night, but there was a gentle breeze as we turned from the bar, crossed the parking lot and the beach path, and hit the sand. Katie took off her shoes and the rest of us followed suit as Ginny hurried to meet us with four drinks balanced precariously in her hands.
I took two from her. “That’s expert skill, right there.”
“I used to be a server,” she said as she slipped out of her sandals. She bent over and picked them up with one finger through both ankle straps. Then she nodded toward the shoreline. “Let’s go, losers!”
Katie squealed and raced after Ginny. Roman went next, and I took a moment to watch them all go.
Sand kicked up behind their heels until they hit the water. It sprayed all around them and Katie turned back to me, a smile stretching her red lips, the hem of her dress soaking wet, her drink clutched in one hand.
“Are you coming or not?” she asked.
I abandoned my shoes and raced to the water’s edge. The others cried out as my knees breaking through the water splashed them. Katie was wise and covered her open drink with a flat hand over the rim.
Ginny looked around at us all with a playful smile. “I’m kind of in the mood for a swim.”
“We didn’t bring any suits,” Katie said.
“So?” Ginny shrugged.
Roman pulled his shirt off over his head. I was surprised that his torso was covered in tattoos. They were all mismatched, minimalist looking pieces. There was what looked like the excerpt of a book or passage on his rib cage, a wave on his hip, what looked like a barcode or something similar on the right side of his chest, and a Celtic symbol on the left. Next, he took off his wet pants and tossed all his clothes up onto the sand before diving into the water.
Ginny followed suit. She stripped down to her bra and underwear, polished off her drink, and followed Roman out a little deeper.
Katie looked over her shoulder at me. “Should we do it?”
I grinned and held out my drink to her. She took it and I pulled my shirt off over my head.
Roman cat-called me and whistled.
I laughed. “You can look but you can’t touch.”
Roman grinned. “Excellent, because that was exactly what I was going to do.”
Katie rolled her eyes and I took off my pants. I threw it all up on the beach like the others had and took the drinks from Katie so she could do the same. As she took her dress off, Roman made an even bigger deal over her and her body. Ginny hooted and hollered and I had the impression they hadn’t expected Katie to do this with us.
Once we all swam out, we floated in the still waters. Katie settled against my chest and we tilted our heads back to look at the stars. Roman and Ginny pointed out constellations while I traced small patterns on Katie’s skin with my fingertips.
She smiled up at me. She was more beautiful than the canopy of stars twinkling above our heads and the reflection of the full moon on the still ocean.
“I love you,” I whispered.
“I love you too, Peter.”
Chapter 38
Katie
Even though it was moving day and I was entirely packed, my suite still looked the same.
It was eerie.
As I stood there in the middle of my living room looking around at all the stuff I’d come to think of as mine but was really the hotels, I wondered if maybe being forced to move out was actually the best thing for me. I’d convinced myself that this was my home, but really, it was just an in-between place. A temporary place. A place I slept and ate and showered but not a place that had ever really been mine because I could never make it mine.
The white marble floors and the luxurious finishes weren’t my style, and it wasn’t in my budget either. The white lion head on the sofa table screamed this cost more money than it’s worth and the plush white rugs under my bed weren’t any better.
If this had been my actual place that I bought and paid for and earned, it would have looked a hell of a lot different. For starters, it would have color. I would have area rugs in rich blues, greens, and reds. I would have tapestries and artwork and bright floral arrangements. I would have things that made me feel joyous inside just from looking at