My steps faltered. “All of them?”
“All of them. Gina and I couldn’t figure out what to do one night when we saw a flyer for your first concert in the park. We figured what the hell. If it sucked, we could always find something else to do.”
“Glad to hear we don’t suck.”
“Not at all. I’m surprised you’re still going to school.”
“One thing my dad taught me was to always have a backup plan.”
“And what’s the backup plan?”
“Finance.” I couldn’t stop the eye roll.
It was Christine’s turn to stumble over her own two feet and stop. Her eyes moved down to my toes and back up again.
“Why would you study finance? I thought you were the lead singer of a band. Can’t really see you as the financial advisor type.”
“Oh no?”
“Not in the least.” She started forward again. “The tattoos on your forearms could be covered up with a shirt, but I’m thinking you wouldn’t want to part with the brow and tongue piercings.”
“You would be right.”
“So then why finance?”
“Mainly to deal with my own contracts when and if we ever get one.”
“And I’m guessing music is your other major.”
“Yep. And who says I’m still going to school?”
She opened her mouth to answer, but then stopped as we stepped down over the dunes and her gaze caught the sun sitting low on the horizon, reflecting off the water.
“It’s beautiful.”
5
When we walked close enough to the water to see it, but not get wet, I set down the bag and pulled out the blanket, laying it out on the cool sand.
Thank God.
I couldn’t deny the small bit of fear that every hoop I’d jumped through to get us here would be flushed down the toilet if she hated the idea of a picnic on the beach.
“You’ve never been here?”
“I have. I grew up about an hour from here, but I never bothered to come here when the season was over. Normally it’s just an overcrowded mess of people. This is much better than that.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
I opened up the small cooler I’d brought along and started pulling out the variety of things I packed. “I wasn’t sure what you liked to eat, so I brought a little bit of everything.”
Christine sat down cross-legged on the blanket. “There isn’t much I don’t like besides sushi.”
“Good thing I skipped that then.” I winked. “I don’t like it either.”
I opened the container of fruit and the other with cheese and crackers.
“This looks perfect.” Christine picked up a strawberry and popped it into her mouth.
“I also have sandwiches. What do you want to drink?”
“What do you have?”
“Water, iced tea, soda.”
“Iced tea, please.”
I grabbed a bottle of iced tea and twisted off the cap before handing it to her.
“Thanks.” She took a sip and watched me. “Let’s go back to the conversation where you majored in something besides music.”
I popped a piece of cheese in my mouth. “I completed a major in finance and a minor in music. As much as I want Violet Obsession to be successful, I’m also realistic.”
“You don’t think you guys will make it?”
“It’s not that I don’t think we’ll make it. It’s a one in a million chance and there’s no rhyme or reason with why some make it and some don’t. I don’t want to be some aging guitar player who never made it with nothing to fall back on.”
She put the cap back onto the bottle and picked at the label. “You want security.”
“Yeah, I do. But that seems to surprise you.”
She laughed, but it lacked a humorous tone. “You’re twenty-two years old, right?” I nodded. “Well, most people at twenty-two don’t look past their dreams. They believe that their dreams will come true and don’t have any plans if they don’t.”
I shook my head. “Not me. I know my dreams are gonna be hard as hell to obtain. Not that I won’t bust my ass to make it happen, but I wanted something in case it doesn’t.”
“Which makes a lot of sense, but why finance?”
I chuckled. “That’s a little bit more complicated of an answer. The first part is that my dad works in finance, so it made sense. He owns his own financial firm.” I shrugged. “I knew there would be a job if or when I needed it.”
“What’s the second part?”
“I figured it would make me better at dealing with money and our contracts if we did make it someday.”
“Very wise, Aiden Cormack, very wise.”
I smiled and reached into the cooler, pulling out a container of grapes, and held it out to her. “Now I want to know a little bit more about you.”
She sat up and took it. “What do you want to know?”
“First, you said you were only about an hour from here. Where is that?”
“About an hour north of here. What about you?”
“California.”
“I guess we couldn’t get any farther apart.”
“Probably not, but I’m on this side of the country now.”
“That you are. Long way to come for a finance degree.”
I reached into the cooler to get a water for myself. “Yes, but one of the few places that would let me have such an opposite major and minor.” I leaned back and rested my elbows on the blanket. “Right now, it seems like I made the right decision.”
“I guess we’ll see.”
I took a few plates out of the cooler and unpacked the rest of the food. I handed her a plate and let her fill it.
“So tell me, what are you going to school for?”
“I’m studying to be a therapist.”
My eyes popped open. “Wow, that’s got to be a lot of work.”
“It is, but it’ll all be worth it in the end.”
“I bet it will be.”
I picked up a handful of grapes and popped them into my mouth. The sunlight reflected off the honey color of her hair, giving it a golden sheen in the light.
We both lay there watching as the sun dipped lower in the horizon. And I couldn’t help but think how perfect this night was turning out to be. I’d been worried when I first set everything up, but it had all worked out in the end.
