Chapter 137 Between the lines

Katelyn’s POV When Ethan splashed into the river after me, for a moment, time collapsed. I was caught off guard by how easily I let my hand slip from his, the water rushing between our fingers, the years between us collapsing in the cool current. We stood there, soaked and laughing, and something old and tight inside me let go. It was the kind of easy, open laughter I hadn’t shared with anyone in so long, not since before everything changed, before the person I’d become replaced the girl I used to be. Ethan, still dripping and smiling in a way that made his whole face look younger, left the river first. “Stay right there,” he called, jogging to his car and popping the trunk. I watched him in the moonlight, the wet shirt clinging to his back, muscles moving beneath the fabric. My heart thudded, and I realized with a small shock that after five years, he was even more handsome than I remembered. He returned with a large towel, shaking it out and wrapping it gently around my shoulders. Hi