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Contents ( 126)
  1. The Meeting Point
  2. Olivia Lara
  3. Contents
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. A YEAR LATER
  18. Fourteen
  19. Fifteen
  20. June 2
  21. Sixteen
  22. Seventeen
  23. Eighteen
  24. Nineteen
  25. Twenty
  26. Twenty-One
  27. Twenty-Two
  28. Twenty-Three
  29. June 3
  30. Twenty-Four
  31. Twenty-Five
  32. June 4
  33. Twenty-Six
  34. Twenty-Seven
  35. Twenty-Eight
  36. Help Wanted: Seasonal employment, June–August
  37. Twenty-Nine
  38. Thirty
  39. Thirty-One
  40. June 5
  41. Thirty-Two
  42. Thirty-Three
  43. June 6
  44. Thirty-Four
  45. Thirty-Five
  46. June 7
  47. Thirty-Six
  48. Thirty-Seven
  49. Thirty-Eight
  50. Thirty-Nine
  51. June 8
  52. Forty
  53. Forty-One
  54. June 9
  55. Forty-Two
  56. Forty-Three
  57. Forty-Four
  58. Forty-Five
  59. Forty-Six
  60. Forty-Seven
  61. Forty-Eight
  62. Forty-Nine
  63. Fifty
  64. Fifty-One
  65. June After Midnight: By Ethan Delphy
  66. Chapter 15
  67. Fifty-Two
  68. June After Midnight
  69. Chapter 20
  70. Fifty-Three
  71. June After Midnight
  72. Chapter 21
  73. June After Midnight
  74. Chapter 22
  75. Fifty-Four
  76. June After Midnight
  77. Chapter 28
  78. Fifty-Five
  79. June After Midnight
  80. Chapter 29
  81. June After Midnight
  82. Chapter 30
  83. Fifty-Six
  84. Fifty-Seven
  85. June 11
  86. Fifty-Eight
  87. Fifty-Nine
  88. Sixty
  89. Sixty-One
  90. Sixty-Two
  91. June 12
  92. Sixty-Three
  93. Sixty-Four
  94. Sixty-Five
  95. June 13
  96. Sixty-Six
  97. Sixty-Seven
  98. Sixty-Eight
  99. Sixty-Nine
  100. June 14
  101. Seventy
  102. Seventy-One
  103. Seventy-Two
  104. Seventy-Three
  105. Seventy-Four
  106. June 15
  107. Seventy-Five
  108. Seventy-Six
  109. Seventy-Seven
  110. Seventy-Eight
  111. Seventy-Nine
  112. Eighty
  113. Eighty-One
  114. June 16
  115. Eighty-Two
  116. Eighty-Three
  117. Eighty-Four
  118. Eighty-Five
  119. June After Midnight
  120. Chapter 28 (Draft 1 Version)
  121. Eighty-Six
  122. Eighty-Seven
  123. Eighty-Eight
  124. Acknowledgments
  125. About the Author
  126. Also by Olivia Lara

I sit far from her on the beach with my own bottle of soda and pastries that I bought a few minutes after she did from the bakery on Ocean Avenue.

I look at the ocean and at her and can’t help but smile. We aren’t sitting together, haven’t even said hello, but I feel closer to her than I’ve felt to anyone in years.

When she texts me If you have other things to do, you can just tell me the names of the places in advance, so I don’t bother you all the time, there’s a moment of panic. It comes out of nowhere and it’s a terrible feeling. I immediately respond and assure her she’s not bothering me.

There are only a few hours left of this unexpected adventure we’re sharing, and I’m not ready for it to be over.

But what I’m definitely not ready for is what I feel when I text her:

Are you trying to get rid of me?

My heart beats fast. Faster and faster as the seconds pass.

She says no and I let out a sigh of relief and immediately look her way as if I’m afraid she heard me, which is impossible, I know.

I reply and then sit there, my feet in the warm sand, the wind whipping my face, and I start smiling. And I can’t stop smiling. I’m giddy. The kind of excitement one wouldn’t expect to feel in this situation.

But I feel it and I don’t try to stop it. I ride it out. I know everything is happening on borrowed time, and the clock is ticking faster and faster now, but I’ll take it. I’ll take every moment of this day. Because I haven’t smiled like this in forever and it feels amazing.

June After Midnight

Chapter 22

We’re doing the cottage tour and everything is going so well. I love seeing her reaction, the smile on her face, and how she takes photos and then texts them to me. Hansel and Gretel, the Grant Wallace House, The Woods, the Hugh Comstock Residence and Studio.

They seem so tiny, almost as if they’re built for storybook characters, she texts.

Some are incredibly small. That one is less than 400 square feet, I message back.

The moment I press send, I realize how stupid that was. I have to think fast and see a woman walking a dog. Isn’t she the librarian’s daughter? Cora? Kara?

“How’s it going? I haven’t seen you in a while,” I say.

She looks a bit confused for a moment, then there’s a look of recognition.

I haven’t seen her in years. Last I heard she moved to Los Angeles.

“How are you? I’m here for the weekend, to see my father.”

“You know how it is,” I say, looking over her shoulder to see what Maya’s doing.

I excuse myself to text her back. The one I just told you about. The Woods.

She immediately texts back. I passed it already. I’m at the heart-shaped one.