The soft sounds of the waves lapping at the shore were the only thing I could hear as we both ate what was on our plates. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable. In fact, it was the exact opposite. I didn’t feel the need to fill the space with meaningless conversation. We could simply enjoy the sunset.
Christine finished the food on her plate and set it back on the blanket. She rolled to her side to face me.
“What was it like growing up in California?” She laughed. “I have this image from TV shows and movies and I’m so curious to know if that’s what it’s really like.”
“You’ve never been to California?”
“Nope, can’t say that I have. I’ve been to every state on the East Coast. My mom never liked to fly, so even a trip to Disney World was done in the family minivan.”
“Think of what it’s like here in May and early June. Hot but not humid. Beautiful ocean breezes and cool nights.”
She closed her eyes and let the light breeze blow the hair off her face. “Sounds perfect.”
“It can be, but the fall is pretty amazing here. I like watching the leaves change colors. I don’t see that back home.”
“Yeah, until those beautiful leaves fall off the trees and your mom makes you spend your Saturday helping rake them off the lawn.”
“Okay, I can’t say that sounds like fun.”
“Not really, but summer sun all year round and no snow sounds pretty perfect.”
I shrugged. “Sometimes. Why not go to school out there then? I know a few good schools that have therapy programs. Greenville is where my best friend Jackson went.”
“My whole family is here.” She looked away. “Let’s just say I’m not the greatest at meeting new people, if you didn’t notice by the first time you approached me.”
My mouth dropped open. “Really? I thought you were making me work for it. Gina also said that you’d been hurt.”
She shook her head. “I’m gonna kill her.” Christine sighed. “She’s right, though, but that’s not all of it. I’m pretty shy most of the time.”
“I have to say I never would’ve guessed that. You didn’t seem shy at all when I saw you again at the show the other night.”
Her face turned an adorable shade of pink. “That was with Gina by my side and an hour practicing what I would say to you in front of the mirror.” She covered her face with her hands. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I just admitted that out loud.”
I reached over and took one her hands in mine. “Don’t be embarrassed. At least I know it was worth the effort.”
“So far it has been.”
Our gazes connected, heat and passion between us. Sparks drew us closer together. I slowly lowered my head, giving her the chance to say no. When she didn’t, I pressed my lips against hers, taking in my first taste of Christine.
Berries and vanilla invaded my senses, as I cupped her jaw. Not wanting to push my luck, I moved back, breaking our connection.
Christine’s eyes were unfocused as she lifted her fingers to her lips. “I’ve never had a first kiss like that before.”
She took the words right out of my mouth. My fingers and toes tingled from the simple connection of our mouths. It was something I never expected. Not with just a kiss. I lay back on the blanket, resting my arm behind my head at a complete loss for words.
As a musician who spent his days writing lyrics for songs, being speechless was such an unusual position for me to be in.
I opened my arms, trying to say without words exactly how Christine made me feel in that moment. Just like I hoped Christine moved forward and rested her head on my chest to watch the last slivers of sun.
“Thanks for bringing me here.”
“Thanks for saying yes.”
As the sun dipped below the horizon, I ran my fingers lightly up and down her back. When the last rays of light fell below the water and darkness began to take over, Christine pushed up to sit.
“I guess we should leave the beach.” Her eyes were focused on the blanket below us as a sigh slipped past her lips.
She wrapped her arms around herself and shivered.
“Or we could go grab that cup of coffee on the way back to campus and get you warmed up.” I laid my hands on her arms, rubbing up and down.
She lifted an eyebrow at me. “Since you did so well with your first plan and even though I have a paper to work on, I’m not ready to go home yet.”
The wind whipped past, sending a chill through me. “Then let’s get this packed up and back in the car. I always forget how cool the nights get once the sun goes down.”
She started covering the containers. “You always sing in a T-shirt of some kind. Aren’t you cold on stage?”
I collected the plates and put them in the cooler along with the empty drinks bottles. “Not really. It gets really hot up there, so usually the warmest shirt I ever wear is a long-sleeved T-shirt.”
After shaking the sand out of the blanket, I folded it up and placed it under my arm, picking the cooler up with the other.
“Let’s go.”
With her arms wrapped around herself to keep warm, we made our way back to the car. The door shut behind me and Christine laid her hand on mine.
“Thanks for a pretty perfect first date.”
The cold from her fingers seeped through my skin and I covered her hand with mine to heat hers up.
“You’re welcome. Now let’s go get you warmed up.”
6
I held the door to the coffee shop open, the aroma of the dark roast hitting me as soon as I stepped inside. Christine glanced over her shoulder with a smile. “I like this place.”
“Me too. It’s a great place to go to get away from campus.”
“Yes. I like to come here when I need caffeine and quiet.”
I led her over to one of the empty tables in the corner. “I come here to write lyrics.”
She sat down and stared up at me. “I thought you graduated.”
