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Levi
While watching Drew interact with the woman down the beach with her dog, that I lamely called a rat, I was unexpectedly bombarded with a rush of jealousy and was curious if Drew had better luck talking to her than me. Not that I had a right to care if she connected with Drew more, and while she was attractive in a disheveled sort of free-spirited way and her thorny jabs were more of a challenge than a loss, she wasn’t my usual type, and I had no intention of meeting anyone right now. Drew and I had just started this road trip and I wasn’t ready for a serious relationship. I wasn’t ready forher.She seemed deep and introspective and, if I’ve learned anything in my dating years, it’s those types that challenge you the most and pull you in for life.
My first love was a lot like that, and when she became a past love, it shattered my young heart and ruined me just a little bit. Yet, there was something hidden in the glassy gaze of this woman’s eyes that had her swimming through my mind, consuming my thoughts almost every waking moment. No matter what I was doing, I couldn’t get her off my mind. And she just seemed so damn familiar and it was driving me nuts. It’s like when you pack for a trip and you get the spidey sense you were missing something. That’s how I felt about her since the first day I saw her. That there was something about her I was missing.
Drew walked up to me, pounding his surfboard in the sand. “You missed some great sets.”
“Maybe I’ll go out later. Did you at least catch her name?” I flicked my chin in the direction of the woman who was now walking toward the cliff rocks, her dog in the lead.
“She didn’t give me a chance to ask.”
I forced back a smile. She denied him, too. It wasn’t just me then.
“Probably have better luck asking the gal that runs the café.”
“Her name is Beverly,” I answered.
“The woman on the beach?”
I shook my head. “No, the lady that runs the place.”
“Oh.”
Drew was normally the social one. He knew everyone’s name before he even introduced himself, so I was shocked he didn’t know either of their names yet. “You’re losing your touch, man.”
“Whatever. Some of us don’t hang out at a café stalking women who obviously have no interest in them for hours on end.”
I punched him on the shoulder. “You didn’t do much better.”
“Ouch.” He rubbed his shoulder. “No, I didn’t,” he admitted. “She is pretty cute, though. No ring. I wonder how old she is?”
It was hard to guess a woman’s age these days. Most had so much work done they could look thirty and be fifty, although those you could usually tell, their cheekbones too high, and their lips one syringe too full. This woman didn’t look like she had anything done. She was naturally youthful and hard to tell her age.
“I’m guessing thirty-five,” I said confidently.
“Maybe,” Drew said thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t dare guess, though. If my ex-wife taught me anything it was to never ask a woman’s weight and never guess her age.”
We shared a laugh over that one. Lessons to live by.
“Is that the woman’s dog?”
Turning my head toward the cliffs, I spotted the little black puffball running toward us. Where was its owner? Panic ripped through me instantly. Something was wrong.
Without another thought, I ran toward the cliffs where I had seen them walk. Drew scooped up the barking dog and rushed alongside.
My heart was pounding so hard it drowned out the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks. What if she fell off one of the rocks and hit her head and was already drowning and we were too late? The thought launched my legs forward even faster. Drew kept up and we bounced from rock to rock like we had done it a million times. The rocks slashed through my feet, but I ignored the pain. I would feel it later when the adrenaline ran out.
My eyes darted around searching for her. How could they have gone so far? The tide was coming in alarmingly fast, crashing against the rocks and taking my hope of finding her alive with it. I scowled at the ocean.
Relief instantly washed over me when I caught sight of the woman crawling along the rocks slowly, dragging her right foot behind her.
Drew put the squirming puffball down and it ran ahead to its owner. The woman said something to the dog and scratched its head.
“Hey, you okay?” I asked as I rushed toward her.
She shot me an annoyed glare, “Do I look okay?” And then her expression shifted to relief.
She was glad we had found her.
