The Moment We Began (A Fairhope New Adult Romance)

by Sarra Cannon

  I step into the waves, then jump back when the cold water splashes against my feet and ankles.

  “Brrr. That’s colder than I thought it would be. I thought the Gulf of Mexico was supposed to be warmer water.”

  “It is warmer,” he says. “It just feels cold because the sand was so hot.”

  Another wave breaks and rushes toward us. I squeal and run around him, heading back to the warm sand. Now that I’m wet, the sand sticks to me.

  “Wimp,” he says. He moves toward me and before I realize what he’s doing, he lifts me over his shoulder and runs toward the water.

  “No!” I scream, kicking and giggling.

  I expect him to stop when he reaches the water, but he doesn’t. He keeps going, running in slow motion through the waves until they cover his knees. Then, he dives forward, taking me with him as he plunges into the water.

  I scream just before I go under. A wave crashes on top of us and my head is pushed beneath the surface. At first, the water is freezing cold, but it’s more like a jolt that hits and then disappears. I flail my arms to swim away from him, then find the sandy bottom with my feet and push up out of the ocean.

  I wipe the water from my eyes and push my hair back from my face. Mason comes up laughing, then looks at me with a terrible grin. I open my eyes wide and start backing up.

  “Don’t you dare,” I shout.

  But he does. He jumps across the space between us, hooking his arms around my waist and dragging me under again. This time he holds on to me. I spin around to face him as we both come up out of the water. We stand, our bodies half-in, half-out of the gulf waters. My tank top clings to my body, but rises up every time the water laps at the edge of it.

  Mason sets both hands on my waist, his fingers brushing against the bare skin as my tank top lifts up, leaving my skin bare to him.

  I wrap my hands around him and lay my palms flat against his muscled back. We’re breathing hard from playing in the water, but my heart is racing because of how close he’s standing. Every time his fingers move against my flesh, my insides flash with fire.

  A bigger wave breaks just before it gets to us, knocking us slightly off balance. Mason pulls me closer, tighter in his arms. He dips his head down and I rise to meet him, our lips eager.

  My mouth opens slightly and I lick his bottom lip with my tongue as he kisses me. He tastes of salt. I open wider and let his tongue explore mine. I rake my nails across his back and he moans, pulling me tighter against him. His kiss becomes hungrier, more passionate. I lift up with the next wave, wrapping my legs around him in the water and grinding my body against him.

  He reaches around to cup my ass, holding me to him as the waves break over and over again, never interrupting our kiss for even a second.

  Eventually, I pull away, out of breath and wanting more.

  “Is this real?” I whisper.

  He kisses the side of my mouth, my cheek, my temple. “It’s real for now,” he says.

  I cling tight to him, but his words echo in my heart. For now. He’s already leaving room for a time when it won’t be real, won’t be us, anymore. But that’s what I offered him, didn’t I? A chance to walk away when this is over?

  It’s only day one and already I’m falling deeper. I have no idea how I’m going to survive this.

  I know I can’t spend the next few weeks dwelling on what’s going to happen at the end of all this. I’ll drive myself crazy and I’ll end up pushing him away. What I need to do is just take it one step at a time. One moment at a time.

  I kiss him again, the sound of the waves roaring in my ears and my heart thundering in my chest.

  And I let myself fall.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  After an uneventful trip down to the pier to watch old men fish, Mason and I dry off and drive south toward Little Lake Campground.

  We miss the small sign for the place and have to turn around. The road leading to it is narrow and sandy, but well-traveled.

  I hold on to the window-frame as the truck bumps up and down along the road. Mason slows when we come to a small gated outpost. Behind it, there’s a wooden fence marking off the campgrounds. There are two square wooden buildings off to the left marked with male and female, and I really hope those aren’t the only showers and bathrooms they have here. The buildings are tiny and weather-beaten. The roof of the Ladies room is covered in leaves and the overhangs are covered in giant cobwebs. I don’t even want to think about the spiders that could be lurking under the toilet seats.

