Arms folded over the dark leather jacket in her lap, Cadence tipped her head back. "You don't need to push me, killer," she said, shaking her head.

     "And you don't need to fight me all the way, rock chick," Elise quipped with a quick flick to the top of Cadence's beanie. She drummed her fingers against the rubber-bound handles of her friend's wheelchair, the flicker of warmth in her core holding firm against the cool sea air. "You've driven us all over the place. Let me take the wheel for once."

     "Fine, but next time, bring a cooler ride." Slumped in her seat, Cadence threw her jacket on and rapped her fingers over her thighs. She cast her eye over the sea, studied the trees that spread along the far end of the beach, then looked up at Elise's focused face above. "So, did you nab the papers?"

     Her friend's casual manner failed to reflect the anxiety that wound around Elise's chest, the pressure tightening as they crossed the slipping sands. Fluid and translucent, the image of the paperclipped parcel of Florence's notes tucked inside her bag hovered at the front of her mind. "Yeah, I have them all. I'm still not sure this is a good idea, though."

     "Beats me. Only one way to find out, right?"

     There were definitely more ways to visualise the consequences of their actions, but none of them came to mind. After everything, Cadence's unrelenting confidence was what Elise sorely needed.

     Calm, foam-speckled tides ebbed and flowed to the beat of the swaying trees while clumped seaweed and stray ocean litter foundered on the muddied shore. Gravel shards and wood scraps popped from the sand, yet the obstacles made little impact on Elise's thoughts. For now, she was at a form of peace, quietly strolling the coast with the only person who could rope her into facing the dizzying, terrifying future.

     Their walk took them beyond the promenade to an open, undisturbed section of beach outside the town's environs. Polished by glugging waves, a row of scarred, shining black rocks spanned from the base of the shore into the sea, flanked by scattered outcroppings that peeked through the water's surface. While the small rocks were skewed and jagged, the main stretch was made up of flat, broad slabs that sat closely packed together. They were easy enough to step across, or so Elise had concluded on one lonely evening walk before the need to push a wheelchair had pinched at her palms.

     That need quickly became little more than a fleeting memory. Cadence spilled out of the chair and clambered up the side of the rocks, groaning under the strain that racked her body. As she looked down at Elise, however, her usual swagger winked out from the margins of her movements. "Ready when you are."

     "Cade! What did I just say about looking after yourself?" Though shock compelled her to shout over the calm winds, any anger Elise felt fell away as she stared up at her friend. There was a mutual understanding reflected in Cadence's eyes, a silent harmony that tied them together. "Just be careful, okay? I swear, you're going to be the death of me."

     Cadence dusted Elise's shoulder off as her friend joined her on top of the rock. "Maybe if we're lucky."

     Pearls of bubbling sea foam dotted the smooth slabs underfoot, robbing all but the last vestiges of grip from every step. As she crossed the boundary between shore and sea, the wind howled around Elise's ears, determined to sweep her into the deceptively calm waters below. She spread her arms, took her course step by step, and passed through the shower of spray to the pointed end of the stone path.

     Staring out across the water, Elise removed the papers from her bag. The stack was thick with bound documents, scrappy sheets, and laminated dividers, yet it pushed down on her fingertips with a density beyond its matter. Page after page flicked between her fingertips with scrawled, looping annotations drawn in every colour of ink, the hallmarks of an endeavour to turn rough drafts into refined gems. These were not just notes, but the relics of Florence's livelihood. Stolen or not, this was art.

     Coming to a halt beside Elise, Cadence let her hand rest on the small of her friend's back. "No second thoughts?" she asked as she cast a momentary glance over the ocean, only to focus her attention solely on Elise's face. "No thinking that it might be sweet to see your stuff out in the world, making a shitload of money? It's still your story, after all."

     "I can't lie, I've thought about it," Elise uttered, her gaze lost a thousand yards at sea. "It could be a big confidence boost, and it'd definitely help Florence get out of her situation way faster. Part of me wonders if it'd be worth it."

     "You cannot be serious right now." The wind died away beneath the sloshing of the sea at their feet, making space for Cadence's increasingly taut chords. She strode to the furthest tip of the final rock in the line, and the light from the climbing sun haloed around her as she turned to face Elise. "You're awesome at what you do, Ellie, too awesome to let someone else take all the credit for your stuff. Sure, people would buy your book if you let them slap Flo's name on it, but they'd read it as something she wrote. You don't need me to tell you how that comes with a million and one strings attached, none of which connect to you."

     Elise scraped her foot against the ground. Patchy, chalky trails tarnished the black rock, sketched by imperceptible slivers of castaway stone. "But what if I can't do it?" she asked, trying and failing to find her face reflected in the shifting waters below. Nothing but a depthless descent stared back, its shadows swirling around the blinding glare of the white papers. "What if nobody wants to publish it with my name on it? Even if I do find someone who'll take it on, what if nobody buys it? What if I screw it all up and everyone hates my story?"

     "Then everyone's got shitty taste and we'll burn their cars out together." Like a puff from a pressure valve, Cadence's fiendish snicker dampened the force of Elise's surging worries. Her levity hovered between them, hanging high in the whispering breeze. "But none of that's going to happen. Somebody's going to see how hard you bust your ass off making all this happen, and they'll trip over themselves to snag a deal with you. Trust me."

     "Do you really think so?" Elise asked as the strokes of Cadence's image tugged on her wrist. They urged her to indulge the dream, only for the flap of the papers in her hands to yank her back to reality. "It's not just about hard work, though. Publishing is a tricky world to get into, and there's so much competition already. It's just all so tough."

