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That morning he wakes me before sunrise with a long slow kiss. My body is instantly ready for him but then I open my eyes. He’s standing over me and is fully dressed, not at all where I need him. I reach my arms around his neck to tug him into bed, but he doesn’t budge. “Wake up, Juliet. I want to show you something. You need to get dressed.”
“But it’s still dark out,” I whine.
“Trust me.”
I’m tired but he grins like a little kid which perks me awake. Rolling from bed, I quickly get dressed and find him outside in the driveway, standing next to his Range Rover with two coffees in hand. I take a sip of mine and grin. It’s an iced caramel latte.
“You made mine exactly how I made it for myself all summer. I didn’t realize you were paying attention.” Hell, most of the time he wasn’t even awake that early.
He shrugs like it’s no big deal, then opens the passenger door for me to slide in and goes around to the driver’s side.
“Do you want to pick the music?” he asks, pulling out of the driveway.
“No music,” I murmur. “Just coffee.” I’ve lost a lot of sleep thanks to all the sex, not that I’m complaining.
Twenty minutes later and we’re leaving the main roads for an offshoot. “Hopefully this road has been cleared but I brought the chainsaw just in case,” he remarks, peering through the waning darkness.
We’re in the middle of the island, nowhere near the beaches or the commercial areas, and I’ll admit I’m intrigued. The narrow road goes from paved to dirt and turns bumpy. Tall trees are lining both sides and what was a residential area gives way to a thick forest. By the time we pull into a small parking area, the sun has turned the sky deep blue and will be cresting the horizon any minute. We climb out of the Range Rover and Ethan is quick to retrieve a large duffle from the back.
“Inflatable paddle board,” he says and gets to work laying and pumping it up, the hunk of plastic going from limp to fully-inflated in a matter of minutes. His arms flex with each thrust of the pump, his desire to beat the rising sun offering a generous view.
The paddle board is as long as the vehicle and about three feet wide, but paddle boarding is not something I’ve ever tried before. I’m usually up for adventure but when it comes to water, that’s not the case.
“That will hold both of us?” I ask, eyeing the board skeptically.
“This has a five-hundred-pound max capacity. We’ll be fine.”
Still . . . I eye the lake wearily.
“We’re not getting in the water,” he assures me, catching on to my fears. “We’re just going to float on top. Promise, I won’t let you fall in.”
He lifts the paddle board easily and drops it into the water’s edge, then reaches out for me to get on first. “You can stand or sit, it’s stable either way.”
Considering I haven’t fully woken up enough yet to even think about standing on that thing, I opt to sit criss-crossed in the front and he sits on the back, his legs straddling the board. He presses the paddle into the shore, pushing us off.
He’s right, I don’t get wet.
The lake is smooth as glass and there’s nobody else out here except for the birds singing their wakeup songs and a smattering of ducks floating in the distance. The cool air is refreshing and the sunrise drapes the world in soft shades of pink.
“I had no idea this was here,” I sigh and close my eyes, breathing it in.
“There are a few ponds on the island,” Ethan replies, “but this one is my favorite.”
“I can see why.”
The pond is closer to a lake in size, large enough for our paddle board to laze around it but too small to allow motor boats.
“There are usually people here. I’ve never seen it empty before.”
I’m sure that’s because of the hurricane, and I know it’s selfish, but I’m glad it’s just us this morning. We’re no longer in the bubble of the Kings’ estate but we still get to enjoy our own little world together.
There’s a splash twenty feet away where a crane appears, outstretched wings flattening as it settles on the water. It’s probably searching for its breakfast. We watch quietly as the world wakes up and the sun rises in the sky, turning the pink to orange and yellow until finally the sunrise finishes and the day begins.
We continue to float for a good hour, talking about anything and everything. Eventually our backs have had enough of sitting on the board and Ethan paddles us to shore. He helps me off by willingly getting his own shoes wet so that mine don’t. It’s the kind of gesture I’m not used to, someone sacrificing their comfort for mine. The second we’re both standing on solid ground, I sling my arms around his shoulders and rise up to claim his lips.
He tastes faintly of coffee and I press myself into him, desperate to capture this moment. He didn’t have to bring me here. We could’ve stayed at the house all day and I would’ve been fine with that. We could’ve watched the sunrise from the beach. But he got up early to bring me to one of his favorite spots and that means something. I don’t know what it means, but in my gut, I believe it’s significant. This thing between us is more than physical. We’re becoming friends, which is almost unbelievable, but it’s the truth.
I want him to be my friend.
