AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He looks at me as we stop, the moonlight illuminating his face. “What bad is there to say? You’re sexy, smart, sophisticated, and a whole lot of fun.”
“You barely know me,” I reply honestly, not breaking our gaze.
“So let’s change that,” he says.
“Isn’t that what we’re doing?”
“Well, then let’s get on with it.”
“So, where do you want to go?” I ask, and we pause, thinking. The truth is, for as many people as we’ve been out with, neither of us has really done the traditional dating thing. How is this thing done? I wish Harper had come out tonight—she had a cake tasting to go to—so I could have gotten some last second advice.
“How about the beach?” he asks, shrugging.
“Now? It’s dark.”
“Perfect timing. No sunscreen required, and all the shrieking families will be asleep. This is the time to hit the sand.”
“But we’re all dressed up,” I reply, looking down at my outfit.
“Well, let me think. I do believe one of us owns her own fashion house, so I’m pretty sure there’s more where that came from. But you know, if you’re worried, you could always strip down, leave it behind on the boardwalk for safe keeping.”
I grin, hitting his arm. “That’s not how this getting to know you thing is supposed to work. We already know those parts of each other.”
“Hey, I’m just looking out for you. And your fancy dress,” he says, putting his hands up.
I smile as we walk on, ambling toward the boardwalk and then finally the sand. I kick off my heels and leave them on a bench, the ocean breeze whipping my hair out of my face and making it a frizzy mess. Still, I don’t care. I breathe in the salty scent as Cash pulls me toward the water.
“You do know this is probably not recommended. It’s dangerous down here at this time of night. People drown.”
He smirks.
“What? I’m serious,” I say.
“You don’t strike me as the type who is afraid of danger,” he replies.
I shrug. “I’m afraid of some things, for sure.”
“Like what?”
“Failure.”
“You? Are you serious?”
I turn and study him. “We all have our insecurities. Evermore wasn’t always a sure thing. It still isn’t. Things change. People change.”
“But isn’t that the fun of it? Never knowing when things will change?” he asks, closing the gap between us as we stand on the sand, above the rising tide. He pushes a strand of hair out of my eyes, and my body reacts to the touch of his skin on mine.
“I’m learning that sometimes change is necessary. But I guess I’m also afraid of trusting too much. I’ve been burned a lot in the past. Not just romantically, either. By family. By those who were supposed to stand by me.”
I don’t know if it’s his dark eyes or the stars or the fact I haven’t been out here on the sand in so long, but I chide myself for being so vulnerable. Why am I opening up so much? This isn’t like me. Still, Cash stares at me, stares into me, like he gets it. For the first time in my life, I feel like someone truly gets it.
“Well, sometimes, I guess we just have to face up to our fears and learn to run with it. What do you say?” His voice is almost a whisper, and for a moment, I see the other side of Cash Creed, the one hiding behind the playboy. I see this serious, soft side that overflows with empathy, with loyalty, with love.
This time, I am the one to initiate our kiss. This one, though, lacks the hungry, prey-like consumption of the kiss on the dance floor. This kiss is soft and gentle, an opening up of two people who haven’t done this before—this vulnerability thing.
When he pulls back, he looks down into my face, his hands cupping my chin. “Look, I’m scared too. Of the same things as you. But maybe, I don’t know, we can help each other realize that trusting people isn’t always bad, and failure isn’t a life-ruiner. Let’s cut ourselves some slack. Let’s see what we could do together, because you know what, I think we might surprise ourselves.”
And, with the salty air still whipping around us, the sound of the crashing waves to our side, I nod, knowing that the Sage Everling who walked onto this sand is a little bit different than the one walking off.
