Chapter Nine
February Fourth
Wolfgang
“Hey Brittanya.”
Wolfgang sat in the chair at her station.
“Just an all over trim?”
She adjusted her apron.
“Let’s just do the sides and keep the top longer this time.”
Wolfgang enjoyed his undercut.
Brittanya’s cape fluttered around him and was secured in the back, “So, you have a date today.”
“Uh yeah.”
He smiled. “Just going to the beach.”
“Ah ha.”
She stared at him through the mirror. “So you like her?”
“I think so.”
His hand gripped the arm rest. “So far I do anyway.”
“About time you found someone.”
Brittanya smiled with a straight razor in her hand. “I think she likes you too. It’s too bad that Shianne had to ruin your last date.”
“Yeah, that wasn’t what I was expecting. I did overhear too much information that night. Do you know anything about her past?”
He was curious about what she meant by abuse. Brittanya wiped the razor against a towel to clean it after the last stroke, “No, not much, she had a boyfriend.”
Wolfie was quiet “Give it time,”
She folded up the towel, “If things get better between you two, I’m sure she will open up about it. If it doesn't, then it isn’t something you have to worry about.”
Juniper
June had been thinking of Wolfgang all week. His kiss. His smile. His hair. Their conversations. There was something there. She hadn’t felt this way with Ben ever and this had to be what chemistry was. She felt the spark. She tied the strings in the back of her borrowed black bikini and threw her tee shirt and jean shorts over them.
Brittanya was at work and Whitney had plans with Fade. She would be answering the door alone and they would be here alone. Her stomach collapsed nervously at the thought. She wondered if she should invite him in or if she should wait a minute before answering the door. She wasn’t sure how to date here or anywhere really.
June was loving her freedom from Ben. He was gone. Done. She stood at the mirror and tightened her high, unkempt ponytail as it whipped the nape of her neck. She turned her head to the clock to check the time. Two minutes. She grabbed another borrowed bag from Whitney, holding three items: her phone, lip balm and a water canister. June closed her bedroom door and walked down the hall as a knock gallivanted through the house. She opened the door, “Hey, come in.”
she cheered.
Wolfgang stepped in, wearing a tee shirt that embraced his soft, fit body. She could see the bottom of a tattoo peeking out of his right sleeve. Curiosity struck June. “Thank you. Wow. It’s quiet in here.”
She could already smell him.
“Yeah, everyone is gone.”
She closed the door behind him. “Shianne has actually moved out. I’m sure you figured that out by how the house was last week.”
“I’m sorry about that, by the way.”
His body faced her.
Her brow crinkled, “You didn’t do anything.”
“I should have told her years ago that I wasn’t interested. She shouldn’t have talked to you like that when it was between her and I.”
He leaned on the back of the couch. “Did Margaret reach out to you?”
“Yes, she called the next day to tell me Shianne’s arrangement. It sounded like she agreed that Shianne was overreacting and told me there would be no consequences.”
“That’s good.”
He shifted his weight back onto his feet, “I do want to say that I’m sorry for following you into the house, I shouldn’t have barged in on you.”
“You didn’t barge in.”
She watched him step closer as her stomach began to pull at her nervously and her heart began to beat harder, “Should we go?”
She smiled and opened the door.
“Yes.”
He followed her, closing the door behind him. The high noon sun beamed down upon the island, “I made it a little easier for me,”
he joked pointing to the Jeep without doors.
“You’re just trying to get out of it.”
She mocked him.
June hopped in with Wolfgang spotting her. The vehicle shifted as he entered his side. His height made it so there was no need to climb in like June. She glanced in the back to see a cooler, towels, blanket and a few other items that were not related, such as a toolbox and jacket.
The Jeep pulled forward as he headed north. Wolfgang reached over and squeezed June’s hand and released it to go back to steering. They passed the last residential street and entered a winding road between hills at the foot of the mountains. June looked out the side taking in the green landscape. She felt like she would never get over its striking color. She saw a bird fly from one tree to the other and thought of her mom and then of her sister. “I’ve never been to the beach.”
June vocalized over the wind and radio.
“Really?”
He was surprised.
“Yes. We didn’t live near one.”
