Chapter Forty-One
Lexi
Brock and I gather the guys at my locker on Monday morning and tell them the good news. He and I are officially boyfriend and girlfriend. They all cheer and whoop, Dean lifting Brock and me off the ground and spinning us around. We almost topple over, but the guys catch us in time.
“Geez, don’t kill the happy couple when they barely had time together,” Theo says, which has all of us laughing
Then I find myself and Brock squished in Finn’s arms.
“I’m really happy for you guys,” he tells us, his voice sounding nothing but sincere. “I think you two are perfect for each other, and I know you’ll be very happy.”
When I step out of the hug and look at Finn’s expression, I see that he truly is genuine. There’s no pain or jealousy or any grudge. He’s truly happy for us.
“Thanks, Finn.” I wrap my arms around him. “You’re such a good friend.”
Brock hugs him, too, holding onto him for a long time. “This means so much to me, man. Thanks.”
The guys ask us a million questions, but we can’t answer them all because the bell rings. The guys head off toward Mrs. Hastings’s class, still whooping and cheering for us.
With his sweet smile that melts every part of me, Brock holds out his hand. I slide mine into it and am immediately engulfed in warmth. In protection. In love. In everything that is Brock. Holding hands is such a simple thing, but it means so, so much more. A promise that he and I will forever be connected.
We don’t release each other’s hands, not even after we lower ourselves in our desks. It’s like neither of us wants to ever let the other go. We’ve been through so much and almost lost each other. There’s no way in heck we’re letting that happen again.
Mrs. Hastings walks in, wishes us a good morning, and instructs us to take out the book we’re reading for English. Her eyes catch sight of my and Brock’s clasped hands, and her eyebrows rise with surprise. She gets such a humongous smile on her face and looks like she wants to dance around with joy. Actually, it looks like she wants to yank us into her arms and hug us until we can’t breathe.
Since class is about to start, Brock and I reluctantly break our hands apart. Mrs. Hastings’s lessons are always so interesting, but I’m having trouble concentrating now because all I think about is Brock. Replaying our conversations and melting at all the sweet and romantic things he said to me.
But I really need to snap out of it and pay attention. Brock isn’t going anywhere because he and I will be together forever and ever. Yeah, we’re only sixteen, but I know.
Somehow, I make it through the day and only think about him…every other second.
After school, Brock and I are at his locker, with my back pressed to the locker and him standing close to me, so close that there are only inches between us. The whole world disappears as we stare into each other’s eyes. His gorgeous blue eyes are so deep and intense and hold tons of emotions. Happiness and joy and love and excitement. And hope—a lot of hope. I see a ghost of pain as well, but I know that will always be a part of him. A part of him that I accept and love, and when it grows too intense? I will be there for him. Always.
“Do you want to do something?” he asks, stepping even closer and stroking my hair. Chills run down my back and my stomach flutters.
I reach for his free hand and hold it tightly in mine, once again not wanting to let him go. “What did you have in mind?”
“No idea. I just want to spend hours with you.”
His words cause me to melt even more. We’re not supposed to show PDA at school, but I don’t care. I wrap my arms around him and stretch on tiptoes to press a quick kiss on his cheek. “How are you so perfect?”
“I’m not perfect. Not at all.” His arms come around me and his body sags with relief, as though holding me brings him a comfort no one else can. “But I’m trying my hardest to be the guy you deserve.”
“You don’t have to try.” I press my cheek to his. “You’re amazing just the way you are. The perfect person for me.”
“You’re the perfect one,” he says. “The most amazing person in the world. I think I’m the happiest person in the world.”
“Not as happy as me.”
He laughs lightly and shakes his head. “I would argue for hours, but I’d rather hang out with you. Do you want to go to the museum again? I don’t think there are any new exhibits. Or we can go to the aquarium.”
“We’ve been to those places a million times. Let’s do something different.”
“Okay. But Edenbury is small. We probably did everything here. Do you want to go to River Spring? My dad used to take my mom to the beach there. They claim it was really romantic.”
“Hmm…that does sound tempting, but I don’t think we have time to travel all the way there. We should do that another time. Maybe have a picnic on the beach.”
Brock smiles. “I would love that.”
I tap my chin as I think. “But what to do now…Hey, do you like rock climbing?”
He shrugs. “I guess. I haven’t done it in a long time, though.”
