41. Everest

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Everest

“Ev, wake up.”

I groan, batting the hands trying to interrupt my sleep. “Fuck off.”

“Come on,” Rhys whispers loudly as he shakes my shoulder. “Get up.”

I refuse to open my eyes. If I open my eyes, that means I’ve lost and I’m officially awake. I was having such a nice dream, and I’ll be damned if I don’t finish it. “Pizza cupcakes…”

“What?”

“What time is it?” I mumble as I roll over onto my stomach. I love the guy, but I hate him right now.

“Three in the morning, but that’s not the point,” he says, growing impatient as he yanks the covers off me. “We got to go.”

I struggle to wrestle my comforter away from him, initiating caterpillar mode, and curling around them. “Where?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“Ugh, no. Come to bed.” I finally open my eyes and find him fully dressed and ready to go. Bastard even looks good at the ass crack of dawn, all sexy with his glasses and his baseball cap.

He swats away my hands that are reaching for him. “Baby, if you’re not out of this bed in the next five seconds, I’m dragging your ass out.”

I narrow my eyes in challenge. He wouldn’t… “I’m bigger than you.”

“I’m more determined. Downstairs in two minutes.” He finally manages to get the covers fully off me and slaps my ass, causing me to yelp. With a chuckle, he walks to the door, opening it quietly. Just before he exits, he looks over his shoulder and smirks. “Oh, happy birthday, baby.”

“My parents’ house?”

Rhys parks the car, smiling over at me as he waves his hand in front of us. “Yes.”

“What are we doing here?” Cocking my head, I wonder what on earth possessed him to bring me here. “I know I haven’t talked to them in a bit, but I don’t think this is the smartest idea?—”

“Everest,” he states, taking my hand in his, looking at me with nothing but patience. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course,” I say. I’m offended he’d even need to ask. I look back at the house in front of me. “Okay. Let’s do whatever it is you’ve planned.”

He smiles brightly, and I consider that reward enough for agreeing to go along with him. Once he kills the engine, we hop out of the car. Immediately, I turn to go to the front entrance, but his hand on my elbow stops me. “Yeah?” I raise an eyebrow.

“Wrong way,” he says with a secretive little grin. He drops his hand and laces his fingers with mine. “This way.”

I follow cautiously, noting that we’re rounding the back of the property. Sure, there’s stuff back here, but I don’t think Rhys really wants to swim, grill, or play tennis. Evidently, he doesn’t, because we pass all of that, and end up at the dock. When he leads us to my parents’ boat, I stop him. “What is this?”

He shrugs with a diabolical grin. “I thought we’d take a drive.”

“How?” I ask, still confused as he hops in. “Rhys, we can’t take my parents’ boat out. You don’t even have the keys.”

To this, he winks and dangles said keys in the air. “Snagged Elton’s set.”

I’m still shocked for just another second, but that quickly morphs into amusement and excitement. “We’re really doing this?”

He nods, holding out his hand to me, urging me to take it and board alongside him. “Yeah.”

Biting my bottom lip, I let out a very embarrassing giggle. I join him on the boat and kiss him, wrapping my arms around his neck, dragging him into me. He sways easily, his lips forming a smile against mine, something so purely joyful coming from him. “Good birthday surprise?” he asks.

“The best.” I peck him one more time before pulling back. “Okay, let’s see if you still know how to drive this thing.”

He quirks an eyebrow, slapping my ass before heading toward the helm. “Challenge accepted.”

I throw my head back with a laugh at the indignation on his face. Settling into one of the cushioned seats toward the bow, I lounge back as he goes through all the motions. It only takes a couple of minutes and a few fumbles on his part before we’re ready.

My parents’ house is located on the water, right inside a large canal. If you want to, you could stay inside the enclosed body of water, seeing as there’s enough room to never leave the area surrounded by the other mansions. But Rhys takes us in a direction I once again didn’t expect. He heads to the mouth of the canal, right where it feeds into the Atlantic. He steers gently, creating minimal wake, and almost like it’s not four in the morning and we just borrowed— stole —a boat.

It only takes us about ten minutes until the familiar outline of downtown Miami fills our view. We heave to and idle in the water, far enough away from the city where the lights look like dazzling stars in the backdrop.

There’s something so stunning about being here at night. There’re no other boats around and it’s silent, nothing but the rippling waves. It feels like we’re the only ones in the world, despite the millions of people just a mile in front of us. It’s calm, peaceful, and it brings me to an almost hazy, euphoric state.

