the beach.

Everyone, except her mother.

A hole widened in her chest as Lennon took the stage and scanned the crowd for someone who wasn’t there. But then, she saw him instead.

A mess of dark-brown hair stuck out at all angles like he’d just rolled out of bed, his long legs lifting him at least a head above everyone else.

Dylan’s eyes brightened over a crooked grin.

He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting encouragement while Erin’s blonde ponytail swung as she bounced on her heels and cheered as if an actual rockstar was about to perform.

Rhett stood behind them, a large pretzel with a bite out of it in hand and his mouth full.

As his eyes met Lennon’s, he nudged the pretzel in acknowledgment.

The rest of the night, she was on a high.

Lennon played three thirty-minute sets and finished her last as the vendors packed up.

Some people approached her between sets to compliment her, and leftover adrenaline buzzed under her skin as she walked along the empty beach with Dylan, eating a slice of pizza he’d saved for her before everyone closed up shop.

“You were amazing, baby,” Dylan said, the easy reverence in his voice making her heart flutter.

Her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. “Thanks. It feels surreal.” Still, something kept her from fully sinking into it, like a blister forming on her sole, cutting deeper with each step.

The muffled sounds of the city—cars, sirens, music—underscored the ocean’s roll at their side. “So, you wanna tell me why your eyes look so sad?” Dylan asked.

Lennon finished the last bite of pizza crust, brushing off her hands. “I can’t believe she didn’t come,” she said after swallowing, watching her black toenails sink into the sand. “She told me she wasn’t going to, but I thought she’d change her mind at the last minute.”

He released a small, strained sigh beside her.

The fact that Lennon was getting paid to play music, even if it wasn’t much, hadn’t made the impression on her mother she’d hoped it would.

Just like getting accepted to two universities’ music programs hadn’t.

To Katherine, it was all a “waste of time.” Music was a foolish way to spend her summer before college and an even more foolish way to spend her life.

But it was her life. She was eighteen now. She didn’t need anyone’s permission.

“It’s OK,” Lennon said, infusing her voice with strength despite the crumbling feeling inside her. “Once I get a record deal and I’m selling out arenas, she’ll come around.”

Dylan dipped his head as he glanced down at her, a soft smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. His long fingers found hers, interlacing them together. The warmth of his palm soothed her.

“Are you scared? About this next chapter of our lives,” Lennon asked, watching the lights blink on a passing plane slowly cutting across the inky sky.

“Everything’s about to change this fall.

We’re starting college. You’ll most likely be drafted soon, and I’ve started sending out demos to labels, so who knows what could happen with that … ”

Dylan curled his lower lip between his teeth, following her gaze toward the sky. “Yeah. Kinda terrified, actually.” A small laugh trickled out of him. His hand tensed a little in hers, so she pressed her body closer, fitting her arm around his.

“Me too,” she admitted quietly. Fear prickled under her skin.

“I want everything to change, for us to build our own lives and live our dreams, but I don’t want this to change.

” She leaned her head on his bicep, too short in her barefoot state to reach his shoulder.

As if holding on to him tighter would keep him from slipping away.

“It won’t,” Dylan said with certainty.

The sea breeze blew strands of her sweat-dried, post-show hair across her face.

Lennon wanted to believe him. Everyone had made it a point to tell her that everything would change when they went to college, and even more when he became a pro baseball player.

Her mother was first in line, warning her that he would leave her behind once he got bored, like her father had.

He would want his own life. His freedom.

“What if you meet someone else—”

“Lennon—”

“I’m the only girl you’ve ever dated. I’m not naive. I know you’re going to have a lot of opportunities, and I’d get it if you wanted to explore other options without feeling tied down. I don’t want to be a burden.”

Dylan abruptly swung around and stepped in front of her, making her stop short. She had to crane her neck to look up at him when he was that close.

“Hey.” His deep brown eyes locked on hers, a tiny crease forming between them. “Do you want to see other people?”

Lennon released a sigh. “No, but if you did—”

He bent down and interrupted her with a kiss. His hand came up to support the back of her neck as his mouth gently coaxed hers open, his tongue sinking inside as if to send a message. You’re mine. I’m yours.

Their fingers still tightly intertwined, she wrapped her other arm around his waist, pressing her torso flush against his.

“Does that tell you what you need to know?” Dylan whispered, his breath warm against her lips and his thumb drawing small circles along her jaw. His long, dark lashes hung over his eyes as he stared into hers.

Lennon licked her lips, the taste of him lingering on them. “I’m just … afraid you’ll change your mind,” she admitted, embarrassed to be so vulnerable.

Dylan’s eyes grew heavy with a look she couldn’t quite read before he lowered to one knee.

“Oh, my God. Dylan, you don’t have to—” A small gasp caught in her throat as he pulled a ring with a marquise diamond from his pocket. “Oh, shit,” she exhaled.

“I’ve been carrying this around all summer, trying to decide how to ask you.

” He sounded nervous, a little breathless.

“I know we’re young. But you’re right—life’s only gonna get crazier from here.

We’ll have college, and at some point, I’ll go pro and you’ll get your record deal, which won’t take long because you were born to make music.

They’re probably gonna fight over you.” Dylan smiled at the laugh that poured from her.

He went quiet momentarily, his puppy-like eyes turning a little sad.

“Losing my mom taught me that we never know how much time we have. Why wait when I know I want you for however long that ends up being?”

Her heart split open. Lennon dropped to her knees, so they could be face-to-face. And because they were weak. And because she needed to be closer to him.

Moonlight caught his unshed tears. His gaze fell to the ring, sparkling like one of the stars above them.

“This was hers,” Dylan said softly, the pain rasping his voice.

“She left it for me and told me to give it to someone who felt like home.” He looked back at her with his heart in his eyes.

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Lennon. You’re everything.”

The ocean’s roar was nothing compared to the one in her chest. She gripped his knee to hold herself steady. Her voice broke a little as she said, “You’re my home, too.”

Lennon offered him her trembling left hand, and his eyes widened slightly. His breath hitched. Cradling her fingers, he gently slipped on the ring. She scooted forward on her knees through the sand and grabbed his face, pressing her lips to his several times.

Lennon sat back on her heels, tucked between his legs as they caught their breath and admired each other. They would be OK. They weren’t her parents—they were their own people. Whatever life threw at them, she knew in her heart they would find their way through it.

Dylan kissed her knuckles. “Forever.”

Lennon smiled as tears wet her cheeks. “Forever.”

If this moment were a song, she would’ve listened to it on repeat.

Forever.