Jay clenched his fists tight. “I’m sorry, Peyton. The clock—”

“Just leave,” she instructed, not looking at him.

When the door slammed shut, she breathed out exhaustedly. That wasn’t what she’d expected. Rumours spread like wildfire, but Jay had believed them.

Peyton looked at the papers, the pen, and the frame on the floor. Then she bent down, picked up the picture of her and her parents, and placed it back where it belonged. The glass had smashed, and the sight of the fragments angered and destroyed her. After she examined the frame, she saw the pier design on the floor.

“Callum,” she uttered and raced out the door of the office.

Her heart was beating wildly as she ran out of the hotel. She needed to find him, explain, and apologise for her harsh ways. She just hadn’t wanted him to see Jay in such a way.

Peyton stood on the path outside the door of The Spencer-Dayle. She wasn’t sure where he’d be or how she would contact him. Desperation bled into her chest as she scanned the area, her eyes landing on the pier across the lake. The achiness in her chest relieved the moment she saw him sitting on the edge, staring at either her or the hotel. She wasn’t sure.

When Peyton turned her head, she saw Jay stalking towards town. He didn’t get it, but she understood where he was coming from. Jay felt a need to protect her; she had sensed it in the years since they’d become friends. Sometimes, protection induced suffocation. And that was how Peyton felt when she was around him.

She looked back at the pier and then to the path—two choices, and whichever direction she chose meant consequences.

She squeezed her eyes shut before she started to run down the path. She was sure she saw Callum’s head dip from the corner of her eye. But all she did was run. Hard and fast. Her breathing had become heavy gasps.

Peyton heaved as she reached where her head told her to go. She stopped for a moment to regain herself before she walked towards him.

“You should go after him, Peyton.”

I am.

She lowered herself down next to Callum and let her legs fall over the edge. “What good would that do?” she asked, her eyes sweeping the view. This spot would always be her favourite. A lot of good times outweighed the bad. And Callum was a bit of both.

He let out a bothered sigh. Peyton turned her head to see him also staring out at the lake.

“Peyton, you’re losing people who you love because of my return. It’s my fault that he did that to your father’s clock. And I assume it’s my fault that you’ve taken off Graham’s ring.”

A handful of emotions filled Callum’s face. First, it was anger, then anguish, and finally regret. His eyes lightened instead of darkening. He was remorseful.

“I’m making your life worse. I wanted to come back because I owe you a lot of apologies. I’m trying to make up for a lot of wrongs that I should have made right four and a half years ago. Instead, I’m getting in the way of your friendships and causing the town to talk about you. This wasn’t part of the plan. It’s only going to get worse from here if we stay friends, Pey.”

All breath fled her. It had been a long time since he’d called her that. He was the only one to ever call her Pey. She was his when he breathed it out.

She blinked quickly at him, letting everything about him sear into her memory. She’d only get what little time he was willing to give to her. But she’d take it. All of it.

“Look at me,” she softly demanded.

Callum turned, his eyes meeting hers. So much filled them that she couldn’t tell what they held anymore. It was a mixture, but his pain hit her first.

“This is my fault. I’ll talk to Jay and get this sorted. I can’t let this town hate you the way they hate me just because we spend time together,” he said before his eyes left her.

Peyton stared at the side of his face.

“I never, ever wanted to hurt you, Pey,” he whispered.

And that’s when it all came crumbling down. Her supposed stance weakened and she was exposed.

I’m sorry, heart. I am so sorry.

Peyton lifted her legs up on the pier then leant closer to him. Once Callum turned to face her, she reached up and cupped his face in her hands. Wonder and surprise filled his eyes. Peyton loved it more than the pain and hurt that had been there earlier.

“I’m so sorry, Callum,” she said.

He opened his mouth to speak, but Peyton let her lips crash into his, stopping anything vocal from escaping him. Her heart stopped and then dipped. And then it did something that surprised her—it expanded in relief.

He kissed her with as much desperation as Peyton gave. This. His lips and just the feel of his hands on her hips bringing her closer had her eyes welling. She tingled all over. The memory of just how much she’d loved the way that he kissed her was like a crash of water against rocks—hard and painful.

Callum groaned and Peyton tangled her fingers in his hair. Something she always loved doing and wanted to do since this morning. He squeezed his fingers into the side of her body, causing Peyton to gasp. Then he automatically stopped, his fingers loosened—to her disappointment—and he pulled back. He looked stunned, and Peyton couldn’t help but feel disheartened by the displeasure on his face.

“You promised me that you wouldn’t let anything like this happen between us, Peyton,” Callum said.

Her hands still cradled his face. She took the opportunity and let her thumbs stroke his cheeks. He shivered under her touch, which was a win for her. It didn’t matter if he didn’t love her. She still had an effect on him.

“I promised that I wouldn’t let you kiss me. I kissed you,” she stated. This was what she had missed. Having him in her arms and in her hands. She knew what the end spelt, and for now, she wouldn’t care.

Callum shuffled backwards once, Peyton still holding his face in her hands as he tugged her towards him. She placed her legs over his laps and straddled him—just like all the times they had spent during their last summer.

His eyes showed her the terrified side of him. Peyton moved her hands and brushed his hair back. Then Callum took a sharp breath and squeezed her hips.

“I can’t offer you forever,” he said, breaking the fantasy she was in.

But she wouldn’t let him see that. Her chest ached, but she ignored the pain. She wanted him. That, she was sure of.

“Then give me now. For as long as you can,” she whispered before letting her fingers trail down the side of his face.

“I can only give you sometimes,” he said.

Peyton gave him a smile. It was all she was going to get. “Then I’ll take your sometimes.”

“And then it’s goodbye,” he said.

Peyton nodded. “Then it’s goodbye to you, Callum Reid.”

Callum pulled her closer to him. “And to you, Peyton Spencer.”

She didn’t reply. Instead, she let her lips slowly make their way to his, sealing what she had already known. That they had just agreed on the end of their story.

We just planned our demise.

The moment his lips met hers, it was an implosion of relief and satisfaction. This was an undeniable want. He was an undeniable want. Unlike before, this was slow and savoured. Callum’s lip guided her to a pattern of open and closed movements. Again and again, it continued, never bordering on too soft or too hard. They found a rhythm and speed in which time became a word and not a force. The same force that would drive them apart soon enough. It was just a matter of when. The thought had Peyton missing a beat in their kiss. But pushing the thought of the inevitable away, she quickly found her way.

Callum wrapped his arms around her lower back and brought her closer. The surprise of his willingness evoked a silent moan, allowing his tongue to find hers. If there were a way to beautifully explore her mouth, then Callum had found it. The gentle stroke of his tongue against hers caused her heart to pound insanely hard. Though years had passed, it was familiar, like he hadn’t forgotten the way they kissed. Each movement and moment of the way his mouth worked her into a frenzy was memorised. Time. It kept looming over her.