AllFreeNovel
Share Us
His gaze is alert, alive. “To help you feel better.”
“Okay. Are you going to tell me what it is?” I tap my fingers on my leg in an attempt to hide my nervousness.
“Nope. I’m gonna show you.” He grabs one of his light jackets from a set of hooks. “Put this on. It’s chilly on the beach at night.” He grabs one for himself too.
I wrap myself in his jacket, feeling like I’m engulfed by Slade. It smells like him. I feel safe as warmth spreads through my body. The warmth has nothing to do with the usefulness of the jacket and everything to do with how Slade makes me feel. He dons a flannel scarf, then wraps one around me, arranging it carefully, the backs of his fingers sliding against my neck. We’re both quiet as we stand face to face, only connected by our eyes.
My chest heaves. “So, we’re going out on the beach?” I don’t stutter, yet feel like I am.
“Yep. It’s not what you think. Trust me?” His jaw clenches as he awaits my answer.
I hope I’m not being naïve. “I trust you.” I really do. In the short time I’ve known him, he’s proven himself to me.
My experience with Blu is causing me to doubt my own judgment. I can’t let Blu make me feel like damaged goods. I refuse. I’m going with my gut. It has never steered me wrong. Blu was wrong, not me—all realizations of fantasy life and unnoticed red flags aside.
“What about the front desk?” I ask.
“I get an alert on my phone if I’m needed, just like Joss. You heard it. It’s so loud it could wake the dead. It’s rare. Don’t worry about it.”
We exit through the sliding glass doors. He offers me his arm. “Do you mind? Don’t want to lose you in the darkness.”
I slip my arm through his and that’s answer enough. Once we’re past the lighted wooden pathway, it’s pitch black out on the beach, other than the slight glow of moonlight. We could lose each other as though we were in a blizzard, yet only be five feet apart. I like the feel of my arm tucked into his. I plan to keep it there.
We walk far out onto the beach. I’m a little nervous because it’s high tide. I’m worried we’ll suddenly be hit by a wave and sucked out to sea.
But Slade knows this area. He won’t let that happen. Our eyes adjust, and the moonlight helps us see the surf as it ebbs and flows in a stunning pattern. It’s so beautiful, my breath hitches in my throat. A bucket list item I didn’t know about has just been fulfilled. The sight of a moonlit surf on a dark beach.
Slade turns to me. “When I was angry as a kid, I used to come out here and scream as loud as I could. No one could hear me. The waves absorbed my wrath and took it out to sea. It was no longer mine.”
“Were you an angry kid? Bit of a red flag.” I’m into red flags lately.
“Over stuff like not being able to watch TV all day or eat every scrap of candy on Halloween night. Or having to do my homework before I could play with my friends.”
“You had terrible parents.” Sarcasm City, right here. I am a town unto myself.
“I know. They wouldn’t let me eat glue or jump off the roof to see if I could fly either. It was a rough childhood.” His eyes glitter in the moonlight.
“I feel your pain.”
A gentle laugh ripples through the air, so quiet I almost miss it. “Seriously, Marin. It helps. Scream as loud as you want and let out all that anger. No one will hear you.”
“You will,” I challenge.
Slade slips my hand from his elbow down to his hand, our fingers interlocking. “I’ll scream with you. Does that make you feel better?”
I feel silly, but the thought of screaming as loud as I can appeals. “It does.”
“Okay, then. Let’s do this.”
We stand apart from each other, only connected by our hands, his grip gentle, yet firm. A wave could wash over us and he’d never let me go.
Unlike Blu. He’d probably let go in a hot second and save himself. Hmmm. I do need to scream away the bitterness.
When Slade lets loose, so do I. His scream is deep and primal. My scream is loud and high-pitched. We stop only to take a breath, then scream some more.
It feels so good to let out the stress lurking in my body, to release the pain and the anger. To let it all go.
We scream over and over, until our voices turn hoarse. We stop by unspoken mutual agreement, standing there with our chests heaving as we breathe in the salty air.
