Chapter 34
After that, I spent every evening at the Greenfields’.
Most of the time, I’d go over right after eating dinner and sit down by the fire, next to Vince and Laurie, and we’d talk about the day.
I would tell them about training and hear about how things were coming along with the hostel.
I found out that the blankets and pillows had been delivered, and that the rooms were ready.
That more and more requests were coming in, and Laurie and Vince had their hands full with answering all the emails.
Sometimes we would listen to music, and sometimes Vince would even pull out his guitar.
Laurie and I would hum along or just listen to the soft sounds as they drifted across the terrace.
The deep bass tones vibrated in my belly.
And not infrequently I caught myself thinking about taking Vince’s guitar out of his hands and climbing onto his lap.
Prying his fingers off the neck and putting them around my waist. Pressing my mouth to his and kissing him.
Not that we weren’t doing that all the time.
Whenever Laurie would step inside to get something to drink or go to the bathroom, our lips would meet to steal a kiss, our hands for soft caresses.
All the secrecy wasn’t necessary, but we enjoyed keeping what was going on between us a little hidden.
Which didn’t stop me from leaning my head on his shoulder when I got tired.
From nestling against his chest when the wind picked up.
Sometimes I could feel Laurie’s eyes on us.
Not critical, but watchful. Observant. Nevertheless, every night she was always the first to go to bed.
Leaving us alone on the terrace. With all our pent-up feelings.
The tension. It usually didn’t take long for it to be released.
For us to be making out on the patio sofa, hands slipping under clothes and exploring each other’s naked skin inch by inch.
Sometimes we would change locations and go to his room, to touch, caress, and tease.
It was exciting, this getting to know each other.
Full of promise. Even if every day it took more and more willpower to free myself from his embrace at a reasonable hour and go home.
To sleep in my own bed and get at least eight hours of sleep, which my body desperately needed.
“Sure it’s already that late, Cinderella?” Vince mumbled as I sat up and straightened my clothes. The bed felt as old as the house and creaked with every movement.
“It’s half past ten. I should’ve been in bed at least an hour ago.”
“You’ve been lying in bed for an hour.”
A faint grin flitted across my lips. “Yeah, but in the wrong one.”
“Depends on your perspective.” He smiled and propped himself up on an elbow.
The light was dim but bright enough to see how messy his hair was. Thanks to me. My hands.
“You ever feel like you’re missing something? Just out of curiosity,” he said. “I’d definitely get a case of FOMO if I went to bed every night at nine.”
“I’m not in bed every night at nine, thank you. But restful sleep is important if you want to perform at your best.”
God, that sounded like something straight out of a textbook. I was almost surprised that he didn’t make fun of me for it. Instead, he seemed to be thinking about something.
“Per week, you are awake around fifteen hours less than me. That’s nuts.”
Although his comment sounded more fascinated than critical, I couldn’t help but feel cornered.
“I don’t think I’m missing much.”
He wiggled his eyebrows. “You want me to show you otherwise?”
With a snort I rolled my eyes and swung my legs out of bed. When I moved to stand up, he held me softly back.
“You could sleep here.”
“I…”
“Really sleep, I mean. Where you go to bed at nine doesn’t matter, does it?” He smiled.
“I don’t go… Listen, it’s got to do with the quality of sleep.”
“And my mattress doesn’t fit the bill?”
“The mattress isn’t the problem.” I bent forward and gave him a smack of a kiss. “But the one who’s on it.”
“I’m not a blanket stealer, if that’s what you’re afraid of.”
“No.”
“I don’t snore either.”
“That’s what everyone says.”
“I don’t talk in my sleep.”
“Did the woman who sleeps next to you tell you that?” I teased, and he laughed. I joined in and suddenly it felt like we had known each other forever. As if it was completely natural for us to be teasing each other. It was nice, but also a little scary.
“I wouldn’t want to sleep if I was next to you in bed.
I’d…” I paused mid-sentence, but the look on his face told me that he understood.
Want to sleep with you. We hadn’t taken that step yet.
The big one. The last one. I knew it was up to me.
That Vince had left it up to me. And that it was okay if I didn’t.
If I didn’t want to have sex without a future.
If I didn’t want to sleep with someone who would be completely out of my life in two weeks.
I liked that about him too. That he accepted my decisions and respected my boundaries.
“I’ll walk you home,” he said, and stood up.
We took the path along the beach, just like yesterday and the day before.
Maybe it was more romantic. Or longer. It delayed our goodbye just a little bit more.