“I did. But this place has my favorite coffee.”
A smirk pulled at the corner of her lips. “So you come all the way back to campus for a coffee shop?”
“You could say that.” I threw a thumb over my shoulder. “How about I order our drinks and we can talk more?”
She inclined her head like a regal queen. I wanted to know everything I hadn’t learned earlier in the night.
“Okay.”
“What can I get you?”
She ran her fingers over the top of the table, following the patterns in the wood. “I’ll take a salted caramel mocha.”
“Anything to eat?”
She shrugged. “I guess if they have any double chocolate muffins.”
“Okay, I’ll be right back.”
I walked up to the counter where a guy, a little shorter than me, stood behind it.
“Can I help you?”
I scanned the display case. “Yeah, can I get a salted caramel mocha, a dark roast black, and two double chocolate muffins?”
“Sure.” I handed him enough to cover the drink and dropped a few dollars in the tip jar. The guy moved behind the case and pulled out two muffins. “Here’s the muffins. We’ll call you as soon as the drinks are ready.”
“Thanks.” I picked up the small white bakery bag and moved through the tables to where Christine sat waiting. “Here’s your muffin. The drinks should be ready in a few minutes.”
I pushed the bag toward her and let her pull out one of the muffins first. “Couldn’t resist one of your own?”
“Nope, they looked delicious.”
She passed the bag back, and I grabbed out my own muffin. “So let’s start with the easy questions while we wait for the drinks.”
“What do you want to know?” She broke off a piece of the muffin and popped it into her mouth.
I thought about starting with the more serious questions, but I decided I wanted to make her laugh a little bit more. There was something addictive about her laugh.
“Hmm. What’s your favorite movie?”
A light, easy laugh left her lips, exactly the one I wanted to hear. “Of all the questions you can ask me, you choose my favorite movie?”
“Yep, so what is it?”
“I guess I’d have to say Twister. What about you?”
I broke off a piece of the muffin and winked at her before popping it into my mouth. “I gotta say Twister is not what I expected. Mine would definitely be The Doors.
“Fitting. Very fitting.”
“Tell me about your family. You said you grew up near here. Do your parents still live there? What about brothers and sisters?”
“My mom and stepdad still live there. I have a younger brother, Kyle.”
“How much younger?”
“About four years. He’s a senior in high school. He’s going to college next year to study Biology.”
“You say it like it’s a bad thing.”
“No, but I don’t think it’s what he actually wants to do with his life.” She twisted her cup around in her hand.
“What do you mean?”
“Kyle loves art. He’s really talented, but he gave it all up to pursue a degree in Biology.”
I shrugged. “You’re talking to a guy who got his degree in finance instead of music.”
“Yeah, but this isn’t his backup plan. Art is.”
“Are you guys close?”
“We’ve always been close, at least until I told him his decision was dumb and he’d regret not going to Art school.”
I popped a piece of muffin into my mouth. “Not sure that was the best way to deal with it. Did you ask him why
biology?”
“It’s amazing how well you can read me so quickly.” A light pink tinted her cheeks. “Not exactly. I tried to play the wiser big sister card on him.”
“Maybe you should talk to him.”
“Maybe I will.” She sat thoughtfully, staring at the table.
“Okay, enough sibling therapy, tell me about your parents.”
She laughed. “Not much to tell. They still live in the same house I grew up in. Dad owns his construction business.”
“What about your stepdad?”
“Oh, sorry. When I say Dad, I mean my stepdad. I haven’t seen my real dad in years.
I really wanted to ask more about her dad, but by the shadowed look in her eyes when she mentioned him, now wasn’t the time.
“And your mom?”
“My mom’s a real estate agent. Works out good for them.”
“I bet. Do they flip houses?”
“They’ve done a few. I think they watch too many house flipping shows.” She laughed and picked at her muffin. “Do you miss living in California?”
“Salted caramel mocha and a dark roast,” the barista called out.
I threw my thumb over my shoulder. “Let me grab our drinks and I’ll come back and answer your question.”
She narrowed her eyes, but only until the smile pulled at the corner of her lips. “Okay.”
I left the table and raced across the café. I didn’t want to leave Christine alone with her question. Spending time with her was quickly becoming an addiction I didn’t want to quit.
I grabbed both cups and weaved through the tables, doing my best not to spill the hot liquid on my hands. The sweet scent of the caramel came from my left hand, and without looking at the label on the cup I set the left one in front of her.
She inhaled deeply. “Mm…they make the best salted caramel.” She wrapped both hands around the cup then returned her focus to me. “You were saying.”
Somehow my instincts about Christine seemed to be right. She was curious and wouldn’t let her question go unanswered.
“I was.” I took a sip of the coffee, savoring the taste on my tongue. “I miss it out there. The sun on your face in the fall. Surfing. Living closer to the beach. All of it. But mostly I miss my family and friends.”
First and Always: The Forever Duet Page 4