Page 52 of Through Any Fire (Any x #1)

M y heart is so full it feels like it could burst. Callahan stands at the end of the dock, the dying sunset painting him in golden rays of orange and rust, and my breath catches. He’s so handsome. I snap a picture of him with my camera, desperate to hold on to this memory forever.

In the distance, crickets chirp and frogs croak. A gentle breeze cools the summer sweat from the nape of my neck, and as the light dies, it snatches the heat with it. Out here on the lake, it feels like our troubles are miles away.

Because they are.

The wood planks creak with each stride, and Cal turns over his shoulder to blind me with one of those million-dollar smiles.

A dimple appears in his cheek, and I can’t help the fireflies that take flight.

He wears only his swim trunks, and his sun-kissed chest is deliciously bare.

At his feet lay two popsicles melting from where we forgot them. We were…distracted.

“Come here.” He holds out a muscular arm, and I hurry into his hold. He still smells of lake water from our earlier dip, but his sandalwood cologne shines through. It’s a deadly combination, one I’ll forever associate with this house, this summer .

It’s our last trip to the lake house this summer.

For me, school starts back up on Monday, and with that, we return to reality.

Cal graduated last week, after finishing an extra semester of summer school.

He’s a year older than me, but when I transferred into Pointe Charter, we were in the same grade.

With his graduation, it means he’s no longer attending PC, and instead, starting full-time in the Keane enterprise.

We talked about what we’d do when the time came, and earlier in the summer, we both agreed it would be best we go our separate ways.

I burrow my nose into the curve of his neck, twisting into his body and praying time would just slow down. I think we both knew it was inevitable. Perhaps it always was. But no one told my heart that. I fell hard, and I’m not sure how I’ll survive knowing what’s around the corner.

“I was thinking…” Cal trails off, pressing a quick kiss to the crown of my head.

I peek up from his chest, and his deep brown eyes sparkle with something dangerous: Hope.

“Yeah?” The word cracks out of me, and I clear my throat.

Cal’s gaze flicks over my face. “What do you say we—”

“Yes,” I cut him off, longing burning in my chest and tingling in my fingertips.

Cal rolls his eyes, but his hold on me tightens. “You didn’t even let me finish, Bunny.”

A laugh slips free, and I ignore his nickname for me. It grew on me in the last four months. “I know what you were going to say because I was thinking the same thing.”

The words hang unspoken between us: Maybe we don’t have to end this. Not just yet, at least. A slow smile curves his lips, and he tucks a strand of damp hair behind my ear.

“What if it’s a mistake?”

Fear thickens my throat, but I banish the unwanted emotion. “We’ll never know unless we try.”

Cal lets out a deep breath, relief washing over his boyish face. “How do you know me so well?”

I raise onto my tiptoes, pressing my lips against his to whisper, “ My soul just recognizes yours, I guess.”