  I shudder.

  “You okay?” Mason asks. He follows my gaze to the bathrooms and chuckles. “Not exactly the Ritz Carlton, I realize, but at least there are showers and toilets. That’s better than some campsites I’ve stayed in.”

  My eyes grow wide. “Please tell me you’re not planning on taking us to a place with no bathrooms,” I say. “I’m not complaining, just politely begging you with all that I am.”

  He laughs. “Nah, not anytime soon, anyway. Let’s get your feet wet first.”

  He parks just outside the gate and goes out to talk to a guy sitting in a lawn chair outside a small wooden building. They nod and carry on a conversation I can’t hear, then finally Mason shakes the guy’s hand and hands over some cash from his wallet.

  I relax a little. At least we seem to have a place to stay. I think I’d definitely prefer camping out in a tent to some of the shady motels we saw near the beach.

  When Mason comes back, I ask him how much it costs to camp here.

  “It’s twenty-five bucks a night to pitch a tent and use the facilities,” he says. “If we decide to stay, we can get a discount if we pay for a week up front. Not bad, huh?”

  “Only twenty-five dollars? You’re kidding me?”

  “Nope.”

  I clap my hands together. “With our money, we could stay here for months.”

  He lifts one eyebrow. “Are you saying you’re so incredibly excited about camping out now that you’re willing to stay for month?”

  I slide across the seat toward him and run my hand up his leg slowly. “Do I get to stay in a tent snuggled up next to you?”

  He bites his lower lip and sucks a loud breath in through his nose. “Do you have any idea what you’re doing to me right now?”

  “I could make a guess,” I say.

  “Come on, let’s find a parking spot and find our camp site,” he says. “There will be plenty of time to talk about tent snuggling after dark.”

  I laugh again and realize my cheeks hurt from spending the entire afternoon smiling like a lunatic.

  Guilt stabs me as I think about what must be going on back home, though. I’m sure my parents are mad as hell and chances are, most of my friends are really worried about me. At least they know I’m with Mason. Those closest to me will know just how exciting that is for me and they’ll be happy.

  My parents? Not so much.

  Mason gets in and pulls the truck through the wooden gate. He drives around the area for a minute, then finally stops. He looks down at the piece of paper the guard gave him and shakes it in his hand. “This is it,” he says, putting the truck in park and turning it off. “We can’t park the truck here long term, so we need to grab our stuff and get started putting it together. It’s only a couple of hours until it gets dark and we want to have everything set up by then.”

  “Okay.” I get out and reach into the back, pulling out everything I can get my hands on. I try to lift one of the bigger duffel bags, but it’s way too heavy. “Do we need all this stuff?”

  “Yeah, if you want to be comfortable,” he says. He makes a face and spins in a circle. “Shit. I totally forgot that you didn’t bring your own sleeping bag or pillow or anything like that.”

  I shrug. “Can’t I just share with you?”

  He takes both big duffel bags out and throws them to the ground near our numbered site. “That should be okay for tonight, but believe me, you’re going to want your own bag if it starts getting cool at night. Plu
s, have you ever slept in one of these?”

  I grab a couple of the smaller bags and carry them over. “A tent? Or a sleeping bag?”

  “A sleeping bag.”

  I search my memory. “I think I used to have a pink Barbie sleeping bag that I took when we had birthday party sleepovers and stuff,” I say. “But I’m guessing that’s not really the same thing.”

  “Not exactly,” he says, shaking his head. “Grab that last box and I’ll drive the car over to the parking lot.”

  I set the box on the ground and look around at all this stuff. “I don’t have the first clue to do with this.”

  “I figured,” he says. “Just wait for me. I’ll be right back.”

  Mason kisses my forehead, then gets into the truck and drives away.

