Page 49 of Sea La Vie
The ferry dumps us and a few other brave souls off at Cape Lookout an hour later. I follow Lainey up to a small, weather-beaten cabin. “Be right back.” She hands me Midge’s leash then disappears inside, and I watch as she greets the older man behind the counter. A few minutes later, she waves goodbye and steps back into the sunshine, twirling a set of keys around her finger. “He’s my dad’s second cousin or something like that,” she explains. “He always lets me rent for free.”
She hits the unlock button and scans the Jeeps available until a candy apple red one lights up. Its top and doors are already off and Lainey slides behind the wheel, Midge jumping in behind her.
“What if I wanted to drive?” I ask, playfully.
“Tate, do you happen to remember swerving to avoid hitting a squirrel and demolishing the underside of your car?” Lainey says, arching an eyebrow.
“Touché,” I answer, but in reality I’m thinking that the squirrel, flat tire, and broken control arm are the best things that have ever happened to me. Because looking at Lainey right now with her sun-bleached blonde hair floating around her tan shoulders, Ray-Ban aviators slipping down her freckled nose, and overall strap dangling down her arm, I can’t help but think…this is what I want.Thisis what I’ve been missing out on.
“You ready, City Boy?” Without waiting for my answer, she hits the gas and we’re off, trailing down the hazy beach. We cruise along and I admire the dunes, some as tall as a house. On my other side, a shrimp boat floats along, pelicans yapping overhead. Finally, Lainey slows then shifts the Jeep into park.
“This is it,” she says. “The best place on the entire east coast to find sea glass and conch shells.”
We walk side by side along the beach, the waves gently lapping at our toes. Midge runs freely ahead of us, stopping to stick her nose in the sand and dig every few feet. The gray sky has dropped the water's temperature and Lainey kicks at it with a bare foot, droplets spraying against my shins. “Days like today make me question what I’m even doing,” she mumbles.
“What do you mean?”
“I had big plans of getting out there today and catching something, anything, to sell and keep us afloat. The weather looked so promising all day yesterday but then I woke up this morning to a monsoon. Some days I just want to throw it all in the bucket.”
“You can do that, you know? You don’t have to be the glue that holds every little piece of everyone’s life together,” I say as gently as I can.
“You don’t understand,” she says softly. “Ihaveto keep this business afloat until Dad can get back out there, because if I don’t, everything my parents worked so hard for goes up in flames. Dad’s got competition out there that’s ready to fill his spot as soon as they can. Some long time customers have already started buying from other boats. I just need to get him through this season.”
“I understand that,” I say. “That’s tough, Lain. I’m sorry. I wish there was something I could do to help.”
She gives me a shy smile. “Honestly, you just being here is a big help. I feel like we slipped right back in time, and I don’t know what I’m going to do when you’re gone. I haven’t felt like this in who knows how long.” Her cheeks and chest grow pink, and she pushes her Ray-Bans up into her hair. “I feel like I’m a kid again, living one day to the next in an endless summer with you.”
I take her hand in mine and smile when she squeezes back. “I’ve enjoyed being here, Lainey.” I bend down and pick up a piece of blue glass worn smooth on the edges and show it to her. “Is this what we’re looking for?”
Lainey squeals and takes it from my hand. “Yes! Look. If you flip it this way, it almost looks like a heart. It’s a little broken but still beautiful.” She admires it for a second more, then tries to hand it back, but I shake my head and close her palm around it.
“No, it’s yours.”
“No, it’s not. You found it,” she insists, trying to force it back into my hand.
“I want you to have my heart, Lain.” She snorts through a smile, and I realize the way it sounds. I start walking backwards, facing her and she picks up her pace until she’s chasing me. I’m mesmerized by her smile and her laughter that floats above the sound of the waves, when my foot gets caught on something. Lainey doesn’t stop in time and topples over me in the sand. “I am so sorry,” she giggles, her face buried in my neck.
“This wouldn’t have happened if you’d just taken my heart,” I tease. “Don’t you want it? It’s a little broken, but still beautiful.” I repeat her words, and suddenly the mood shifts.
She lifts her head, and her waves tumble around her face only to be picked back up again by the wind. When her eyes meet mine, the world stands still. I can’t hear the ocean in the background or the seagulls flying around us. All I hear is her when she says, “Yes, I think I’d like that very much, actually,” so softly I almost miss it.
“Me too,” I say. My eyes trail down her face until they land on her lips. She tugs her bottom one in between her teeth and gives me a nervous smile. “Is it okay…” I trail off. “If it’s not, it’s totally fine and we can pretend this never happened.”
“You know, you really need to work on your skills. You’re not very smooth,” she says through a smirk I’d love to kiss away.“The octopus, the jellyfish, running into Eden’s display and knocking all the books over—”
I hold a finger to her lips. “You want smooth, Lainey? I can show you smooth.” I hook an arm around her waist and flip her over.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” Lainey smiles underneath me and nods. I lean down next to her ear. “I can’t hear you,” I tease, softly.
“I’d really like for you to kiss me,” she whispers then pulls my chin closer to hers. Our lips are only a fraction apart, our foreheads pressed together. “Please.”
Our lips meet softly at first, a kiss to test the waters, before we’re crashing into each other like the fierce waves behind us. Lainey hums softly, and I can feel her smile when I brush a strand of hair back from her neck and pepper kisses there too.
I never thought I’d be able tofeelsomeone else’s smile but it’s a sensation so completely foreign and wonderful; it’s unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that,” I say, when we break apart.
“I think I do, actually,” she says. “I’ve thought about kissing you like that for a decade.”
