SWNOVELS Coast to Coast: Chapter 19
We managed to get through the first week of being in Canada without a hitch. Simon’s been attending camp every day since that’s why he came here. And I feel terrible every night he comes home. He’s completely exhausted and worn down. You can see it in his eyes that his body just wants to crash, yet he refuses to let it happen.
Instead, he insists on keeping me busy and taking me out every night. We’ve gone out to dinner twice and explored the city the other nights after he let me cook for him at our apartment. Okay, he didn’t actually let me cook, but I knew what time he would be home so I made sure there was food made by the time he got back.
Who would have known that my journey would have me acting like a housewife?
Part of me wishes this wasn’t just a little fantasy world we were living in. Even when we go back to Vermont, things are going to change. There’s going to be that weird shift where it’s like none of this would have ever happened. I know we both agreed to this being a summer fling, but I don’t know if it’s going to even last that long.
It’s one thing to almost be living a completely different life by being away from everything we know. We’re in a different place, it’s just the two of us, and no one else knows us or any of the people in our lives. When we go back to Vermont, it’s like we’ll be going back to reality. And then it will only be about a month and a half until I’ll be flying back to the opposite coast.
The only thing I can do is enjoy this time we’re having together, knowing this isn’t forever. I’m just shocked… I never thought I’d be doing the things I have been for someone I’m not working to build a future with.
Come to think of it, I don’t know that there is anyone I will ever end up building one with. Simon may be a fling, but he’s setting the bar high. And this new version of Stella refuses to settle for anything less than she deserves.
This journey of self-discovery has been refreshing and I’m thoroughly enjoying it. I don’t have to worry about the judgment from anyone outside of my own soul because it doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things. No one else lives in my mind except for me. So, the only one who needs to be happy with who I am, is me.
I’m on the path to self-love and it feels… strange. It’s different, but I like it. And I can tell Simon is enjoying it too. Especially with the way he’s been burying himself in me every night.
We both slept in this morning as it’s Simon’s first day off since we got here. It’s a Saturday and neither of us made any plans. We talked about it last night and decided we were just going to let the day decide where it was going to take us. I woke up before him and I can’t disturb him. Not with the way he looks right now.
His dark eyelashes rest against his tan skin. I love the way his hair looks, when it’s an unruly, tousled mess from rolling around together last night, and it’s just another reminder of the memories that are now cemented in my brain. Regardless of what happens between us, I will never ever forget the moments we shared together.
My phone begins to vibrate from the nightstand and I quickly grab it to make the sound stop so it doesn’t disturb Simon. I see that it’s Olivia and a smile touches my lips. We’ve texted a few times since we both went our separate ways, but this is the first time we’ll be talking on the phone.
I’m careful not to wake Simon as I crawl out of bed. Still naked from the night before, I find one of his t-shirts on the floor and pull it on before slipping out onto the back patio. I missed Olivia’s call while I was getting dressed, so I call her back as soon as I quietly shut the door behind me.
“Hey, Stella,” Olivia says, her voice cheery and bright. She’s always been like the sunshine. I don’t know how she manages to do it with my grumpy-ass brother, but they weirdly complement each other. Even if he is a dick to me sometimes. I know he treats her right and that’s all that really matters at the end of the day.
“Hey, Liv,” I smile as I say her name. “How are you? How is everything going?”
“I’m good! Everything’s been going really well. We’re settled into our new place. Sterling has been driving two hours back and forth to this damn camp that he signed up for.”
“Why didn’t you guys just go stay there?” I ask her, careful as I sit down on the chair for my ass to not show from under the bottom hem of Simon’s shirt. I don’t have anything on but that.
Olivia is quiet for a beat. “He said he didn’t want to leave me and that we just got this brand-new apartment so it would be stupid to not stay here.” She pauses again and I can hear the hesitation in her words. “I didn’t really question him on it, but then it all made sense last night…”
My eyebrows pull together and I’m confused by her words. “What happened last night?”
“You know how we always talked about how much better life would have been if we were sisters?” she questions me, and I swear I can practically see the smile on her lips. “Well, it’s happening. We’re officially going to be sisters! Sterling proposed!”
Excitement fills me and I’m so elated for my best friend. I knew Sterling had plans of doing it eventually, but that was so fast. But then again, I guess the heart knows what it wants and when you meet that person who speaks to your soul, you just know.
“Oh my god!” I practically squeal. “I’m so excited for you! Congratulations, girl! I don’t know what the hell you see in my brother, but I don’t even care. We’re finally going to be sisters!”
“Yes!” she says loudly as she breaks out into a fit of laughter. “He completely caught me off guard, but it made sense why he wanted to stay here. He had it all planned with how he proposed at our favorite restaurant here. I wasn’t expecting it at all.”
“Come on, Liv,” I shake my head, even though she can’t see it. “You really didn’t think he would propose? He’s obsessed with you. I think you’re the only person on the planet that can get him to actually smile.”
Olivia giggles. “I mean, I hoped he would. But sometimes I still have to pinch myself to know that this is real life. He was always just a dream until he became more. It just doesn’t feel real sometimes.”
“I’m seriously so excited for you,” I tell her with nothing but honesty. It’s the best news I’ve heard lately. “What about the draft? Sterling should find out next month where he’s going.”
“Actually, he caught wind that he might be going to New York…” Olivia’s voice trails off for a moment. I expect sadness because she’s still working on her degree at Wyncote, but her next sentence completely surprises me. “I’m going to look into transferring somewhere, that way I can go wherever he goes.”
My eyebrows pull together, even though she can’t see the concern on my face. “Is that a smart decision?”
Olivia falls silent for a beat. “I would follow him to the ends of the earth, Stella. When you meet the right guy one day, you’ll know exactly what I mean.”
Turning my head, I glance inside the glass doors to where Simon is still sleeping in bed. Thoughts of him dance in my mind and I’m ready to go crawl back under the covers with him.
“I hope you’re right.”