This Is What Happy Looks Like(52)

She laughed. “Forever?”

“Sure,” he said. “Seems as good a place to live as any.”

“Nice waterfront view.”

“Plenty of light.”

“A beachfront property.

And no cameras.”

He nodded. “No cameras.”

She reached for his hand, and her fingers were warm against his. “I don’t want to lose any more time,” she said quietly, and when he leaned forward to kiss her, he could taste the salt on her lips. It was like gravity, this thing between them, a pull as strong as the tides and unlike anything he’d ever felt before. He’d meant it as a joke when he said he could stay here forever, but he suddenly felt it to be true.

When she pulled back, he was unprepared to let her go just yet, so he looped an arm around her shoulders, and she fell back onto his chest, curled up against him. They stayed there like that for a long time, looking out over the water without speaking, the setting sun at their backs.

“Is this where you watch the sunrise?” he asked. “I bet it’s the perfect spot.”

Ellie twisted to face him with a sheepish expression. “Actually, I’ve never seen it.”

“What? How is that even possible?”

“I always sleep through them,” she admitted. “I know, it’s terrible.”

“But that was on your list.”

“What list?”

“Of the things that make you happy.”

“Oh,” she said. “Right. I guess that was more wishful thinking. Anyway, you lied too.”

He raised his eyebrows. “How?”

“You said you liked meeting new people…”

She didn’t have to finish the thought. He knew what she meant. And it was true—or at least it had been, before he met Ellie. But now everything had changed.

“I wasn’t lying,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head. “I was talking about you.”

“Good,” she said, and he could hear the smile in her voice. “Because I liked meeting you too.”

“Hopefully better than you like sunrises.”

“Having never seen them,” she supplied, and he nodded.

“Exactly. How can you know it makes you happy if you’ve never experienced it?”

“There are different kinds of happy,” she said. “Some kinds don’t need any proof.”

“Like sunrises?”

“Exactly,” she said. “I know enough to know that they’re happy things. There’s just nothing sad about a sunrise.”

“As opposed to a sunset.”

“I don’t think they’re particularly sad either.”

“I do,” Graham told her. “They’re endings, and endings are always sad.”

“They’re the beginning of the night,” she said. “That’s something.”

“Yeah, but everyone knows that nights are scarier than days.”

Ellie laughed. “Maybe we should turn around then.”

“How come?”

“Nothing’s all that scary if you can see it coming.”

Still, they didn’t move. The sun continued to set at their backs, slipping toward the trees and the houses and the whole town of Henley, while before them, the water was busy with boats returning to the harbor. They watched as an enormous sailboat approached, the wind whipping its great white banners. Graham closed his eyes.

“My parents aren’t coming,” he said, and Ellie stirred in his arms.

“For the Fourth?”

“I thought they would,” he said, then shook his head. “That’s not really true, I guess. They never go anywhere. But I’ve also never asked before.”

“Are you close?”

“We used to be,” he said. “Before.”

“Before all this?” she said, and he nodded, knowing what she meant. They both fell silent, charting the progress of the boat, and then Ellie took his hand again. “They’re missing out.”

“They don’t understand it,” he said. “All this movie stuff.”

“Can you blame them?”

“I guess not,” he said quietly. “I don’t even understand it myself half the time.”

“At least you’ve got Wilbur,” she said, and he laughed.

“That’s true.”

“And me.”

He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head. “That too.”

The boat had started to darken into a silhouette against the gold of the water, and a warm breeze lifted the hair from Graham’s forehead.

“I’m sorry about your dad,” he said, though he was still thinking of his own.

It took her a moment to respond. “I never used to mind,” she said. “I got really lucky with my mom. But it’s been tougher than usual this summer.”

“Because of me?” he asked, but she didn’t answer. Instead she pulled away, swiveling around to face him fully, her eyes shiny and determined.

“He’s in Kennebunkport for the long weekend.”

Graham gave her a mystified look, wondering what this had to do with anything. “Where’s that?”