The moon was nothing more than a crescent, surrounded by thousands of stars that lit up the sky.
Bathed the ocean in silver light. The water was calm.
Only a soft rustling announced that it was there at all.
“As for tomorrow evening,” he began as we neared Kay’s house, “I’ve got a surf date with the others.”
“No problem. We don’t have to stick to each other every single night.” I made a face, though, to be honest, I kind of liked sticking to him.
“Actually, I wanted to ask if you’d like to come along.”
“Oh,” I said in surprise.
“You could watch. Or try it out again, if you want.”
“Are you sure?”
“Why? Is there anything against it?”
“Well, I mean, you haven’t done anything with your friends in a while, and I don’t want to get in the way.”
“You’re not.”
“Do they see things the same as you do?”
We stopped at the foot of the stairs. The sand was still warm from the day’s sun, but the deeper I sank my toes into it, the cooler it became. I liked the feeling.
“Of course,” he said nonchalantly. “And, in any event, they know that it’s just…” He broke off, and I felt a slight stab in my heart. “That you’ll be leaving soon.”
“When are you meeting?” I asked to distract myself from all the conflicting emotions: fear, anticipation, nervousness, tension, concern, sadness.
“Three-thirty. That way we’ll still have a few hours before the sun goes down.”
“That’ll be tight. But I could catch up with you later if you won’t be too far away.”
“Fifteen minutes. Tops. I’ll send you the address.”
“Cool.”
“Maybe Laurie will want to come now that you’ll be there too.”
“That would be great. She wanted to see me train anyway. Maybe we could go together afterward.”
“Laurie’s gonna watch you train?”
“Yeah, that’s what I was talking to her about earlier today out on the terrace.”
“You all talk about so much stuff.” He sighed.
Making an exaggerated show of outrage, I gasped for air and moved to slap his cheek, but he intercepted my hand and wrapped his fingers in mine.
“Should I watch you sometime too?” he whispered.
“I don’t think that’d be a good idea.”
“Because of your godmother?”
I shook my head and grinned. “Because it would be impossible for me to concentrate.”
The next moment he’d pulled me against him. Our lips met in a tender kiss, and a feeling of warmth flowed through me. I closed my eyes and leaned my head against his shoulder. With a deep breath, I inhaled his scent.
“So, see you tomorrow?” he asked, once we’d separated after what felt like half an eternity.
“Hmm,” I murmured dreamily.
He nodded contentedly. “Then good night, Cinderella.”
“Why Cinderella?”
“Because you always take off at the most wonderful moment.” He smiled, and right then I couldn’t have taken my eyes off him even if fireworks had lit up the sky.
I smiled and planted one last kiss upon his lips.
* * *
With a rapturous smile and wobbly knees, I made it up the stairs to the house a short time later.
On the last few steps, I heard voices and paused.
Only fragments reached my ear, but it was clearly a kind of argument.
And if I wasn’t mistaken, the second voice belonged to Gabe.
What was he doing here so late? Just as I reached the top of the stairs, I saw him disappear into the house.
Kay was sitting at the table, staring at her almost empty wineglass.
A second one was right next to it. It took me a moment to assess the situation, but I quickly felt like a voyeur.
Clearing my throat, I drew attention to myself. Kay looked up.
“Hey,” I said hesitantly.
She forced a smile. “Hello.”
“Was that Gabe just a moment ago?” I asked carefully.
“Yeah, he…dropped by.”
“Did you all have an argument?”
She blinked.
“Sorry, it was kind of impossible to miss.”
Instead of replying, she finished off her wine. “Did you have a nice evening?”
“Yeah,” I said, unsure of whether to let her get away with it or not. “What were you arguing about?”
“Oh”—she waved her hand—“nothing.”
Even though I knew it wasn’t any of my business, I couldn’t let it go.
“Didn’t sound like nothing.”
“Lou.” She sighed.
“Why are you so dead set against it?”
Her eyes narrowed almost imperceptibly. “What?”
“It’s so obvious that there’s something between you two. You and Gabe.”
“There’s nothing there.” She looked off to the side.
“Why not? You laugh a lot more often when he’s around. And when he looks at you, then…”
“Lou!” she interrupted more sharply than usual.
“You and I are not about to start discussing my love life.” Her look made it clear that she wasn’t going to go into detail about what the argument had been about, so I let it go.
“I’m going to bed,” she said, reaching for the empty glasses. “Good night.”
“Good night,” I mumbled, but she was already gone.