She looked at him. Wolfgang glanced at her and back at the road, nodding for her to look too. The road was budding up to a hill with a tunnel at the base. Coming up to it, she could see the blue ocean on the other side. The hill swallowed the red Jeep as her hair continued flicking the back of her neck. The exit grew and they were out. June’s eyes widened at how big the ocean was, How big the sky was. She was breathless and looked at Wolfgang who was observing her. The road turned around the hill and came to a large parking lot.
Wolfgang put it in park, “We’re here.”
He got out in a swift movement and darted around to help June.
Her feet hit the ground feeling the grains of sand between her sandals and pavement, “Thank you.”
“Can I get you to hold this?”
He handed June two towels.
“Yes.”
She tucked them under her arm and grasped her bag. Wolfgang grabbed a blanket and a cooler and faced her, “What, no kite?”
She smiled.
He laughed, “No, not this time.”
They headed towards the beach with light sand that got darker towards the water. The sand slid in and out of her sandals creating a weird sensation. The beach was corned in by palm trees reaching out to sea, it was small and secluded. “How about over there,”
He pointed to the opposite side of the young family.
“Okay.”
She followed him as quickly as she could with the sand slowing her down. With the breeze coming in with each wave, the sun felt good on her shoulders. The family looked over towards them, waved and Wolfgang waved back.
“Do you know them?”
She asked trotting behind him.
“I know everyone. I’ve been here for twenty nine years.”
“How many people live here?”
“Last time I checked, over fifteen hundred.”
He stopped and placed the cooler down, “Here.”
He handed June a corner and they laid the blanket down. Wolfgang adjusted the cooler onto the blanket and received the towels from June, tossing them down to the other side.
He placed a hand out inviting June to sit, “care to join me?”
“Yes,”
She smiled, sliding out of her shoes and kneeling onto the blanket. The blue water gamboled along the sand as the toddler screamed happily in the distance.
Wolfgang removed his shoes and sat next to June with his legs folded in front of him. She noted that his legs were just as tan as his arms and covered in hair. “Juniper?”
“Wolfgang?”
She responded playfully looking at him.
“Call me Wolfie.”
“Call me June.”
Even though she melted at the way her name poured into his voice.
“Okay, June, would you like a sandwich?”
He opened the cooler.
“Sure Wolfie.”
She grabbed it from his extended hand and peeled back the paper wrapping. “Is this chicken salad sandwiches?”
“Uh, yes?”
He closed the cooler with the second sandwich in hand. “Do you not like-”
“No, it’s fine. My mom used to make them for me, so it’s weird that you made it.”
She took a bite, “This is amazing.”
She didn’t dare say that it was better than her moms.
“Thank you.”
June sat watching the waves roll in and the birds in the sky while quietly eating. Wolfie sat and watched June until they were done and she pulled out her water to take a drink.
“Oh, I brought extra water if you need more.”
He pointed to the cooler.
“Thank you.”
She leaned back on her palms and gazed at him, digging her fingers into the sand for the first time, feeling it. His hair ricocheted against his face as the wind gently blew.
Eyes squinted, he intensely stared at her until she smiled. “What?”
“You’re the one staring.”
She looked up at the bird flying overhead and then back at Wolfgang. “Is this what you like to do for fun?”
“Well, when I’m not being called to let a pretty girl in her house, I like to do a lot of mechanics. I like working with my hands.”
“ Like what?”
June rolled her hips and slid her legs under her and to the side.
“I would like to restore my dads motorcycle, but resources are limited here. Besides, my roommate keeps me busy.”
“Who is your roommate?”
“Max, my coworker.”
“And anyone else?”
“That’s it, just one. We’re in a two bedroom apartment.”
“Oh.”
“How are you liking your roommates?”
He grabbed both paper wrappers and set them in the cooler.
“I really like Brittanya and Whitney. Fade has come over a few times and he’s pretty funny.”
“He’s a good guy and treats Whitney like she’s a saint.”
“I noticed that.”
She bit her lip. “Would you like to put our feet in the water?”
June was curious about what the salt water was like, thinking about actors in movies splashing each other in the shallow end.
“Yeah, we can do that.”
He stood and helped her up. Wolfie peeled his shirt off exposing his sparse but fuzzy chest, his side tattoo of a ship and bicep tattoo of a female lion, they were beautiful. His shoulders rounded on top of stocky biceps and thick forearms.
She copied him and removed her shorts and tee shirt. “What are your tattoos of?”
She could clearly see them but was hoping for the meaning behind them.