  I sit down on one of the bigger bags, then take a minute to really look around at the other campers. There are a couple of empty sites around us, but most of the places are taken up by tents in a variety of shapes and sizes and colors. Down at one end, I see a tent that looks like the freaking Taj Mahal of tents. It’s huge and looks like it has several partitions inside. An older woman in overalls and a tank top is standing at a card table that’s been set up in front. She pours vodka into a red cup, then adds a tiny splash of something that looks like lemonade. She finishes it off with a couple of ice cubes from her cooler, then takes a long drink.

  When she’s done, she looks up and our eyes meet.

  I look away, realizing I’ve been staring. I’m already completely out of my element here, the last thing I want to do is make enemies or come to be known as the rude girl in camp.

  Mason said we would stay as long as we want, but I have no idea what that really means. I’m usually more of a planner, so not knowing if we’re here for one night or ten makes me feel anxious.

  I glance back toward the big tent and the woman waves. I lift my hand and smile. I feel completely awkward here. I probably look like a complete mess after our swim, too. My shorts are still wet.

  But oh god, it was amazing to be in his arms after all this time. Yes, we’d had a few moments in the past where we gave in to each other, but nothing like today. Mason’s different here. The second we left Fairhope, some of his walls came down. Maybe some of mine too. I don’t know if it’s the freedom of being gone or the fact that I came with him or what, but he’s being so sweet and attentive.

  And those kisses.

  I lift my hand to my mouth, remembering.

  He’s pushed me away for so long, this feels like a dream. I just pray it doesn’t turn into a nightmare. With Mason, I feel like I can never really completely know what to expect.

  And right now, there’s so much on the line.

  I expected him back by now, though. I stand up and look in the direction he drove off in. The campground has a lot of large trees, so I can’t see too far, but I think I can make out some cars in a parking lot a ways down. It shouldn’t have taken him this long to park and walk right back. I don’t want to risk getting lost or missing him somewhere along the way, so I decide to start unpacking some of these bags. I may not know how to put the tent together, but I can at least pull out the pieces so that when he gets back, it’s ready to go.

  The bag the tent comes in is cinched together by a black cord. I pull on it and the mouth of the bag opens wide. I turn it over, dumping the contents out onto the ground. Metal pieces clang against each other and fall hard into the sand and dirt at my feet. A few people at the site across from ours look up. One of the guys stands up from his folding chair.

  “You need some help?” He’s got a long beard and is wearing a flannel shirt with the sleeves ripped off.

  I make a face. “Um, no thanks,” I say. I look down the path again, but still no sign of Mason. “It just slipped right out of my hand.”

  The man smiles and raises his can of beer in a salute. I wave back to say thanks and take the rest of the pieces out of the bag. More carefully this time.

  Once it’s laid out, the whole thing looks very complicated. I had considered taking a stab at it, thinking Mason would be so surprised if he came back and the tent was set up. But knowing there are people watching me, I don’t dare. I’d probably end up making a big mess, and it would suck if I ruined the tent.

  What else can I do?

  I have no idea what’s in the rest of the bags, so I take a look around. One of the boxes has a full set of kitchen-type stuff. Pots and pans, some kind of stove, maybe? One of the grocery bags has hotdog buns, peanut butter, plastic cups, that sort of thing. He probably doesn’t want me taking that stuff out, so I just set it back down.

  I look over at the campsite across from us to see what they have set up. Their party seems to take up two spots and there are three different tents set up between them. Their tents are much smaller than the one at the end, so I think it must be more like ours. Three men who look to be in their late thirties or so are sitting around a small fire, and I wonder how they can stand it when it’s so hot and humid out here.

  I study our site. Do we need a fire? Maybe, if he plans on cooking hotdogs or something for dinner. Plus, he said it might get cooler in the evenings. There’s a ring of big rocks filled with the ashy remnants of past fires in the center of our site. I don’t know where everyone’s getting their firewood, but that would at least be something useful I could do.

  The same man who offered to help before is looking at me again. “You sure you don’t want some help? You look a little lost.”

