Page 41 of Goodbye To Tomorrow

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said leaning down to give her a quick hug before making my way to the bathroom where I turned the tap on, splashed water on my face and wiped my face with a paper towel. I turned, jumping up in the air when I saw Nadia standing by the doorway. I hadn’t even heard my best friend come in.

I placed my hand against my chest. “What are you doing?”

“Waiting for you to finish,” Nadia responded calmly.

“You should have let me know you were standing there or something. Jeez, Nadia. You gave me a fright,” I said as I walked towards the trash can to dispose of the paper towel.

“So, you’re meeting him again, aren’t you?” Nadia prodded as she followed me.

“Yeah. We’re going out sightseeing. You know, to see the local vegetable markets and some of the other places that he has in mind.

“Well, you’ll call me if anything happens, won’t you?” Nadia said as I followed my best friend to the door of the café.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you later, okay?” I said and parted ways.

Jiraiya was waiting for me out front when I returned. He looked up from where he was leaning against the side of his vehicle. I had texted him and told him I was on my way. Once our eyes met, he smiled. My heart skipped a beat as I returned his smile.

“Hey,” he greeted.

“Hey. Have you been waiting for me for long?” I asked.

“No, not at all,” Jiraiya said as he pulled me in for a hug. I shivered as my body tingled from the contact of his arms around me. "Shall we go?” he asked.

“Yes,” I readily responded.

Just as I had hoped, Jiraiya took my hand in his and led me around to the passenger side of his car. We hopped inside his car and I turned toward him, ready to ask where we were going first.

"We’re still doing what we planned last night,” Jiraiya nodded before he glanced at me. “Unless you want to do something else? I put your beach bag in the car already,” he added.

“No, no. It’s fine and thank you. I haven’t had the chance to get out much lately anyway.”

He grinned. “All right, then. Let’s go.”

*****

As soon as we reached the beach, Jiraiya walked out and opened the car door for me. I thanked him as I looked around at the surroundings, breathing in the familiar salty scent of the ocean.

“You seem to love being around water," I said amusedly.

“Yeah,” Jiraiya responded with a lopsided grin on his handsome face.

“I used to like coming to the beach with Gracen. It was one of the things that we liked to do.”

“Oh, I thought you just came here when you needed to clear your head,” I responded, surprised.

“No,” he shook his head. “Gracen and I liked playing in the water, water skiing and other fun activities. I can’t believe how much of my life revolved around her.”

“Do you miss all that? Do you miss, Gracen?”

“Yes, I miss the competitive sports. It kills me not to be able to do all the things that I used to do. I feel like a damned cripple. But no, I don’t miss Gracen anymore. Gracen was shallow and not loyal when the times got rough,” he responded.

Jiraiya locked the car doors and came to walk by my side, sliding his fingers through mine, and pulling me towards the water’s edge. I bit my bottom lip, fighting back the smile that threatened to spill over my face. I felt like a teenager on my first date with the boy I really liked. Jiraiya made me feel emotions no one had ever made me feel before, and I didn’t know whether I should be scared of the alien feelings rushing over me. I was particularly happy that he didn’t miss Gracen anymore.

“It’s so beautiful here,” I said, gazing out at the beach.

“What is it?” Jiraiya asked as he turned toward me.

“I was just thinking how the water looks so inviting. I wanted to go for a swim before, but now it looks rather cold.”

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