Chapter 7 Kit
Kit
The next morning, I tried not to wake Devon as I slipped out of bed to use the bathroom and brush my teeth.
When I returned and curled up next to him, he grinned without opening his eyes and muttered, “That’s so unfair, sneaking off and coming back all fresh and minty, so I’m the only one with a raging case of morning breath. ”
With that, he tumbled out of bed and spent a few minutes in the bathroom before coming back and launching himself onto the mattress. He pulled me into his arms, and as we snuggled together I murmured, “You smell good. Did you put on cologne?”
“No, just a quick dab of deodorant. I wanted to one-up your minty freshness.”
“Well, now I need to go take a shower, so I once again have the upper hand.”
I tried to get up, but he pulled me back with a, “Noooooo!” Both of us chuckled as we fell onto the bed, and he said, “Just stay here and be lazy with me.”
I caught a glimpse of the digital clock on the nightstand and pointed out, “It’s almost eleven. Do we need to check out in about three minutes?”
“Nope, we’re in no hurry this morning. I reserved the room for two nights, since we got in late and I knew we’d want to sleep in. Plus, there’s something cool nearby that I’d like to show you, but whether we spend tonight here is up to you.”
We both rolled onto our sides so we were facing each other, and I said, “Let’s stay one more night. My dad doesn’t know we’re coming, so it’s not like we’re keeping him waiting.”
“Great! This is going to be fun.”
Devon was always beautiful. When he smiled, he was breathtaking. I desperately wanted to kiss him, but we’d said we were just going to be friends. There’d been reasons for that… not that I could remember what any of them were at the moment.
Wasn’t this already more than a friendship, though? Since when did friends spend the night wrapped up in each other’s arms? And was he thinking about kissing me too, since he was watching me the same way I was watching him?
While I was busy overthinking absolutely everything, his phone beeped. It startled us so much that both of us leapt up. Our reaction reminded me of a cat getting spritzed with water for doing something wrong.
He read the message and told me, “It’s from Jan and Janice, the motel owners. They want to know if we’d like to join them for lunch.”
“Sure. I um… I’m going to take a shower.” I felt flustered as I randomly grabbed some clothes and retreated to the bathroom.
Had we just been saved by the bell, so to speak? What would have happened if I’d actually kissed him? Would it have been a mistake, or the start of something great? I mulled over these questions and more while I stood under the hot water, but I didn’t arrive at any conclusions.
I returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, overdressed in a button-down shirt and jeans. As Devon headed to the bathroom, I told him I’d meet him outside and opened the door to a gorgeous, sunny day.
A woman with graying curly hair was setting a patio table under a striped umbrella. She waved enthusiastically when she saw me, so I went over to say hello. “You must be Devon’s friend,” she said. “I’m Jan.”
“Kit Cortez. Your motel is amazing.”
She beamed with pride. “Thank you! It’s been a labor of love. My wife and I always talked about running a place like this, and eight years ago we decided to leave corporate America and make that dream a reality.”
“That’s really cool. I love the décor.”
“All the rooms have a different theme. In yours, we were going for a 1970s Dating Game vibe.”
Jan seemed delighted when I told her, “That’s exactly what it reminded me of.”
We talked about design for a couple of minutes, until another woman carrying a pitcher of iced tea joined us. She wore a T-shirt which read “Nobody Knows I’m a Lesbian” in huge letters, and her dark hair was gathered into a long braid down her back.
After Jan introduced me to her wife, Janice exclaimed, “I’m thrilled to meet you! Devon seemed so lonely when he was here before, and we hoped he’d find himself a boyfriend. Now here you are!”
“Now, we don’t actually know they’re a couple,” Jan reminded her. “Devon did reserve a room with two beds.”
Janice shot her wife a look. “Maybe Devon just happens to like that room. The fact that it has two beds doesn’t necessarily mean anything.” She turned back to me and said, “You two are dating, aren’t you?”
I couldn’t begin to explain our relationship, so I left it at, “It’s complicated.”
Jan intervened on my behalf. “Stop questioning the boy, Janice. You should go check the oven, before your cookies go up in flames.”
She hurried away, muttering, “Shoot, I forgot about them.”
“Sorry about that,” Jan said. “She’s endlessly curious about everyone she meets, which is a nice way of saying she’s nosy. But she means well.”
