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“You knew I was out here?”
“Yeah. I heard you leaving your room, but you didn’t come back. Then I looked out my window and saw you down here. I figured you needed some alone time, but it’s been an hour, and I didn’t want you to freeze.”
“That’s nice of you, thank you.”
“I’m at your service,” Tyler says with a smile.
Placing his arm on the bench behind me, I lean against him, and let my head fall to rest against his shoulder. A movement that feels as natural as breathing.
“You have a comfortable shoulder,” I murmur after a minute, and he shakes with laughter beneath my head.
“Good to know.”
“No one’s ever told you that?”
“Nope. You’re the first, sugar.”
Smiling out at the ocean, I tighten the blanket around me and let my body absorb Tyler’s heat. And when my eyes start to feel heavy, I let myself drift off, relaxing fully into him.
I guess I just needed him for me to get some sleep.
∞∞∞
“El,” he whispers, rubbing my shoulder. “Ellie, wake up.”
“Mmm?” I’m not ready to wake up from the dream I was having about Tyler and me sleeping out under the stars.
“You’ll want to see this, sugar. Open your eyes.”
Peeling my left eye open, I see the horizon streaked with pink, orange, and yellow. “Oh,” I breathe, tucking myself closer against him. “Is it morning?” Did we really spend the night out here? I thought I was just dreaming.
“I didn’t want to wake you to go inside. You seemed comfortable.” He chuckles, tightening his arm around me.
“I am,” I tell him honestly, still in a sleep induced daze. “It’s beautiful,” I whisper, blinking my eyes awake.
In quiet companionship, we watch the sun emerge from the ocean, greeting us like an old friend – warm and friendly.
“This bench was one of the first things I built after moving in. In fact, this view was why I bought this house even though I knew it was going to take a lot of work to fix up.”
“Well, if it means anything, I love your house. It’s perfect.”
“It does mean something. Thank you.”
“Can I make a suggestion, though?”
“Of course,” he says, stroking my arm.
“I think you should add a cushioned bench seat below the window in the den, and have bookshelves lining the wall on either side of the fireplace in there. It would be nice to sit and read with the window open, letting in the fresh sea air.” I clear my throat, suddenly self-conscience that I revealed how much thought I put into it. “I mean, any woman would like that.”
Tyler stops rubbing my arm. “Right,” he says, “any woman would.”
Sitting up, I push my hair out of my face and rub my eyes, trying to get the image of him with another woman out of my head. I don’t want to think about that.
In the morning light, I can see the lighthouse off in the distance more clearly now. “Can you climb to the top of that lighthouse?” I ask, changing the subject.
“What?” He sees where I’m looking and then says, “Oh, yeah, you can.”
“I’ve always wanted to go to the top of one. I like lighthouses. They’re meant to guide you and help avoid disaster for those who are in the dark and lost.”
