“Insincere?” she asked.
“No.” I shook my head. “No, that’s not it at all.”
Did she really think I didn’t care? That it was easy? All these years, she thought I walked away because I wasn’t thinking about her.
“I never stopped thinking about you,” I said. “Not once. I want you to know that.”
“Colt, I don’t need to hear it. It was a long time ago. Water under the bridge.”
She wasn’t saying it with cruelty. More like she was protecting herself. From me. She didn’t have to say the words. I understood. And dammit, it pissed me off that I had hurt her.
“Okay,” I said. “But?—”
“Nope. Not doing all that. It’s been four years. Let it lie.”
I wanted to push. Explain myself. But I realized that was for my benefit, not hers. Reopening that old wound didn’t help her. She had gotten over me and wasn’t interested in looking back. I didn’t blame her.
“I should go in. I’ve got an early morning.”
“Lessons?” I asked.
“Yep.”
I wanted to ask if I could see her. Coffee. A walk on the beach. Anything. I was desperate for her time and attention.
“Goodnight, Colt.”
Moment over. I missed my chance.
“Night, Summer.”
She walked up to her back door and let herself in without looking back. I stood there for another moment in the dark, listening to the water below, before I picked up my board and walked back up to the house.
The kitchen was lit up when I came in through the back. Cody was standing at the counter in a shirt and shorts, eating a bowl of cereal with milk dribbling down his chin. He looked up when I set my board against the wall.
He looked past me through the window. Then back at me. I knew he couldn’t see us in the driveway but given I’d come in the side entrance, it didn’t take a genius.
“Summer’s truck,” he said. “In the driveway.” He pointed his spoon at me. “And here you come walking through the side door.” He shook his head, grinning like an idiot. “And here we go again.”
“Go to bed, Cody.”
“It’s early.”
I pulled out a beer, twisted the cap, and took a drink. He waited for me to explain. Why did I feel like I was being interrogated by my little brother? I was a grown man. I could come through any door I pleased. I could stay out as long as I wanted with whoever I wanted.
“Nothing happened,” I said finally.
He pouted. “Poor Colt couldn’t close the deal.”
“That’s not what I was trying to do.”
“You’re such a liar.” He laughed. “Why not just admit you still want her? That always speeds the process along.”
“I told her I was sorry I never came back.”
“How’d she take it?”
“About how you’d expect.”