The Trade (Coastal Rivals Book 1)

It’s Saturday morning, and my bags are packed.

I’m ticking away the last half hour before my ride to the airport arrives, seated at my kitchen table, nursing a lukewarm coffee. My eyelids are weighed down like bricks, the result of a sleepless night spent ruminating over my decisions.

With every minute that passes by, I weave another nightmare scenario in my head. What if I show up today and West looks right through me? What if I arrive at his house, bags in hand, and he’s already decided he’s over it, over me?

Lost in my thoughts, I hardly notice the sound of a car pulling into my driveway. I glance up, annoyed that my ride is here already, and hurry to the door. Gripping the handle, I swing it open, primed to step outside.

Except, it’s not my Uber that’s waiting for me. And the person standing there, now jogging up the path to my front door, has me shocked speechless.

“Uh, hey?”

“Oh my God!” I blink a few times, readjusting to the fog inside my brain. “Theo, how are you here right now?”

“Shan gave me your address.” He chuckles, awkwardly scratching the back of his neck. “I told her I wanted to send you a surprise gift. Then I booked the first flight out here this morning.”

“Wow, you’re really here.” My eyes widen, heart racing. “In Washington . . . at my house.”

“I am.” He gives me a guarded half-smile. “And look, I know you set some pretty firm boundaries. So, if you don’t want to hear me out, I’ll turn my ass around right now. I’m primed and ready to book the next flight home.”

“No, of course I want you here.” I grab his wrist, gently pulling him over the threshold. “Come in.”

Once we’re tucked inside, he glances around the entryway. “Are your parents home?”

“They went on a little trip for the weekend,” I tell him, biting my tongue. “Just left this morning, actually.”

He rakes a shaky hand through his hair. “Ah, okay.”

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m honestly so happy to see you.” My brow crinkles. “But I’m really shocked right now.”

“I’m here to get something off my chest.” He swallows thickly. “I just—I needed to do this in person.”

My heart stutters. “Alright?”

“I’m a little hungover from last night, so just bear with me.”

I nod, guiding him over to the nearby bench. We both take a seat. He sighs, closing his eyes for a moment as his head drops back.

“Did you go out with the guys last night?” I ask. “To Lucky’s?”

“Yes,” he admits, avoiding my gaze. “And that’s part of the reason why I’m here.”

“Oh?”

“You know, I was so fucking upset when you snuck out on me.” His jaw is firmly set. “Like it was just some meaningless one-night stand.”

“I know,” I murmur, shoulders slumped. “And I’m sorry, I should’ve never done that. I know we laid everything out on the table that night, but you deserved a proper goodbye before I left for the whole summer.”

“Yeah, I won’t lie, my feelings were really fucking hurt by that.” He gulps low in his throat. “Then yesterday, I finally decided I was done being hurt. Or, at least, I tried to tell myself I was.”

“What do you mean?”

“I just wanted to stop feeling so miserable, you know?” He reaches for my hand, pulling it onto his lap. “Cam convinced me to go out with him. We drank a bit, shot some pool, and then I got hit on by this girl.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He squeezes my hand. “I bought her a drink.”

“West.” I pull back, stomach dropping. “If this is going where I think it’s going, I really don’t need to hear it.”

He shifts toward me, his strong fingers wrapping around my knee. “I need to say this to you.”

I turn my head. “You went home with her, didn’t you?”

His nostrils flare. “No, I didn’t.”

“Okay?”

“I’ve been in a fucked-up headspace since you left. So, I won’t lie to you.” A heavy puff of air escapes his lips. “The thought briefly crossed my mind. For just a split second . . . before I felt like puking.”

My shoulders relax. “Oh.”

“Nothing happened,” he assures me. “I paid for her drink and then hightailed it out of there.”

A flush of heat rises up my neck, colored by a mixture of relief and confusion. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Jade, I don’t want to be with anyone that’s not you. I realized this a long fucking time ago, but last night just solidified that fact.”

His hand works its way around the back of my neck. “I know I begged to keep you. I basically asked you to break my heart. But then I just let you leave without laying all my cards on the table. And for that, I’m the one that’s sorry.”

“You don’t owe me any apologies.” I shake my head, his grip tightening around me. “Not anymore.”