“They opened a rock-climbing gym two years ago. The guys and I have gone many times. It’s a lot of fun.”
“Really? Yeah, that does sound fun. Let’s do it.”
Hand in hand, we make our way out of the school building and toward Brock’s bike. After putting on our helmets, we get on and I wrap my arms around him. Even though I’ve gotten used to riding behind Brock on his bike, I get excited every time for two reasons. One, the prospect of zooming down the streets, which is so much fun. But also because it gives me an excuse to touch Brock. To hold onto him and feel even closer than I already do.
“I love holding you,” I mutter against his back.
“I love holding you, too,” he says.
I tell him where the gym is located, and off we go. It takes us about fifteen minutes to get there. Thankfully, the place isn’t too busy.
As they put us in our harnesses, Brock keeps sending me those sweet smiles that has my stomach swirling like a washing machine. Will I always get all giddy when he smiles at me? I hope so. I don’t want this feeling to ever go away.
Since both Brock and I have done rock climbing before, we decide to go for the more advanced wall. Side by side, we start climbing, and I have no idea why that feels romantic. Maybe because it’s a symbol that whatever happens in life, we’ll tackle it together? The good or the bad, we’ll always have each other’s backs.
When we’re about halfway through, my arms and legs get a little tired. Brock climbs much further, but then starts to slow down, too, and then he loses his footing and slides down, passing me. He manages to grab on in time.
“Phew,” he says with a laugh. But he has a hard time pulling himself up.
“You can do it, Brock!” I cheer. “Come on, Water Boy!”
That causes his lips to lift in a smile. With a determined nod, he pulls himself up the wall, until he’s side by side with me.
“Woohoo!” I say. “Good job, Brock.”
He’s clutching the rocks tightly, his fingers trembling a little. “Thanks. I’m totally out of practice.”
“That’s okay. Do you want to stop? We can take a break and try again.”
He shakes his head. “Let’s try to make it to the top. Together.”
Why does that make me melt again?
We keep at the same pace because we want to finish this endeavor at the same time. Soon we’re nearing the top.
“Just a little bit longer,” I encourage us. “You’re getting so good at this, Brock. Soon you’ll be a pro.”
He chuckles. “Doubt it, but thanks for the pep talk.”
My right foot slips on one of the rocks and I slide down. Releasing a small yelp, I quickly grab onto the rocks. Darn, how did that happen? I’m now quite a few inches below Brock.
“You okay, Lexi?” he calls down.
“Yeah. I wasn’t paying attention. You should continue and make it to the top. Don’t wait for me.”
“I’ll wait for you,” he says. “I want to reach the top together.”
Why do I feel like I just floated up to heaven?
I know it’s not easy for Brock to hold on while I catch up to him, but it means so much to me that he does. Because he’s showing me that he wants to go through every part of life by my side, and with me at his. Of course there will be times when we’ll do our own thing because we’ll need to have some time apart and focus on ourselves, but we’ll be partners for life.
Once I’ve caught up, we push ourselves to reach the top. My arms and legs are pretty exhausted, too, and climbing those last few rocks is so hard. I push Brock and he pushes me, offering encouraging words to each other. And then we reach the top, where there’s a small bell. Together, we ring it, and the people down below cheer.
“We did it,” I say with a huff.
His chest heaves as he releases a breath. “We did it.”
He pushes off the wall and gathers me in his arms, and together, we slowly scale down toward the floor. He sweeps his lips across my jaw and chin as we journey down, and my eyes flutter shut. But the ride is way too short, and soon my feet hit the floor.
Brock and I take a break and grab something to drink, and then we climb the wall again. Since we already did it together, we decide to have a small competition this time. We’re both pretty wiped out, so neither of us makes it to the top. But I’m the winner.
Brock laughs as he closes me in his arms. “All hail our beautiful queen, Majestic Dancer. There’s nothing she can’t do.”
Pressing my face into his chest, I inhale his Brock smell that I love so much. “I’m having so much fun with you. I wish I could pause time and soak in every second of it.”
“I know what you mean.” His hand rubs circles on my back. “I wish I could pause time so I could spend an eternity with you.”
We climb the wall one more time, then decide to quit before we overdo it. But neither of us wants to part for the day, even though it’s starting to get dark.