     With a nudge of her friend's arm, Cadence kicked a shred of gravel into the water and shrugged. "So what? You're the toughest gal I know by miles." The contact was warm and fond, much like the loose hold she took of Elise's hand in the silence that followed. "Tell me something: do you want to see your work on a shelf or bookcase or whatever one day?"

     Barely a beat skipped through Elise's heart before she gathered her answer. "Of course I do. That'd be amazing!"

     "Then go for it, killer!" Cadence pulled Elise round to face her and caught her other wrist. "Go for it and don't you dare stop."

     A flock of sea birds circled over nearby waves, yet their calling and chattering only left a slight mark on Elise's seized senses. Flawless and expansive, the depths of Cadence's eyes glimmered like distant stars devoted to shining on Elise's planet. Her hold was firm, but not restrictive, not a demand but an invitation to stay on this little, bright, warm piece of the world. There was no expectation, simply hope.

     It was that same hope that stretched Elise's arm out over the water, relaxed her fingers, and sent the gathered pages fluttering into the wind. They sailed, and swayed, and sank into the waves that climbed high to cradle them.

     "That's that." Elise let her hand flap against her side, her body deflating. "I guess I'm really doing this. I'm really going to try and get published."

     "Damn right you are," Cadence cheered as she perched her elbow on her friend's shoulder. "And hey, if you ever want a sidekick on your epic quest, you know where to find me." Coming down from the rush that had stolen her away, her gaze traced the paths of the departed sheets. There was a damp, mossy touch of resignation in her eyes, perhaps even envy. "It's not like I'll be going anywhere for a while."

     Elise rolled her eyes and touched Cadence's arm, reassured by her friend's weight. "You're not a sidekick," she said, lifted by the familiar airs of sweet mint and tea tree that encircled her senses. The scents had pulled her words out of reach in the past, yet now that pull searched within her, luring her deepest feelings up to her spirit's rippling surface. "You're a hero, my hero. When things got crazy, you were what pulled me through it all."

     Sparks of electricity flickered beneath Cadence's longing stare, flashing like the sunlight off the distant water. "Save it, bud. I've known you too long," she said with a wink that slipped her loose of Elise's hand. She clutched her arm where her friend's fingertips had rested, vainly squeezing replacement warmth through her sleeve. "You're too stubborn to quit until you've kicked every butt in your way – including mine when I need it, which seems to be pretty often."

     "Well, you do a lot of stupid things." As a whisper of surprise disturbed her friend's face, Elise released the gleeful laugh that had danced so delicately on the tip of her tongue. The rush of joy passed as quickly as it had arrived, and a raw vulnerability lingered in its wake. She stepped forward and took her girl by the wrist. "I'm serious, Cade. I'm not leaving you, not ever. You're my best friend, and I'll always do my best to be here for you because...well, because I love you. I've loved you so much for so long, maybe even before I knew what love was."

     Cadence lifted her free hand to her girl's face. "I love you too, Ellie."

     Blood rushed through Elise's body, a perfect storm of wants and needs unleashing in her core. She closed her eyes, and the first hit of Cadence's breath set her lips alight with a heat that she could not control alone. A strong force tugged at her heart, pulling her into the deep, overwhelming power of their kiss.

     Exhausted after hours, days, weeks of sightless storms tearing at her every fibre, Elise drifted onto the blissful waves of Cadence's sweet seas. Her cares peeled away at the touch of her girl's fingertips, the taste of her searching tongue, the desire that gasped between their lips rising and swelling to consume all her senses. She gave more, took more, pushed until even the silken sands beneath her feet disappeared and all that remained was Cadence's boundless warmth, her rich, spiced air, her hot-firing heart beating in sync with Elise's own. It was too much, and Elise did not want it any other way.

     The need for breath brought Elise back into her body, her arms linked around Cadence's neck with an unbreakable bond. "Do you really mean it?" Elise asked, unable to stop herself grinning as she looked up at the emotion flowing within her girl's dilated eyes.

     With a speechless smile, Cadence tracked her fingers from Elise's firm hips to just a hair's breadth below the curve of her chest. "You're kidding, right?" she asked, bereft of breath yet not losing a particle of her blushed smile. "Of course I mean it, Ellie. I love you – hell, I'm so in love with you that I don't even know what to say. I've got an idea of how to show you, though, if you're interested."

     "Oh yeah? Maybe I'll take you up on that – later." Elise drew her finger over Cadence's approaching lips, giggling as her girl's eyes widened in surprise. "For now, we should head back. Florence is already going to bite both our heads off for letting you wander around this long."

     "You know it. Some things really don't ever change," Cadence said through a groan. She sighed as she tore her touch free of her girl's frame, burying her hands in her jacket's pockets and taking the first steps towards the shore. With a pause, she stopped and turned to face Elise. "Good to go, killer?"

     Elise took in her girl's dazzling presence, from the shine of her purple-streaked hair and golden hazel eyes to the enticing poise of her relaxed lean. Inside every bit of Cadence's being unfolded a thousand possible paths for herself, for Cadence, for them together as an unbreakable unit. Living together, working together, getting noticed and getting published all suddenly seemed within her reach, as did a wealth of goals that she had not even conceived yet.

     It was chaos, yet at the heart of the storm, there was certainty. Her future lay with Cadence, and she was all too happy to embrace it, to follow wherever it led.

     And where it led now was to the beach and back into town. "Yeah, I'm good," Elise said, crossing onto the next black, sea-sprayed rock in the cluster. A broad smile blossomed on her face as she landed at Cadence's side. "I'm perfect."

     Cloaked in the cool sea air, soothed by the slow sounds of the approaching afternoon, and steadied by the stalwart shape of her girl beside her, the first lines of a long absent feeling scribbled themselves on the pages of Elise's chest. This moment, no less than a decade of love, loss, and heartache in the making, was pure magic. This was the start of something truly wonderful.