“I do, though,” he argues. “Because I didn’t fight for you the way I should have. Sure, I asked for your forgiveness. I tried, and clearly failed, to respect your decisions. But in the end, I still kept a piece of my heart from you.”

“I’m the one that fucked up this time,” I whisper. “I said I wanted a break because it’d be best for both of us. But now I know that I was just trying to protect myself, that I was just too scared to try again.”

“And I don’t blame you for that.” He scoots closer, pressing his forehead against mine. “What I’m trying to say is that I love you, Jade.”

My heart sputters, mouth running dry as I register those three little words.

“You what?” I finally manage to squeak out.

“I love you. I’m in love with you,” he clarifies, sincerity reflected in his gaze. “And if I have to wait an entire summer for you to let your guard down, then so be it. The truth is, I’m so far from done with you.”

A dull throb pulses behind my temples. There are so many words I want to say, but my mind is twisting, turning, catapulting off a cliff. “You flew all the way here just to tell me this in person?”

“I did.” His thumb presses against my cheek, tilting my head until our gazes meet. There’s a scorching heat behind those molten caramel eyes of his. “Actually, I also came to do this.”

He draws me in, soft lips pressing against mine. Unlike the last kiss we shared, there’s no longer a sense of urgency or desperate longing behind it. This time, his kiss is filled with certainty. It’s purposeful, deliberate, and bolstered by unwavering confidence.

And when he finally pulls back, his eyes are shining.

“Turns out I passed English Lit.” He swipes a thumb across my bottom lip. “Told you I’d come to collect.”

Pride wells up inside my chest. “You passed?”

“Fuck yeah, I did.” He beams. “Look, I know this sounds goofy, but I actually do need to take the next flight back. Coach will ream my ass if I miss our four-o’clock practice time.”

I blink, shock coursing through my body. He actually woke up this morning, boarded a plane, and then flew hundreds of miles just for this one moment? “Oh, wow.”

“I know.” He winces. “I’m sorry to bail so soon. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting you to . . . say anything back.”

“Theo . . .”

“I’ll just call myself another Uber,” he awkwardly cuts in. “Unless you’d be willing to drive me to the airport.”

“Actually, I think you’re gonna need that Uber.” His face falls, a stunned silence piercing through the stilted air. “Because I’m coming back with you.”

“Wait, what?”

“My bag’s already packed,” I finally admit. “I was just heading to the airport when you showed up.”

His brow furrows. “You’re going back to Dayton?”

“I am.”

“Why? I need you to spell it out for me.” His hand, still around my neck, gently squeezes as he draws me closer. “Remember, I have a hard time reading context clues.”

“I love you, Theo. I’m in love with you,” I say, echoing his earlier confession. “And I don’t want to wait an entire summer to let my guard down. I was going to tell you this in person, but the truth is . . . I’m so done with this breakup.”

The fire in his eyes instantly reignites. “It was only a break.”

“Okay,” I relent, releasing a shaky breath of laughter. “Then I’m done with this break.”

“You’re serious.” His fingers trail from the back of my neck down to my collarbone. He presses his palm flat against my chest, directly over my heart. “You really love me back?”

“I love you, period,” I amend. “And I’m sorry I let my own fears and insecurities get in the way of that. I knew that if I stayed that night, if I woke up in your arms again, that I would’ve changed my mind right then and there. I didn’t think I was strong enough to handle it, strong enough to let you go. But then, when I made it home, I realized just how miserable I was without you, and I knew I made the wrong decision.”

“So, what does this mean?” he asks, wrapping me into his arms. “For us?”

“It means I’m gonna spend the weekend with you.” I nuzzle my face into the crook of his neck, murmuring the words against his flushed skin. “And then we’ll do long distance for the summer. I know it will be hard, but I have faith that we can make it work.”

“Holy fuck.”

I press a soft kiss to his jaw. “You good?”

“Oh, I’m more than good.” His voice is light, raspy, choked with emotion. “You should probably say it one more time, though. Just for good measure.”

“I love you, Theo.”

“Goddamn,” he drawls. “Those are some pretty words, baby.”

I snort. “You’re so corny.”

“Yeah, but you love me anyway.”

“I sure do.”

“And I love you,” he says, tone filled with unshaking sincerity. “So fucking much.”