  I cross the path toward him. “Do you know where I can get some firewood?”

  The man looks at me, then looks at his friends. They all laugh. My cheeks flush and I tug on my hair. What did I say?

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bother you.” I turn around, mortified.

  “Now wait a minute,” the man says. “I’m sorry, I honestly didn’t realize you were serious.”

  I can’t just ignore him, so I turn back. “I really don’t know where to get it,” I say. “It’s my first time camping. Is there a little store or something?”

  The man’s belly jiggles even though he’s trying to keep a straight face.

  I clench my jaw tight. If he’s not planning on helping me, why does he keep offering? Asshole.

  “No, there’s no store,” he says. “But you do realize you’re standing in the middle of the woods,right? There’s firewood all over the ground.”

  I close my eyes, feeling like a complete idiot. I was thinking they were using firewood like you’d use in your house. The kind you find a grocery store or someone selling on the side of the road during the winter months. I wasn’t think I’d have to actually walk around and collect it myself. And what in the world are the rules on something like that? Can I only take wood that’s on the ground near my site? Or can I just walk around everyone’s sites and pick up random sticks?

  I’m too scared to ask. I don’t want to be the source of entertainment out here tonight.

  “Thanks,” I say. I turn away and walk straight back to go sit down on the bag. I’m completely useless out here.

  I look down the path again and this time, I see him and my stomach lurches.

  He’s not alone.

  A girl who looks about our age is walking next to him. She’s tan and has a rockin’ body that she’s obviously not afraid to show off. She’s smiling and flipping her hair back. Major flirt-mode. And worse, Mason’s smiling back. The girl stops and points to a green tent that’s already set up. Mason stands and talks to her for what feels like an eternity.

  I know I can’t stand there staring at them forever. The guys behind me are surely watching me. I’m like a reality TV show to them at this point, probably. Survivor Idiot or some shit.

  I walk over and sit down on the duffel bag, but I can’t help watching Mason with her. What the hell could they possibly be talking about?

  This is just like him, too. Even though he promised no other girls, here he is on the first day obviously hanging out with another girl who is way too
hot for my comfort level. Of course, how could I have expected him to really keep to that promise? He’s a player. I know this. It’s in his nature to flirt with hot girls. Hell, it’s in every guy’s nature.

  But part of me had been hoping that our kiss in the ocean today meant something to him.

  I watch as he hugs the hot girl, then walks back down the path toward me. I pick at the edges of my fingernails, not even wanting to watch him walk over here. I’m totally pissed and he’s smiling like he just won the damn lottery.

  “Hey, guess what?”

  You’ve found someone hotter to sleep with tonight?

  I force a smile. “What?”

  “I just met these girls who said there was a big music festival going on this week just up the road a few miles. Apparently there was some big bonfire and lots of local musicians and stuff,” he says. “We just barely missed it, but she said there’s another one in a couple weeks in Gulf Shores that they’re coming back for.”

  “And you want to go with them?”

  “Well, yeah, don’t you?”

  I swallow, thinking about the way that girl was looking at him. “I guess,” I say. “I thought we were just going to play it by ear for a while.”

  “We are,” he says. “But if we stick around, I think it could be cool to hear some people jamming out on the beach.”

  I shrug. “Okay, whatever you want.”

  I am trying so hard to act normal. I don’t want to fight with him and ruin our first night. But at the same time, I kind of want to punch him in the nuts.

  “Hey, what’s wrong with you?” he asks. He puts his hands on my shoulders and turns me to face him. “Why are you upset? I thought this would be part of the adventure. Let’s see where it takes us.”

  “Nothing,” I lie. “I’m fine. I’m just ready to get things set up so we can relax.”

  “I see you started working on the tent,” he says smugly, staring down at the scattered pieces.

  “I took it out so you could put it together easier,” I say. “I was going to get us some firewood, but I don’t know the rules about that kind of stuff.”