"Devin!"
Sam's loud voice echoed from outside, followed by a spontaneous ring of the doorbell. "Devin Austin!"
Devin threw his head back and sighed. "You fool."
He shoved himself off the couch, his feet heavy, and swung the front door open. Sam was standing on the porch, immediately throwing him a signal—it was time.
"So, what's the plan?" Devin asked.
"What about bringing me to that glass house of yours? Sounds like a plan," Sam replied.
"Well, we better start walking now," Devin said.
"Walk? Bruh!"
"Yeah, 'cause we'll just be swimming, right?"
A block away, an old sky-blue Beetle idled in the sprawling shade of an oak. Inside, the air-conditioning hummed a losing battle against the South Carolina heat, leaving a thin
Allison and Anna tracked the house through the windshield, their attention anchored to the gate.
"What if he recognizes me, Anna?"
"Relax, Ali. You're acting like he's going to recognize the eleven-year-old girl from six years ago."
Anna pressed closer to the glass. "Wait..."
The gate opened. A young man stepped out into the heat.
Anna squinted, leaning into the dashboard. "That's Sam, right? The best friend? Hmm... I think I like the view already."
Allison rolled her eyes, her stomach doing a nervous flip.
"You what?"
"What? I'm just appreciating the scenery."
Then—
The world narrowed until the car felt like a vacuum.
The air inside turned to lead in Allison's lungs, every breath a conscious effort. Another figure followed Sam out, stepping into the harsh afternoon light.
He was taller, broader than the boy in her memories.
The soft edges of his youth were gone, replaced by a solid, unfamiliar weight that made her chest pull tight. But it was his hair that really did it. That same sun-bleached, sandy blonde she'd spent a lifetime trying to forget.
The breeze caught it in a careless wave, tossing it over his forehead exactly the way it used to.
He narrowed his eyes against the glare, his expression tight and closed off to the world. But when Sam nudged him, he laughed. A careless, brilliant grin caught the sunlight, rearranging the hard lines of his face into the exact same boy who had always been her undoing.
Devin.
The letters hadn't prepared her for the physical reality of him.
"Anna..." Allison's voice faltered, barely a breath against the glass. "That's him. Follow them," Allison said, her attention anchored to the two figures walking away.
Anna trailed them at a distance, keeping the Beetle a safe two blocks behind as Sam and Devin walked toward the coast.
"They're heading somewhere along the shore," Allison noted, her heart beginning a slow, heavy thud against her ribs.
"Perfect place for a reunion. Even romantic."
"I know," Allison admitted. "But now that we're actually here... I feel like a creep."
Anna thumped her forehead. "Remind me whose idea this was again?"
Allison swallowed hard.
"Maybe we should go back. We haven't even stepped out, and I already feel like I'm breaking a thousand unspoken rules."
"It was your plan, Ali, remember?" Anna sat up straight, eyes bright with adrenaline. "We are not turning around. You crossed an ocean for this—don't tell me you're satisfied with staring at the back of his head." A teasing smile played on her lips. "Besides, the 'tourist' act? It's going to be fun."
"I feel like I'm tricking him."
Anna didn't argue. She simply shifted the car into gear and pulled into the lot. She knew Allison; sometimes the only way to make her jump was to give her a shove.
Although the weathered wood and shifted dunes marked the passage of six years, the air hadn't changed at all. It was still thick with that stinging mix of salt and coconut oil. The scent struck Allison with such force that the present faded, her vision blurring as the past rushed back to meet her.
"It looks... different," Allison murmured, her heart beginning a frantic rhythm against her ribs. "We used to play over there. A little farther."
The roar of the ocean went silent, replaced by the thrum of a memory she couldn't outrun.
Devin was sitting on the sand, his gaze fixed on the horizon. Beside him, Sam looked like a man who had heard the same story a hundred times.
"Bro, I thought we were heading to the glass house."
But Devin didn't move.
"Come on," Sam pushed, nudging him with a foot. "Let's hit the water instead. Maybe you'll find a mermaid who'll kiss you and erase her from your memory."
Devin let out a short, dry laugh that didn't reach his eyes. "What am I, Prince Eric?" His smile vanished as quickly as it appeared. "If we go there, I'll just miss her more, Sam. It's constant."
Sam exhaled slowly, shaking his head. "But—" He stopped mid-sentence, his eyes suddenly glued to two young women walking toward the shore.
"Well, never mind. I guess it's destiny we stopped right here."
"Destiny?" Devin turned around and saw Allison and Anna making their way forward. For a moment, he went completely still.
Sam couldn't stop staring at them. Devin woke to the moment and stood.
"This day's a waste if we just sit here," Devin muttered.
He pulled his shirt off, and the air vanished from Allison's lungs. The boy she remembered was gone. Six years had forged someone broader and stronger—someone real. Sunlight caught the hard lines of his shoulders and the vulnerable hollow of his throat.
Suddenly, the heat was too much. Allison's skin felt flash-frozen.
"Anna..." she whispered, shielding her eyes with a shaking hand. "The sun... it's hurting my eyes."
Anna followed her gaze, her eyebrows shooting up behind her lenses. She let out a low, appreciative whistle. "So the eggshell finally cracked," she teased. "I was starting to think I'd be babysitting all summer."
"No—I feel like I'm having a fever."
Devin moved through the surf, the waves breaking against him. When he emerged, droplets clung to his skin, catching the light like diamonds. He didn't look like a memory anymore. He looked—
"Hot," Allison muttered under her breath, dropping her head into her hands.
"Yes, he does, Ali. But the one on the left? I think he'll look even better once I break him in."
Allison snapped her head up.
"What?"