“I think I saw a park nearby,” he says. “Want to go for a stroll there? I think it’s romantic.”
“Yeah, it sounds totally romantic.”
We get on his bike and ride there. Since it’s getting late, only a handful of people are here. Brock and I once again hold hands as we walk around the park.
“It feels good just strolling around with the girl I love,” he says, bringing our hands to his lips and kissing the back of my palm. “With nature and everything. It feels even more romantic.”
I stop and push some bangs out of his eyes. “I feel even closer to you.”
He locks his arms around my waist and we just stand there in the middle of the park, gazing into each other’s eyes.
“I love you so much, Lexi,” he says softly as he caresses my cheek. “I’m so glad I decided to come back to Edenbury. To think what I would have missed out on…on who I would have missed out on.” He gently tucks his fingers under my chin and looks deeply into my eyes. “I can’t believe how lucky I am. We were always meant to be together. We just got lost on the way. Well, I got lost.”
“The important thing is that we found our way to each other. And we’ll never let each other go.”
Brock’s eyes search mine again, and then his gaze falls to my lips. Mine falls to his, too. Slowly, our heads move closer to each other, closer and closer, at an agonizingly slow pace. My heart beats in every part of me and my eyes flutter shut. The next second, his lips press against mine.
Something ignites inside me, deep and strong. I wrap my arms tightly around him and move my lips over his, urgently and passionately, trying to savor every minute but being impatient as well. Brock’s hand strokes my hair as our lips continue to move over each other’s with the same urgency. But after some time, we slow down. As though we want to take our time to soak in every part of this.
Through our kisses, I feel every single emotion coursing through his body. The good and the bad. But as we continue to share this wonderful moment, I feel all the negative emotions wash away. And then they’re replaced with positive ones.
I know he and I will experience some tough times throughout our lives, but as long as we have each other, I’m positive we can get through anything.
When we break apart, I rest my forehead on his. “My mom was right. Everything does work out in the end.”
“I think so, too,” he admits. “I mean, I’ll always wonder why tragedy happens—like why did Andy have to die?—but we don’t have the answers to this sort of stuff. I don’t know, maybe one day we will. But we can’t linger on the past. We need to learn to overcome tragedy and loss and build a better life for ourselves. With good people who will help us navigate it.”
I play with the hair at the nape of his neck. “And that’s all I want. To help you navigate through life, to be there every step of the way.”
He kisses me again. “And I want to do the same for you. Even when we’re apart—like when you’re off somewhere in the ocean saving sea life—I’ll always be there for you.”
“And when you’re off studying sharks?”
He chuckles softly. “Are we ever going to spend time together?”
“Oh, we will. We definitely will. We’ll make sure of it. We’ll be able to have careers and each other. We’ll make both of our dreams come true.”
We spend some more time making out, and then Brock says, “I have something for you.”
“You do?”
“I was trying to find the right moment all afternoon to give it to you. I think this is the perfect time.”
He leads me to a nearby bench, where we sit side by side.
“I saw this at the museum when we visited that day. I thought about buying it then, but it didn’t feel right. But it feels more than right now.”
He sweeps his backpack onto his lap and rummages inside. Then he produces a jewelry box.
I gasp. “Oh, Brock. You didn’t have to.”
“Open it,” he urges.
When I do, I notice a necklace sitting in there. After I carefully take it out and examine it, I realize that it’s a shark pendant.
“I have one, too,” he says, producing another box from his backpack and flipping it open. “Identical ones. As a symbol of our love for each other. And our love for ocean life.”
Tears pool in my eyes and pour down my face. “This is so sweet, Brock. I love it so much. I love you so much. Thanks.” I fling my arms around him and kiss him.
“I love you so much, too.” He takes the necklace from me and ties it around my neck. I do the same for him.
“It looks beautiful on you,” he says.
“It looks beautiful on you.”
We bend our heads and kiss again. I have no idea how much time passes, but it feels like a long time. The tears keep coming because I’m so happy. I feel so lucky. Just a few months ago, I thought Brock and I would never be friends again. That we’d never be in each other’s lives. And now, we’re soulmates.
I can’t wait to get to know Brock even more than I already do, and I can’t wait to grow closer to him. But there’s no rush. We can take as long as we need, at whatever pace is best for us. Because we have the rest of our lives.
Life really does have a way of working out.