“Wow,” I breathe, leaning forward and resting my chin in my hands. “It’s so beautiful.”

Rhys chuckles as he sits behind me, arranging us so his legs bracket my hips and his arms wrap around my waist. “You like it?”

“I know a lot of people don’t like big cities…” Settling my hand over his, I rub my thumb against his. “But I don’t know how anyone can hate this.”

He nods as his lips ghost the back of my neck. “It’s definitely something.”

“This is wonderful,” I whisper, turning so I can peck his cheek. “What made you think of this?”

His brow furrows. “You mean you don’t remember?”

I wrinkle my forehead, but before I can ask him what he means, it hits me. “Holy shit.”

This has happened before. I can’t believe I forgot.

It was my twelfth birthday when Rhys took me out here. I remember my parents had thrown me a whole big party that had ended in disaster when one of my “friends” told me he and the others had only come for the chance to hang out with Elton. I didn’t tell anyone that was the reason I held back my tears and ran away, finishing up my birthday party crying in my room.

But that night, Rhys had come into my room to check on me. I was half asleep when he took me downstairs, showed me my parents’ stolen keys, and took me out on the boat. He brought soda and candy, and we idled right here in this same spot. It was obvious when I ran away that I was upset, and the next morning, my parents and Elton tried to figure out what happened, but Rhys was the one who made me feel better.

He was my hero, my knight in shining armor, and I remember thinking he was the greatest person ever.

“Rhys…” My eyes water despite how hard I try to hold it in. “I can’t believe you remembered.”

He scoffs, but there’s no malice in it. “I can’t believe you forgot.”

“This…” I trail off because I don’t have the words. “I?—”

“I figured Elton and your parents would want you for today,” he says softly, running his knuckles down my cheek. “I wanted to spend some time, just us, where we didn’t have to hide.”

This makes the guilt reappear. Guilt that I’m keeping this from Elton and guilt that I’m keeping Rhys a secret. “I’m so sorry. I know this must be hard.”

He sighs deeply, a warm smile on his lips as his brown eyes dance across my face. “It’s not. Being with you is the easiest thing in the world.”

And at this moment, I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that Rhys and I are here. Not just reliving a memory I had long forgotten, but here together in a relationship I never saw coming. I’m once again hit with the tremendous mountain we overcame, the growth we’ve both shown, and it makes me want to tell him just how much he means to me.

Twisting in his hold, I cup his face with trembling fingers. I lick my lips that suddenly feel dry and chapped, my breath stuttering as I ghost the words over his lips. “I love you, Rhys.”

I’m terrified. Now that the words are out there, they can’t be taken back. I like to think that I know Rhys better than anyone, but fear is preventing me from seeing things clearly. Putting myself out there like this is showing all the vulnerability I possess and the threat of rejection is making me shake in his arms.

Not as good as Elton.

Always second best.

Never good enough ? —

“Baby, look at me,” Rhys mumbles, pressing his forehead against mine. A breathy chuckle leaves his lips, a sweet and tender sound as my eyes flutter open. “I love you too.”

Something between a choked sob and a laugh leaves me as I claw at his shoulders, gripping him tightly as if this moment will disappear. “Yeah?”

“You take up all the space,” he whispers, rubbing his nose against mine. “All the air.”

All the space. All the air. Rhys owns every ounce of it. And now, I finally feel like I own every ounce of him too.

Throwing myself into his arms, I accidentally knock him in the nose, but he just laughs the pain away. “Thank you.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” he says, rubbing my back, the sway of the boat moving us in perfect synchrony. “I told you. Loving you is the easiest thing I’ve ever done.”

I nod against his shoulder, still struck by this perfect moment. Well, close to perfect. There’s just one more thing that needs to be done for this picture-perfect movie moment to come true. “We need to talk to Elton.”

He pulls back suddenly. Holding me by the back of my neck, he shakes his head. “We don’t have to if you’re not ready. I can wait?—”

“I don’t want to wait,” I rush out, shaking my head as a sort of calm settles over me. “I love you, Rhys. I love you so fucking much. Elton is a part of our lives, and he deserves to know. You deserve to be recognized. And…” I let out a deep breath as I smile to myself. “I deserve it too.”

Rhys’s eyes soften as he leans forward and kisses the tip of my nose. “I’m so proud of you, baby.”

In fear of bursting into tears, I don’t say anything, just bring him in and hug him close. Although a part of me is scared, the greater side of me is brimming with anticipation.

Because by telling Elton, only then can our future begin.