JayJay POV
It was March.
The kind of March that couldn't commit — warm enough to tempt you into the ocean, cool enough to make you question everything once you got there.
The sky was soft.
The breeze was indecisive.
And the ocean stretched out in front of me like a dare I wasn't sure I wanted to take.
Keifer was already in it.
Floating.
Waiting.
Trying not to look like he was watching me.
He failed.
Spectacularly.
I stepped out of the beach house in my floral bikini, towel slung over one shoulder, lip gloss freshly applied like armor.
His eyes found me instantly.
Tracked me like I was gravity and he was ready to fall.
I didn't speak.
Just walked down the beach slowly, letting the sand bite at my feet, letting him suffer.
When I reached the edge of the water, he called out, voice soft and wrecked.
"You look like a problem I want to have."
I didn't respond.
Just stepped into the ocean.
Let it wrap around me.
Let it pull me toward him.
We met in the middle.
Saltwater between us.
Sunlight on our skin.
He reached out.
Touched my wrist.
Gentle.
Asking.
I let him.
Because it was March.
Because the waves were quiet.
Because I was tired of pretending I didn't want this.
He swam closer.
Close enough to feel the heat of him.
Close enough to hear the way his breath caught when I looked at him like I meant it.
"I love you," he said.
No warning.
No buildup.
Just the words.
Raw.
Unfiltered.
Mine.
I blinked.
Then kissed him.
Hard.
Hungry.
Salt on our lips.
Sunlight in our hair.
His hands found my waist.
Mine tangled in his hair.
We didn't speak.
Didn't need to.
Because the ocean was loud and our hearts were louder.
We kissed until the sky turned gold.
Until the water forgot to be cold.
Until I forgot what it felt like to be angry.
And when we finally pulled apart, breathless and wrecked, he whispered—
"Say it back."
I stared at him.
Then leaned in.
Mouth against his ear.
Voice like a secret.
"I love you, Keifer Watson. Loudly. Stupidly. Forever."
He smiled.
And I?
I kissed him again.
Because this?
This was ours.