Chapter 3 #2
We make our way toward the sound of crashing waves. The sun is slowly sinking toward the horizon, painting the sky in a breathtaking masterpiece of color. Oranges and soft pinks bleed into the deepening blue, and I pull in a deep, calming breath, letting the peaceful evening settle over me.
“I hope you like…” I glance down at the bottle in my hand and cringe. “Banana rum.”
Tai lets out a real laugh—the first one I’ve heard from him—and it’s just as smooth and melodic as his voice. “Where the hell did you even get that?”
We step onto the sand and kick our sandals off in unison beside the boardwalk. “Honestly? I swiped it from the bar. This place is all-inclusive, so it doesn’t really count as stealing—”
“Hold up a second,” Tai says as he stares at the bottle in my hand. “You told me… no, you swore to me you aren’t some party-crazy frat boy, and the very first thing you do is swipe a bottle of liquor. Banana liquor, no less.”
I bark out a laugh, the sound echoing over the open water as we walk farther down the beach together. “Touché.”
“You have a loud laugh,” Tai remarks, tilting his head slightly.
“Ah, yeah… I do everything loud,” I admit, dragging my palm over the back of my neck. “Sorry about that.”
“No, it wasn’t a complaint,” he says quickly. “It’s nice. Feels genuine.”
Unsure how to respond, I only smile as we head straight for the shore.
We walk past the rows of empty chairs and step ankle-deep into the ocean.
The chill of the water sends an involuntary shiver racing up my spine.
Silence settles between us, and for once, it doesn’t make me antsy.
When I glance over at Tai, he’s the picture of serenity—eyes closed, face tilted toward the dying rays of the sun, completely at peace.
There’s a certain beauty in the stillness.
Rather than filling the quiet with meaningless words, I take a page from his book and simply choose to be present in the moment.
I just… exist.
My eyes drift closed as I soak in the sensations. The last warmth of the sun brushes across my face while the chilly tide laps gently around my ankles. The breeze off the water is refreshing, and my hair whips around me in the wind.
“This is nice,” I finally say, opening my eyes to find Tai watching me with quiet curiosity.
“C’mon,” he says, wrapping his fingers gently around my wrist and tugging me toward the empty chairs waiting in the sand. “If we’re going to drink rebellious-teenager stolen liquor, we should at least be sitting down. I’m too old to get drunk standing in the ocean.”
“Too old, my ass,” I say with a snort. “What are you, twenty-five?”
He arches a high brow in my direction. “You’re sweet, but no. I’m thirty-seven.”
I stop walking to stare at him. “What the fuck, dude! No, seriously? What the actual fuck? I’m only four years older than you, and I look old enough to be your dad.”
He rolls his eyes, clearly entertained. “Hardly. If Cho hadn’t told me you were in your forties, I would’ve guessed we were the same age.”
“Yeah, okay,” I mutter, suddenly hyper-aware of the silver streaks threading through my hair and the lines etched around my eyes and forehead.
Tai’s gaze sweeps over me once, a mischievous glint sparking in his eyes. “Oh, come on, man. Don’t play coy. Mirrors exist, and it’s obvious you’ve hit the gym more than once or twice in your life.”
I snort and, without meaning to, flex my arms like an idiot now that I know he’s looking. “Once or twice.”
We drop into the lounge chairs, kicking back as the sun slips below the horizon. I twist the metal cap off the bottle with a sharp crack and hold it up to my face. The punch of banana rum hits me so hard I flinch.
“C’mon, old man,” Tai teases. “Don’t tell me you’re going to chicken out now.”
“Old man,” I mutter, shaking my head as I bring the rim of the bottle to my lips. “I’ll show you old man.” At first the alcohol is sickeningly sweet on my tongue, but it quickly scorches a fiery path down my throat.
Holy shit.
I cough hard, pounding my chest while I wheeze. “Fuck, I forgot how much that burns.”
Tai throws his head back and laughs, the sound so musical that I’m half-tempted to take another swig just to hear it again. For the first time since we met, his face looks completely relaxed, all the earlier tension melted away.
“Alright then, tough guy,” I say as I pass him the bottle, “show me what you’re made of.”
He smirks as he lifts the rum to his mouth and takes a long, deliberate swig. When he hands it back, he’s still perfectly poised—until the burn hits him. He coughs, thumping his own chest. “Fuck, I tried. Goddamn, that is terrible!”
We pass the bottle back and forth while we watch the final moments of the sunset drain from the sky. The more we drink, the smoother the rum goes down, until a pleasant, spreading heat settles in my belly and a light, tingling warmth spreads through my limbs.
“So,” I say, my voice sounding far too loud against the serene darkness. “Tell me more about you… unlock the mystery that is Tai. What do you do for a living?”
His expression sours instantly. He sways a little as he sits up and turns sideways on his lounger, feet planted in the sand and elbows resting on his knees. “Nope.”
“Nope?” I repeat.
“This week, I don’t want to think about work or real life. I just want to be here… to be present.” His face scrunches up as he thinks for a moment. “I have rules.”
I roll onto my side, propping my head up on my hand. “Alright, lay them on me.”
“First, obviously, we don’t discuss our jobs. You’re not Connor the plumber—”
“Not a plumber,” I point out.
“I just said I don’t want to know!”
“What if I actually was a plumber, though, and you accidentally guessed it right? Your whole plan would’ve backfired spectacularly.”
He tries to scowl, but it collapses almost immediately. “You are testing me, old man. That’s rule number one—no talking about work.”
“Easy enough,” I say, waving my hand for him to continue. “What else?”
“Complete honesty. No secrets.”
“Except for our jobs, apparently,” I muse, lifting the bottle to my lips for another sip.
Tai snatches the bottle away mid-swig, liquid sloshing inside as he takes a long pull. “You’re a smartass.”
“Guilty as charged.”
He shakes his head and settles back into his lounger, staring up at the stars beginning to emerge across the darkening sky. “Seriously, though… if we tell each other anything, it has to be the truth. None of that half-truth bullshit people hide behind.”
“Alright,” I say, quieter than I intend. “What else?”
“No judgment. No matter what we share, we take it for what it is and we move on.”
Silence falls between us again, broken only by the quiet glug of the bottle as Tai takes another sip. He passes it to me with a glance.
My breath hisses as the alcohol burns my throat. “Something tells me you and I are going to be fast friends by the time this week is over.”
A soft smile tilts his lips as he stares out over the water. “Here’s hoping.”