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“Asher?”
seriously the happiest surprise in a book
“Hawaii,”
golf ball,
“Ash,
Kapa’a wasn’t even my fire station; I’d covered a shift for a buddy at the last minute. I shouldn’t have been working the Ho’opi’i Falls Trail or anywhere near Faith Benson and her crappy hiking shoes.
invisible strings and coincidences and life is beautiful
“You’re a mysterious person, Asher Mackey.” And you’re making it difficult to dislike you, Faith Benson.
i hope he thought it was difficult to dislike me too
I’d be happy just to sit on the couch with her and talk.
“It sounds stupid or cheesy, but I feel connected to something bigger when I sit with the ocean. Like I’m a part of something old and deep.” Asher grasped a handful of sand and let it sift through his fingers. “I felt untethered to anything real or permanent when I was a kid. Maybe this is me making up for it. But I’m grateful, and I think it’s the gratitude that makes me feel connected. I’m grateful to the ocean just for being here.”
“Hawaiian shave ice is pretty serious business.”
fr
“That’s sweet,” she said finally. “I don’t have any siblings. Must be nice to have a partner in crime.”
realll oml
Reckless or exactly what you hoped for?
same thought process
“Ash?
<3
“Leave it to me. I got you.”
Asher shook his head. “Look, they could’ve made a bunch of attempts to both get on the door and would’ve spent a lot of time flailing around in the icy water. Jack knew that was too dangerous. Of all the options, he chose the one that was going to give Rose the best shot at surviving. You can see the exact moment he understands what has to happen and how he instantly makes peace with it.” “Well, when you put it that way…” I managed, glad I was off my feet, or my knees would’ve gone weak. “You’re a romantic.” “I’m practical. He did what he had to do to keep her alive.” “At the cost of his own
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offered me his hands. I took them, and he pulled the maneuver he had the other day at the shave ice stand—he spun to give me his broad back and I wrapped my arms around his neck. He piggy-backed me off the boat and onto the gently swaying dock. We said our goodbyes, but still, he didn’t put me down. He took the crutches and carried them and me until we got to solid ground.
“But I can’t help myself around you. I know, rationally, we’re different people. There’s a literal ocean between us, and yet…” He reached across the table to take my hand. “I don’t see how this can go anywhere, but the last fucking thing I want to think about is saying goodbye.”
“Everything you do and everything you are, Asher, just makes me want you more.”
Each time, you happen to me all over again. —Edith Wharton, The Age of Innocence
and I snuffed out whatever unspoken hope may have been lurking in my heart. It wasn’t fair to her to do anything else.
“We’re stuck, aren’t we? Trapped somewhere between hello and goodbye.”
His expression softened and he held my face in his hands. “Maybe it doesn’t have to be this hard.” He swallowed and inhaled a ragged breath, then exhaled the word, “Stay.”
the enormity of it all was fucking terrifying. To hold someone’s heart and keep it safe? It’s a big responsibility,
“I love you too, Faith,” he said, finally. Simply. “I’m in love with you and think I have been for a really long time.”
grief felt like fear.
I was an expert at pushing people away for a lot of years, thinking it was better for them.
“I love you,” he whispered. “I don’t know much of anything anymore, but I know that. Whatever is left of me, is yours.”