Devon joined us a few minutes later, just as Janice returned with a rolling cart loaded with dishes. The four of us sat down to a delicious lunch of minestrone soup and thick, pillowy focaccia bread, followed by coffee and slightly burnt oatmeal raisin cookies.
While we ate, Devon entertained us with stories of his travels. He also asked the couple a lot of questions about their lives and the motel, and he seemed genuinely interested in their answers.
At one point, it occurred to me that I might be reading too much in with Devon and me. He was incredibly friendly and outgoing, treating everyone like a dear friend. From my perspective, it felt like we had a special bond. But maybe everyone who met him thought the same thing.
After lunch, Jan asked what we had planned for the rest of the day, and Devon said, “I thought I’d show Kit the cove. Then maybe we’ll head into town this evening for dinner. But it all depends on what he wants to do.”
Three sets of eyes turned to me, and I mumbled, “I’m down for whatever.”
“The cove it is, then.” I had no idea what he was talking about, but he seemed excited.
Our wonderful hosts brought us a large, mesh tote bag packed with a pair of beach towels, a picnic blanket, and a couple of water bottles, and Devon thanked them and slung it over his shoulder.
Then he took my hand and said, “I think you’re going to like this.
” When I glanced at the two women, they looked delighted, possibly because we were holding hands.
Devon led me out the back of the motel and down a dirt path, which wound through a grove of manzanita trees. “Jan and Janice are really nice, and they obviously adore you,” I said.
“They’re the best.”
“They mentioned you seemed lonely when you were here before, which was surprising. You’ve never seemed that way to me.”
“That’s because I stopped being lonely when I met you,” he said with a smile.
“But you talk to people and make friends wherever you go.”
“That’s not the same as having one special person I care about, who’s along to share in the adventure.”
I mulled that over for a while, until the trees gave way to a rocky cliff face and a panoramic ocean view. “The cove is right down there,” Devon said, gesturing at some worn wooden stairs that meandered down the slope to a small beach.
“Are those stairs safe? They look ancient.”
“They’re built into the hillside, so I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. They’ve probably been here for eighty years, and I bet they’ll be here for eighty more.”
I had a feeling that if I wasn’t there, Devon would have fearlessly bounded down the stairs two at a time.
Instead, he humored me and held my hand while I took one cautious step at a time.
The wooden beams did feel pretty solid, but they were extremely uneven.
If I tripped and fell, I was pretty sure I’d roll all the way to the bottom.
Getting airlifted to a hospital definitely wasn’t the way I wanted to start our trip.
Eventually, we reached the cove. The cliffs around us formed a C-shape, disintegrating into rocks and boulders that tumbled into the Pacific on either side of the sandy beach.
“I always love being at the ocean, but there are two things that make this place extra special,” Devon said, as he spread out the red picnic blanket and placed the bag on top of it.
“First, it’s totally private. Come with me, and I’ll show you the second thing. ”
I followed him as he climbed up onto a boulder and held out his hand for me. After he helped me up, he said, “We’re in luck. It’s close to low tide.”
“Is the beach under water at high tide?”
“No, but this is.” He gestured at the rocky outcropping, which formed a relatively flat surface punctuated by little pools of water.
I didn’t get why that would matter, until something orange caught my eye and I exclaimed, “Oh wow, it’s a starfish!” I hurried over to it, and Devon chuckled and followed me. “That’s so cool. I’ve never seen one out in nature like that.”
“Does that mean you’ve never gone tidepooling?” I turned to him and shook my head, and he smiled at me. “I’m so glad I get to be here to share this with you.”
I followed him to a pool of water, and we both crouched down to get a better look. It was filled with things that looked like puffy, lime green flowers, and when I asked what they were, he said, “Sea anemones.”
There was a large one directly beneath me, and I asked, “Will I hurt it if I touch it?”
“Not if you do it lightly.”
I gently brushed one of the creature’s tentacles and said, “It feels sticky.”
“That sensation is actually the anemone trying to sting you.” I yanked my hand back, and he explained, “They use venom to paralyze their tiny prey, but our skin is way too tough for them to harm us.”
“Why do you know that?”
“I learned it at the aquarium in my hometown when I was twelve or thirteen. I used to spend a lot of time there.”
We spent the next hour or so climbing over rocks and making all sorts of discoveries. At one point, I glanced up at Devon and said, “I feel like you’re watching me more than the sea creatures.”
“Oh, I am. I’m thoroughly enjoying your reactions.”