“Oh,”
he looked down, “This the lion for my mom, she’s a Leo and into astrology. The galleon is from my dads favorite poem, ‘The Highwayman’.”
They turned to the water, “What does a boat have to do with the highway?”
His knuckles brushed her arm and June wondered how his hand would feel in hers.
“The first line is ‘The wind was a torrent of darkness, among the gusty trees, the moon was a ghostly galleon, tossed upon cloudy seas’.”
“They’re beautiful.”
“I’m not seeing that you have any.”
He took the opportunity to look down at June's body.
She roughly swallowed and halfway lied. “I haven’t thought of one yet.”
Ben always told her how trashy people looked with tattoos. If she had gotten a tattoo she wouldn’t amount to anything. Her feet hit the wet sand and it was cool under her feet. It felt good. The tide rode up, cooling her ankles.
He stepped forward, “If you do, I know a guy.”
"Is it who did yours?"
"Yes, Murphy. He's very talented."
She pointed out to the ocean, “How far can we go?”
All she knew was currents and riptides swept people away to drown them.
He reached his hand out, “Here.”
She grabbed his hand and her legs splashed water at him as she approached. “Well don’t splash me.”
“Afraid to get wet in the ocean?”
June began to tease.
Wolfgang whipped her arm around herself, restraining her arms and lifted her up. “No!”
She screamed as he swooped her down in a baptizing motion. June inhaled as she surfaced, “Wolfie!”
She marched through the water towards the sand.
“Here.”
He extended a hand laughing.
“I don’t want your hand!”
She became stubborn and continued towards the beach.
“June.”
She ignored him, “Juniper!”
She smirked facing away from him, she could hear him following in the water. “What?”
She spun around, looking at him over her shoulder as the sand became dry under her feet.
“I’m sorry, you can throw me in for revenge.”
“Real funny,”
She picked up a towel and wiped her face. “What if I couldn’t swim?”
“I think that would have come up by now.”
He approached the blanket grabbing a water out of the cooler.
“So,”
June sat, “Do you have any ex girlfriends that I should be aware of? Besides Shianne?”
She joked.
“Ha ha.”
He said dryly sitting next to her. “Actually, no.”
“Do you?”
His shoulder bumped into hers, knowing the answer.
Yes, she wanted to tell him, she wanted to tell him everything and nothing, forgetting all about her past. But not now, it wasn’t the right time. “Yes.”
June wanted to be honest with him. She wished he could just know about her and when he does find out, she wants him to understand. She wanted her life to be better everyday from now on and she knew it was going to be hard work but she wanted to be happy. “I dated someone for a few years before coming here.”
“He’s not going to come here and beat me up is he?”
“No,”
She laughed and lied, “I ended things.”
The cool breeze rolled in with each wave. She could feel the sun begin to heat her skin again. Wolfie leaned back on one palm behind June. His movement alerted her and she looked over at him closer to her. His warm breath stroked her lips, rolling off her cheeks as he inched closer. She pulled away teasingly, followed by a laugh dropping to the sand. He chuckled at the sound of her laughter, gravitating down towards her. Wolfgang hovering over, his dry hair hung over June's wet ponytail. She laid there, letting her blue eyes burrow into Wolfie’s giving him the okay he needed and his face crashed into hers. His nose brushed along Junipers and his beard tickled her cheeks and chest. Her hands found the back of his head, velvet in texture. Wolfgang’s lips parted and June mimicked him as his tongue grazed her lip. She became startled and placed a hand on his chest, softly pushing him away.
The setting was perfect and the magnetic pull between them was taking over. Wolfie felt safe to June and she convinced herself it wasn’t lust, due to the fact that she was trying not to date being the new girl on the island. She felt she had some healing to do. Ben wasn't there but he was still playing a part in her conscious mind. A beautiful natural act like kissing, became horrifying. She couldn’t take it that far. Not now.
Taking the hint, he sat up, “ Do you have plans tonight?”
Gaining eye contact with him as she lifted off the sand, she responded, “No.”
and brushed the sand off her shoulders.
“Would you want to do something?”
“We’re doing something now.”
She hugged her knees.
“I meant tonight.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Like what?”
“I have two movie passes, They’re playing one of my favorites tonight.”
“They have a movie theater here?”
“Yes?”
“Okay,”
That sounds fun. June worried that he was slightly reserved because she pushed him away and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek.
Wolfgang smiled looking back at her.