EVER SINCE NEW YORK

f o r e w o r d.

SATURDAY, 6:54P.M.
OAHU, HAWAII.

The sun was beginning to set on the horizon.

The sky was a blazing shade of orange that burned into a pale light blue colour that lead to a darker blue colour just above it when the sounds of waves crashing on shore began to soften, and the birds chirped as it flew across the water.

Watching the picturesque scenery were a pair of light brown eyes that belonged to a brooding Seth McKinnon who sat on the damp sand in a rented black suit and half an empty bottle of beer in one hand.

Although he was watching the most beautiful sunset he'd had ever seen, his mind was somewhere else.

The image of the girl whom he thought was the love of his life walking down the aisle to say 'I do' to a man that wasn't him was constantly being replayed in his head.

He sighed.

He didn't want to show up, but to honor his promise of remaining close friends with Sabrina, he had to but since he arrived, he had been regretting marking the 'attending' option on the RSVP card in the beginning.

Walking towards him was his best friend, Josephine Ariki, with a fist full of her pale peach colored dress in one hand to ensure she doesn't trip as she walked, alongside a bottle of her own beer and the pair of heels she had on in her other hand.

She plopped herself onto the sand next to her best friend, setting down her drink and shoes next to her.

"You don't have to be here," Seth told her, keeping his eyes trained on the sunset. "I've been given enough pity looks to last me a while."

"Seth, I'm not here to shower you with pity," She said. "I'm here to tell you that there was a cheese fountain and you didn't even notice."

Seth's eyebrows rose in surprise as he turned to Josephine, "Really?"

"Nope," She admitted truthfully before turning to face Seth with an apologetic look. "I came here to make sure that you weren't planning on diving into that ocean and not coming back."

Seth gave her a disappointed look before he looked back at the ocean, making a 'tuh' sound, "I thought of it—"

"Hey..." She nudged him in his rib. "Don't get any ideas now."

"That was joke." 

"So how are you doing?" She finally asked, with her eyes trained on the sunset.

Seth shrugged, "How do you think I'm doing?"

"I think you're going to be just fine."

"It doesn't feel like I'm going to be fine," Seth confessed. "My chest hurts, and I'm positive it wasn't those grilled scallops."

"It's your heart healing, Seth," She told him. "It means your heart is trying to accept that. . . Y'know what I'm talking about."

Oh did Seth knew.

He swallowed hard when he was reminded of his ex's new husband and takes a large swig of his drink before dropping his head low.

All his life, he'd never felt so awful about himself but in the back of his mind, he felt relieved in way.

Her marriage gave him the opportunity for him to move on, and he was oddly growing brave enough to take it.

"It's hard thing to accept it, I know," Josephine consoled, rubbing his back in a slow circular motion. "But, like everything else, it takes time-"

"I got the job." He suddenly blurted out, cutting her off.

She turns to him with a shocked expression, with her jaw dropped and her eeyes widened, "What? Seth, are you serious?"

Seth slowly nodded, "Yeah, they called the day we flew out here, and they want me to start Monday."

Josephine gasped excitedly, throwing a hand over her mouth, "Oh my god!"

"It's also in New York," He added and shrugged. "Just so you know."

"I wouldn't care if it was in Antarctica, Seth this amazing!" She exclaimed proudly, pulling him into a hug by his shoulder, throwing her arms around him for his chin to rest on her shoulder. "Oh my god, congratulations."

Seth slowly brought his hands up and around her waist to hug her back, feeling more than grateful he brought his best friend as his plus one.

They pulled apart, but kept their hands on each other as Josephine's happy expression shifted to a puzzled one, "Wait, if you got the call when we landed, why didn't you say anything earlier?"

"To be honest, I didn't know if I should accept it yet," Seth sighed. "With the wedding and-"

"You didn't accept it?" Josephine pushes him back further. "Please don't tell me you're doing what I think you're doing."

"I told them I'd think about it and tell them tonight," Seth furrowed his eyebrows confusedly. "But what exactly am I doing that you think I'm doing?"

"Putting Sabrina first instead of yourself, building your life around her and her decisions only." She explained but Seth still had on the confused look on his face.

Do I actually do that? He asked himself as he thought about it.

"Unbelievable," Josephine whispered to herself in disbelief and turned back to the sunset, shaking her head slowly before whipping her head back at him. "Oh. I can't believe you!"

He jumped back at the sudden hostility, and brought his hands up in surrender, "Hey, what happened to the cute supportive moment we were just having?"

She inhaled sharply as she glared at him, recomposing herself to keep herself from screaming at Seth no matter how badly she wanted to do so, "Why didn't you accept the job immediately?!"

"Because I thought that maybe my future doesn't lie in New York, and maybe it was-"

"Where? With Sabrina? The girl that dumped you only to accept a marriage proposal less than a month later?" Josephine questioned.

It certainly hurt Seth more to hear it out loud like that.

"She doesn't get to hurt you like this, she doesn't get to decide your choices for you because this is your life. It's what you deserve, and most importantly, it's what you wanted. You talked about the job for almost a whole year." She ranted on, with a whole lot of hand gestures before running her fingers through her perfectly straightened hair and lets out a small sigh.

They remained quiet for a moment as he stared at Josephine.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice," She muttered. "It's just. . . I'm tired of seeing someone I care about hurt this much."

"It's okay, I know you mean well and honestly, thank you," Seth said softly. "So you think I should take it?"

Josephine nodded, turning to him with an encouraging smile on her face, "Absolutely."

"Then I will," Seth agreed. "But if I accept this offer, I need just one small favour from you."

"I'd do anything for you." Josephine said.

Seth took in a deep breath.

A part of him knew what her answer might be but he still felt nervous for how she'd react, but nonetheless he knew it would be worth a shot.

"Come with me to New York?" He suggested, a sly smile spread on his face as his shoulders raised in hope.

Josephine turned to him with a surprised look before it shifted to a delighted one, "I'd be more than happy to."