Chapter 11
(Nova)
My hotel room had become a place to keep my stuff and sleep, which was perfectly fine with me.
Meeting up with Robbie each day had become the focal point of my vacation, along with the anticipation of each new experience he’d treated me to.
Naked cuddling and kissing on his couch with the movie we’d chosen mostly watching us had been the best way to spend the evenings, along with falling asleep curled against his chest, the throw blanket tugged off the back of the couch and wrapped around us.
Last night I’d woken to Piper curled up in a nest of blankets beside us, the volume on the television down so low I’d barely been able to make out what the characters had been saying.
When I’d sat up further, intent on wiggling away so I could run to the bathroom, I saw Robbie watching me, a soft, serene smile on his face.
He’d kissed the tip of my nose before turning me loose, and I swear that spot tingled for at least ten minutes afterward, a reminder of that tender moment we’d shared.
He'd taken me back to the hotel not long after, though I’d nearly protested. Only the fact that I’d brought no spare clothes along had stopped me, but today, I’d packed some, just in case the opportunity arose to sleep over.
As soon as I saw his truck pulling up to the front of the hotel, I jumped up off the bench I’d been sitting on and raced to the passenger’s door, bouncing in my seat as I got situated and put my seatbelt on.
“Someone’s excited.”
“It’s sand sculpture day,” I declared as I leaned over to kiss him before we took off.
“It sure is,” he replied. “And I’ve got a few surprises for you in the back that might help you bring your vision to life.”
“Sweet,” I said, twisting around to see if I could catch a glimpse of anything.
Denied.
Whatever the surprise was, it must have been securely placed in the box in the bed of the truck, because there was nothing else back there besides the rack that held his surfboards.
“Uh-uh, you’ll have to wait until we get to the beach to see what there is.”
Huffing, I narrowed my eyes at him and followed it up by sticking my tongue out at him in a childish, silly gesture that made me blush the moment I did it. “Tease,” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and facing forward so he wouldn’t see me blush.
“You know it,” he replied, chuckling as he started out on a route I now had memorized after how many times we’d driven it together.
“That’s so not fair,” I grumbled.
“Really? Hmm, I’ll keep that in mind for next time,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean I’ll change my teasing ways, but I will be sure to give due consideration to the level of teasing the next time I decide to mess with you.”
“And with my luck, that just means you’ll rev it up,” I replied with another huff.
“If it will bring about another adorable pout, I will definitely have to up my teasing game.”
“Meh,” I muttered, barely reining in the impulse to stick my tongue out at him again.
“Meh, huh?” he replied, chuckling again. “Someone’s fiesty today. Adorable too. I like this playful side of you.”
“Playful is when we get to the sand and I can squish my fingers in it and draw out my outline for the sea turtle. Then I can just build upward and add the sandcastle and his starfish buddies because he’s got to have a few friends around.”
“That he does.”
“What are you going to make?” I asked.
“I’m going to attempt the SWAK method and see if I can make a sand replica of your lips, since a sandcastle is beyond my capabilities,” he replied.
“SWAK method?”
“Sealed with a kiss,” he explained.
“Thus, why you’re sculpting lips.”
“Exactly.”
“I can’t wait to see how they turn out,” I replied. “But you can forget about me kissing them. The only lips I intend to kiss are the ones attached to your face.”
“Fair enough.”
We were laughing as we pulled into his driveway, and I was out the door before he killed the engine, racing around to the back of the truck and waiting somewhat impatiently for him to get out and let me see my surprises.
“Eager much,” he teased as he climbed in the back of the truck and opened the box.
“You have no idea how much.”
Chuckling, he just grinned at me as he passed me two mesh bags bulging with beach toys.
“Whoa,” I said as I held them close to my face so I could study the contents. “There are all kinds of molds in there.”
“I thought that would help, especially with the sandcastle on the back of the turtle shell that you’ve been talking about making.”
“This one has sea life molds too. Ohh, I think I see a starfish.”
“There are supposed to be two different-sized ones in there, as well as a couple plastic hermit crabs, some sand dollars, and a bunch of other toys and molds, since I thought your castle could use a few residents.”
“Oh, right on. I didn’t even think about that part.”
“Why don’t you go claim your piece of sand, and I’ll bring down the drinks and snacks I picked up for us on the way to the hotel?
I’d initially planned to make a few things, but both my morning lessons ran long, and by the time I finished the second one, I was more in the mood to spend time with you than I was to cook. ”
“I don’t mind in the slightest,” I replied. “Any time I get to spend with you is welcome.”
“Then I’ll be right behind you,” he said, making a shooing motion with his hands that got me scurrying to find the perfect spot close enough to the water that I could easily refill my bucket when I needed to but not too close that my sea turtle sculpture would be threatened when the tide rolled in.
Giddy with excitement, I filled my bucket with water, then carefully opened the mesh bags he’d given me so I could lay out all the objects inside.
Having the chance to see all my options and have them in easy reach would make diving into the sculpture so much easier.
This way I’d be able to focus, without having to pause and rummage each time I had a new idea.
Aside from hermit crabs, starfish, and sand dollars, there were several small fish, a shrimp, and an assortment of digging tools.
One was perfect for making small holes or drawing outlines.
As I dragged it through the sand, I pictured the way the flippers were supposed to extend before adding the neck and head.
Shit, they had tails, right? Turtles had tails.
I tried to picture one in my head, but it had been so long since I’d been to an aquarium that the images in my head kept flip-flopping between turtles with tails and turtles without tails until I finally just yanked my phone out of my pocket, turned it on, and immediately started looking for a picture of one.
Until my eyes landed on a notification that I had a message from Koa.
Trembling, I clicked on his name and barely allowed myself to suck in a breath as I read the words he’d written.
Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.
I was squirming in the sand by the time I’d finished reading it again.
“Are you okay there?” Robbie asked as he set a cooler down near the toys I’d laid out.
“Koa and Ethan want to schedule a meeting with me the Tuesday after Christmas to talk about which of the three positions they have open that I’d be best suited for,” I explained. “I have options. Oh my god, I might really get to move here.”
He swept me into a hug as the realization rapidly began to set in.
“Yup, and yes, you do have choices,” Robbie said.
“So make sure you choose the one that is going to be the best fit for you. I know you said you took the job you were offered out of college because you were afraid to pass on it and not have anything else come along. I can appreciate that fear, especially when the clock was ticking and you were faced with a looming date for when you needed to move out of your dorm. This time is different. Like you said, you’ve got savings, and you covered your ass by sending everything to another member of your team to ensure that the issues your boss was complaining about were fixed, so your current job is still secure.
As much as I would love for you to jump on that job and start making plans to move here, I want you to make sure it's going to be the right choice for you. If you don’t, you might find yourself in this same position a few years down the line, and that would suck. ”
“Yeah, it really would,” I replied, nuzzling against his chest. “I’ll make sure I pick the right job and ask all the questions I didn’t know to ask when I was going through the application process the last time.”
“Good boy,” he said, pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
I stiffened, and his hands fell away from my body as he started stammering out an apology.
“Shit, I am so sorry about that; it just slipped out,” he explained.
Meanwhile, the word tumbled through my head like the repeat button was stuck, sending joy flooding through my body, even while he insisted that he’d meant nothing by it.
“I-I truly don’t mind,” I blurted, wanting the apologies to stop so I could go back to enjoying that those words had come from him. “It’s, I…it makes me feel good to hear you call me that.”
“Yeah?”