Cameron sat cross-legged on the warm sand, arms wrapped around her knees, eyes trained on the waves as they rolled and broke, rolled and broke. The tide was predictable. Soothing. The way it always came back.
She envied it.
A soft breeze picked up strands of her hair and danced them around her face, but she didn't move. She barely blinked.
Her gaze was fixed on Jasmine.
Twirling barefoot in the shallow surf, dress whipping around her knees, her laughter carried on the wind like music only Cameron could hear. The water licked at her ankles and shimmered beneath her, catching the dying sunlight like a stage light trained on a star.
Cameron's heart felt too big for her chest.
The sun was beginning its slow descent, dragging streaks of rose and gold across the sky. It was the kind of sunset you read about in poetry. The kind you wanted to paint, or press between the pages of a journal so you could remember it later.
But nothing in the sky compared to her.
Jasmine's damp hair clung to her shoulders, her skin glowing like bronze kissed by fire. Her movements were effortless, her joy infectious, and for a moment, Cameron felt like she was witnessing something divine. Something unreal. Like Jasmine had stepped out of one of her dreams and into this sliver of reality, just long enough to steal her breath.
And the worst part—the best part—was that Jasmine wasn't doing anything special.
She was just being herself.
That was what made it unbearable.
Cameron had spent the entire day in a daze. Every moment was a quiet intoxication. Jasmine's laugh. Jasmine's voice singing softly to the radio. The way she playfully tugged at Cameron's shirt when she pointed something out on the boardwalk. The way their fingers brushed when Jasmine handed her an iced drink, lingering too long. The shared bite of ice cream. The shoulder bump. The look.
All of it added up to something.
It had to.
She clenched her fists in the sand, the grains biting into her skin, anchoring her. Her heart beat in uneven staccato, every pulse echoing with a single, burning thought.
Say it.
She had waited so long.
Too long.
Years of hiding it, burying it, convincing herself it would ruin everything if it ever left her mouth. But today—today felt different. Jasmine had pulled her back into that same orbit. That same sun-drenched spiral where everything felt easy, safe, beautiful.
If there was ever a moment, this was it.
All she had to do was choose it.
She ran through the possibilities in her head, each more cinematic than the last.
Maybe at sunset. When the sky turned into an oil painting, and the colors bled into the sea. She could take Jasmine's hand. Could say it softly, like a prayer. I'm in love with you. I always have been.
Or maybe under the stars. When the world got quiet. When it was just them and the moon and the sound of the tide. She could lie next to her, roll onto her side, and whisper it. It's always been you.
Or in the car, as they drove home in silence. The street lights flickering past. A lull in conversation. No distractions. Just her, and the courage to finally let the words fall out.
It had to be perfect.
It had to be right.
Cameron sighed and raked a hand through her hair.
When had she become such a coward?
This thing inside her was massive. Screaming. It pounded against her ribs with every beat of her heart, every passing second she didn't speak.
But what if she said it and Jasmine didn't say it back?
What if she ruined the best day they'd had in years?
She glanced up.
Jasmine had stopped spinning. Her feet were still in the water, but her hands were cupped around her mouth, calling across the distance between them.
"Cameron! Come feel the water—it's warm!"
Cameron hesitated.
She hated the ocean.
The salt. The sand. The stickiness. The noise. It was sensory chaos.
But Jasmine was there.
And that made it sacred.
Cameron stood slowly, brushing sand from her legs. Her hands trembled, her pulse thundering beneath her skin. She stepped out of her shoes and took her first step toward the water.
I'm going to tell her, she thought.
It didn't matter if it was sunset, or under the stars, or in the car.
It didn't need to be perfect anymore.
Because Jasmine was glowing like a constellation. She was laughing like the world had never hurt her. She was looking at Cameron like they were seventeen again, untouched by regret, untouched by the lines they had drawn between them.
Cameron didn't need a grand moment.
She just needed one moment.
One chance.
She walked toward the shoreline, the sand warm beneath her feet, the air thick with salt and something sweeter.
Soon, she promised herself.
She would say it soon.