“THIS IS amazing,” Ava said in a voice filled with awe. “I didn’t think anything would top seeing Devil’s Tower, but this….” She held her arms out wide, taking in the expanse.
Together they stood at the precipice, peering down at the striated layers of rock glowing in shades of orange, red, and brown from the setting sun. For a week, they’d worked their way across the country, finding excuses to make detours that would extend their trip. Meandering through North Dakota, South Dakota, and then Wyoming, they found out where in the heck Wall Drug was and visited Devil’s Tower and watched in awe as Old Faithful put on a show. They’d spent a night under the never-ending canopy of stars in Boulder and stuffed themselves with Tex Mex in New Mexico.
Now they stood together, looking over the edge of the Grand Canyon. The canyon seemed to stretch on endlessly, unlike their time together, which was coming to a close. Steve stood behind her, resting his hands on her shoulders. “It makes you feel so small.”
She looked up at him. “It makes all your problems seem so insignificant when you see something this grand.”
His lips quirked. “I guess that’s why they call it the Grand Canyon.”
He earned an elbow to the ribs for that comment.
Ava turned in his arms, burying her face in his chest. It took a moment for him to realize she was crying.
“Hey, what’s wrong?”
She sniffed and muttered something that was too muffled for him to understand.
He dipped his head and asked her to repeat what she’d said.
“I don’t want to go home. I want to go around the world with you.” She looked up at him with a tearful smile. “I’m going to miss you and Pearl so much. Why don’t we just keep going? We can take that trip to Mexico now.”
Her confession pierced his heart.
He drew her close and kissed her forehead. “I wish we could, but I have a job to start, and so do you. Our families are waiting for us to come home.”
It would be so easy to ask her to come back to Misfit Harbor with him. The words hovered on his lips. But he couldn’t ask someone he’d only spent two weeks with to spend the rest of her life with him. Even if that’s what he knew he wanted.
“I’ll come down to visit you and you’ll come up to visit me. I’m not saying goodbye forever.”
Her lips quivered. “We have one more night together.”
One more night. They hadn’t made love yet, and he was okay with that. He didn’t want to rush anything between them. He’d stopped sleeping on the top bunk after the night Ava had first invited him down to talk. They’d continued their conversations since, sharing their hopes for the future and stories from their pasts while wrapped in each other’s arms.
“We’ll write letters and call,” she said in a shaky voice.
“I’ll call every night. I hate having our trip end,” he breathed out, letting his forehead drop to hers.
They were quiet on the drive to the campground. Steve wrestled with disappointment and heartache. He didn’t want their trip to end, either. When Ava had said they should keep going and head to Mexico, he’d almost taken her up on it. He’d even thought about a detour through Vegas and asking her to marry him. Their families would have been furious. He wouldn’t marry her without her parents’ consent. That was the thing he worried about the most. She hadn’t come out and said it, but he’d gotten the impression they might not approve of their daughter marrying a White man.
He also had to face his concerns about his own parents. He’d never heard them say anything that made him think they were racists. But he’d also never brought home a girl who was a different race. He couldn’t imagine them not loving Ava as much as he did.
They found a secluded spot away from the other campers and parked. They’d fallen into a routine setting up camp. Ava popped Pearl’s tent and pulled out their camp chairs and lanterns while Steve scoured the campsite for kindling and got a campfire started. They worked together prepping whatever they were having for dinner, either cooking on the stove in Pearl or over the campfire.
That night, they sat by the fire, their dinners untouched, staring into the flames.
Ava set her plate aside with a frown. “I’m not very hungry.”
He looked down at his full plate. “We should eat, but I’m not hungry either.”
The fire sizzled and popped, sending a little plume of sparks into the air. Setting his plate down next to hers, he held out his hand. “Come sit with me.”
She took his hand and let him pull her into his lap.
“I don’t want to make any promises I can’t keep.” He kissed the side of her neck. “Now that I know you, I can’t imagine not having you as a part of my life.”
She nodded, linking her fingers with his. “I feel the same way.”
They watched the fire die down until there was nothing left but a few coals flickering in the dark. She looked up at the canopy of stars overhead. “You don’t see them like this in LA.”
“I’m going to miss these nights by the campfire.”
She got up from his lap. Standing over him, she whispered, “This is our last night together and I don’t want to spend it watching stars.”
He swallowed. “Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I am.”
Ava gathered her toiletries and went to the bathrooms while Steve put out the fire and cleaned up camp. When he returned from his trip to the bathrooms, she was waiting for him.
He froze, sucking in his breath, when he saw her standing in her underwear. A lacy, light pink bra, the color reminiscent of the wildflowers they’d seen in Colorado, with matching panties.
His fingers shook as he traced the line where the top of her bra covered the swell of her breast. She sighed, her own fingers trembling slightly as she grasped the edge of his T-shirt and dragged it over his head. She placed her palms on his bare chest and looked up at him, her eyes luminous in the darkness.
“I didn’t think about condoms.”
The corner of her mouth curled. “I did.”
He exhaled. “Have I let you know you’re the most resourceful woman I’ve ever met?”
She laughed softly, running her hands down the planes of his chest. She popped the top button on his jeans. He groaned, grasping her waist. She shuddered when he brushed his thumb over the top of her hip before hooking his finger into her waistband.
The heat from her body washed over him. When they’d shed their clothes, he ran his hands over her body, memorizing every dip and curve.
“Steve,” she whimpered. She nipped at his lip, her hands splayed against his back, and pulled him against her until their bodies were fused.
He gently laid them down on the two sleeping bags Ava had zipped into one. “Your skin is so soft. I imagined what it would feel like to have you like this.” His lips followed the trail of his hands, claiming every inch of her body.
She lifted her leg over his, her hand grasping his hard length. He shuddered and groaned. “I don’t want this moment to end.”
Her dark curls splayed out over the pillow. She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “I need you, want you so much.”
He brushed the corner of her eye with his thumb, catching a tear before it fell. This didn’t feel like sex. They were creating a bond. He sheathed himself. Hovering over her, he kissed her until she writhed underneath him.
“Steve, I need—” she moaned, lifting her hips to meet his thrust.
Surrounded by her warmth, he wasn’t sure if he could last more than a few moments. She matched his rhythm as if they had always been together. This is what it’s like to make love to someone who is your soulmate, he thought. She reached her climax, and Steve followed her with his own.
She reached up, brushing away the wetness from his cheeks he hadn’t realized was there.
He gently rolled them over, then cupped the back of her head, burying his face in her neck. This couldn’t be their last night together. How could he go on as if his life hadn’t just been completely transformed by the woman in his arms?
Ava trembled, and he realized she was crying.
“Did I hurt you?”
She lifted her head. “You didn’t hurt me, but my heart is breaking.”
“Sweetheart.” He kissed her temple. “I’m sorry. We shouldn’t have—”
“Don’t you dare say we shouldn’t have had sex. I wanted this. I just didn’t know it was going to make saying goodbye hurt so much more.”
He wrapped his arms around her as if he could keep the sun from rising by holding on tight enough. As the sky began to tinge pink with the sunrise, they made love one last time, each of them trying to make every breath, every touch, every murmured word last a lifetime.