Page 30 of The Soul that Redeems Me
“I would love to go swimming. I wasn’t expecting the heat down here.” I said as I went inside and changed quickly, not wanting to miss a moment with him.
Hand in hand we walked the few blocks to the beach with Jake following closely behind. Josh told me which lot was owned by whom and who they’d heard planned on not rebuilding. I suggested that his parents buy a vacant lot to extend their property and Josh laughed, telling me they already had the lots on both sides of them in negotiations with the departing owners.
As we approached the sand, I took a deep breath and blew it out, the stress immediately leaving my body as I felt the warm grains push between my toes. The smell of the salt air was refreshing to my busy brain as we strolled the water’s edge, the waves licking at our feet, cooling me, but not my desire for Josh.
“I like to come here when life gets too much for me. After my parents adopted me, I was a bit of a handful. I was respectful like my Granny had taught me but it was hard for me to unwind. I was always afraid something bad was going to happen, and I was always on alert. Too many years of chasing my mother… They bought the house down here and brought me every weekend and most of the summer. I would swim, bike, fish, kayak. Hell, anything to keep my mind occupied until I finally broke down and told them my secret…
“It was here that I felt like I could breathe again. I could come out here and shout at the ocean… my fears, my worries… my anger at being left alone. Dad would come out here and we would talk for hours, him telling me about his youth and how he used to be rebellious. I think he wanted me to know there was redemption from our pasts…a chance to start over and leave the pain where it belonged… with the memories. I wanted to bring you to the place I found my center in hopes you could find yours.” He halted our footsteps with a tug of his hand.
We turned out facing the setting sun and I found myself wrapped in his arms, surrounded by love. I looked up into his eyes as he smiled down at me. Reaching up, I kissed him with the passion all I was feeling for him. I poured every bit of love I had for him into this perfect moment, the sky turning deep pink and orange, as the sun fell beyond the horizon and night was ushered in.
Breaking our kiss, I pulled back as he leaned in and placed his forehead against mine. I loved when he did that to me, connecting our heads, bonding our souls with the simple expression of affection.
We walked back to the lot before we lost the last of the light, Josh explaining it wasn’t safe with no power on this side of the beach yet. They had been working diligently trying to restore the power but with no homes inhabitable, there was only so much they could do.
Making our way to the travel trailer, Josh fired up the generator and plugged in a cord, the entire outside became lit by hanging lights I had just noticed were strung on the tiny mobile home. He started a fire and grabbed a grate from the kitchen supplies while I got chairs and a small table set up for us. Jake was happily chewing on a rawhide bone Thomas had packed in the supplies, oblivious to what we were doing.
Watching Josh cook dinner for us over an open flame, outside under the stars, was making my heart swoon. He’s the most caring man I’d ever met, always striving to make sure everyone he loves was taken care of. I found myself walking the short distance to him and placing my arms around his waist, my head resting against his back as he stroked my arms.
I stepped back as he turned and pulled me into his hard body, his mouth gently sweeping against mine before he winked and went back to grilling our steaks. I smiled at him before disappearing into the kitchen to finished the sides for dinner.
After we ate, we turned off the generator and sat by the fire, no words exchanged, our eyes turned up at the millions of stars visible with no lights around.
“I feel like we are on a deserted island or we are the last two people on earth. No sounds, no people, no lights. I could get used to this kind of solitude,” I said into the night sky.
“Any time you want to be here, just say the word and I’ll make it happen.” His finger reached over and turned my head toward him as he slowly kissed me.
“Are we sleeping out here tonight?” I asked when he released me from his soul-consuming kiss.
“We can sleep wherever you want but we may get bitten by mosquitos if we don’t sleep in the tent. I have a two-person sleeping bag, two singles, or we have the bed inside.” He explained.
“Tent, outside, two-person sleeping bag. I want to spend the night in your arms under the stars,” I said into his smiling face.
“I love you, Emily.”
“I love you too, Josh.”
He got up and began to set up the tent, insisting he didn’t need any help. Finally conceding it was too dark, he turned the generator back on and had the tent erected in no time at all. I pulled the sleeping bags out from inside and zipped them together, meaning what I said about being in his arms all night.
Turning the generator back off, we were cast into the silence, the sounds of the waves breaking on shore could be heard from where we were. He placed the giant sleeping bag inside the tent using the two singles as padding against the sand and hard ground.
We sat around the fire for a little while longer before a yawn overtook me and I found myself suddenly sleepy. We made our way into the tent and looked at each other shyly before I took the plunge and removed my shirt and pants, leaving me in a tank top and my panties. Josh stripped off his shirt and shorts, his boxers tented from his erection. This was the most undressed I had ever witnessed Josh and I was excited and scared at the possibilities
We crawled into bed and I curled into his chest, his strong arm wrapped around me as we were lulled to sleep to the sound of the ocean waves. Jake, my faithful guard dog, asleep at our feet.
