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I followed his eyes to our hands interlocked and then he suddenly dropped it. "Sorry about that.” He cleared his throat and then continued, “You have the perfect path over here." One side of his mouth curled up, revealing a dimple, as he played off the moment. "Yes, I trespass. You can call the cops later." He winked.
I didn't trust my words after the cake incident and I didn’t want to draw attention to the hand incident, so I just smiled back. As we reached the edge, I froze.
He walked back, stopping within inches of me. "Are you okay?"
The softness in his eyes gave me something to focus on other than falling to my death. "I'm scared of heights."
"Do you want to go back?"
I shook my head, keeping my eyes on him and not down the cliff side. "No, I can do this. You said there was a path?"
"Yeah, the trailhead is right here." He pointed just a few feet in front of us.
"Okay." I put on a brave smile.
This time when he took my hand in his, he didn’t let go. He checked back on me several times as we made our way down, but it only made me more nervous because I kept picturing him tripping and falling to his death. The climb down wasn't really that bad. The path was well walked, and the slope was not too steep, making the descent smooth. I tried to enjoy the majesty of the waves crashing against the rocks below, but it was hopeless. My heart was pounding harder than the water on the rocks, and my palms were a sweaty mess, making me very aware of the feat I was accomplishing.
Relief washed over me as we leaped off the last rock that served as a bridge from near death and solid ground. The path had led us to a thin strand of beach that went on for miles, or at least far enough to be out of sight.
"It's very secluded here," I said.
Brandt had released my hand after helping me down and now had his back to me as he looked out into the ocean. Then suddenly, he broke the silence. "There!" he shouted as he pointed to something bobbing in the water.
I squinted to get a better look. "Is that a seal?"
"Yes," he said proudly with his arms on his hips. His carefree innocence had replaced all the odd moments.
"I don't think I've ever seen one up close."
"Well then, you have to see this." He grabbed my hand with sheer determination as he dragged me around to a mound of rocks not too far away. They were covered in seals.
"Wow. That's awesome. Do they live here?"
"They beach here."
"So cool," I responded. After I soaked in the visual of the seals, I turned and walked back down the beach. Brandt followed beside me. I was as nervous as a teenage girl waiting for her first kiss. Not only because Brandt did things to my insides that were unfamiliar and tantalizing, but also because I couldn't remember my first kiss. Or any other kiss, for that matter. Surely I had a ton of them if I was twenty-three, which was still up for debate.
"Can I ask you something?" I asked bravely.
"Of course. I think that's the natural way of getting to know each other."
"Sometimes when you look at me…you seem almost sad…or maybe a little lost.”
"Oh…ummm…"
"I'm sorry. Don't…Don't answer that. It was rude. Or maybe not rude. It was something, and you really don't have to answer it." I was waving my hands erratically.
"No, it's okay. I just didn't realize you noticed." He paused and took a deep breath. "Just some of the things you do remind me of someone I used to know."
Great, I reminded him of someone who made him look like I just punched him in the gut after having left him for his brother.
"That sounded bad. I said it wrong. It's not a bad thing. She was amazing and beautiful and twisted her hair when she was nervous and said random things at random times." He was digging himself deeper. "It was cute. The random things she’d say. They were cute. And the twisty thing…I just hadn't seen anyone do it in a long time.” He stopped talking and scratched his head.
I couldn't help it. I started laughing uncontrollably. It was absolutely comical how Brandt and I interacted. With Grady, it was comfortable and easy, but with Brandt, it was, well, the opposite. Brandt made me nervous in the “I really like this boy” way.
"Are you laughing at me?"
I couldn't tell if he was feeling self-conscious, but honestly, it didn't matter, because I was laughing so hard now I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.
