by L. K. Kuhl
His eyes swept me in as he gave me a muted smile. “You don’t need to apologize.” His eyes carried a pained expression. “On a better note, I think you got rid of him.” He laughed, reaching for my hand again as we continued on to his house.
* * *
“This is it.” He pointed to a glass house a short while later. His house sat farther back from the beach than Mandy’s, but was still very close. If I would have known which one was his when I was looking for him, it wouldn’t have been too hard to find. A for-sale sign stuck in the front yard took me by surprise.
“It’s beautiful, Tate.” The round house was made entirely of glass. Large, French doors opened out to the ocean. It was a peculiar-looking house, but beautiful, nonetheless. A black convertible sports car sat in the drive. “Is this all yours?”
“Yep, sure is.” He opened one of the French doors to let us in.
I stepped inside and looked around, my mouth slackening at the high ceilings and the intricate woodwork. “And why are you selling your house? It’s beautiful. I’d never sell a house like this.”
“I just need to get rid of it.” His voice became firm and his eyes scraped over me. “A guy like me doesn’t need anything like this.”
Classical music played in the background. The bare house looked like he’d already moved out. Just a table with four chairs sat in the kitchen, and a tweed couch rested in the corner of the living room. Tate’s smell, his shaving cream, edged my nose as we went through the room and made our way back to his bedroom.
He pulled me with his hand and led the way down a narrow hallway. “We’ll put these little guys in the aquarium, and then, if you want, we’ll do some sightseeing. Have you been around the city, yet?”
I shook my head. “No, just mostly the beach.”
“Well, we’ll just have to change that. There’s way more to do here in Charleston than just the beach.”
He opened the door to a large room. A king-size bed sat in the middle for him, and a bright red wool dog bed was tossed beside it for Symphony.
Along the east wall, two aquariums sat on a long table. I stepped up closer to look at them. “These are really cool.”
“This one’s my dry one. It holds these crabs, snails, and anything else I find that doesn’t need water.”
I peered inside. Hermit crabs and snails crawled on the sand and around rocks. Some of them were big, living in giant seashells that he had hauled in at one time or another.
In the other tank, exotic, saltwater fish darted, showing off their array of colors.
“These are neat, as long as you’re not swimming in the water with them. But what’s that one? I’d hate to meet him in a dark alley.” I pointed to one with gruesome spikes.
Tate laughed. “That’s a lionfish. He’s poisonous, so don’t stick your hand in the tank.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Ha, believe me, I won’t be doing that.” My toes curled. “My best friend Mandy about had to break my arm to get me to snorkel with her.”
A smile drifted over his full lips, and his eyes danced over my face. “Snorkeling’s fun, but I prefer to scuba dive.”
“You go down into the deep?” I shivered at the thought.
“Oh, yeah, that’s how I got all these fish. Scuba diving’s my life. I love to find fish to bring back up here to my aquariums. But enough about fish. Let’s go out for a drive, and I’ll show you around.”
Symphony curled up in her dog bed, glad to be back home. We went out to his little sports car, and he opened the door for me, gesturing with a sweep of his arm to climb inside. I got in, and he shut the door, then went around to the driver’s side and climbed in.
The car rumbled to life, and the tires squealed as we tore off down the street. It was too cool to take the convertible top off, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn’t need the wind making my hair even more unsightly than it already was.
Butterflies whisked my stomach. Tate cranked up the radio as a country song played, and we rode for a while without saying anything. Every once in a while, we’d catch each other looking at the other one, our gazes flashing. We’d turn away, our smiles shy.
We rumbled through the city. He showed me the shopping malls and his favorite hangout places with his friends.
He glanced at me, his fascinating smile curdling my stomach even more. “You wanna get something to eat?”
“Sure…I could go for something.”
He pulled into a burger place, and we went in and sat down.
A tall, thin waitress came over, dressed in a pink striped skirt, pen in hand. She chomped on a piece of chewing gum, her mouth moving viciously up and down. “Can I get ya somethin’?” Her gruff voice rattled out, and her breath, smelling like a three-pack-a-day smoker, polluted my nose.
I looked at Tate and waited for him to order, but he didn’t say anything. “Are you eating?”
“Naw, I’m not all that hungry. Go ahead.”
The waitress eyed me mockingly, and I stuttered, wriggling in the booth. “Don’t you want something to eat or drink?”
“Nope, I’m fine.” His lips twitched, eyes fixated upon my mouth.
“I guess I’ll just have a basket of fries and a grape soda pop.”
The waitress gave me another ludicrous look like I was wasting her time. She rolled her eyes, her gum snapping. “Is that all?”
“Yeah, that’s it.” I cleared my throat, shaky hands smoothing down my hair.
We sat and talked while we waited for my food to come. He wanted to know all about me—what my family did, how many were in my family, what my plans were after high school. I barely got the chance to ask him about himself. The intimate look he gave me while he watched me talk melted the nervous knot in my stomach, calming me. His eyes read me, deciphering as he played with the salt-and-pepper shakers.
I told him my entire life story, and about my dream of going on to law school after I graduated, and becoming a lawyer. Amazed at how easy he was to talk to, I licked my dry lips. “So, what does your family do?”
“Not much, really.” His face clouded, became troubled, and his eyes shot away to glance at the couple in the next booth.
“Do they live around here? Do you see them much?”
He hesitated, still looking away, then turned to face me, his forehead creasing. “We haven’t seen each other in months.” His words were short and to the point. “They don’t live around here.”
I’d hurt him. I didn’t pry any more.
“It’s okay.” I awkwardly placed my hand on his. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“I don’t mean to be a downer. It’s just that certain things happened, and they’re really difficult to talk about.” He watched me, measuring my expression.
The waitress brought my food, but my appetite had vanished with his words.
Tate watched me pushing the fries around in the basket. “Aren’t you going to eat? I thought you were hungry?”
I pulled my mouth to the side and rubbed my arms. “I guess I’m not as hungry as I thought.” I’m such an idiot. Why did I make him talk about things he would rather forget?
“Enough of this doom and gloom then, let’s go see the rest of the city.” He tugged me up out of the booth.
We drove around. People were out everywhere, each doing their own thing. My words flowed with ease, and we got immersed in conversation. Midnight flashed back at me when I looked at my phone. I hated to see our time together come to an end, but I couldn’t stay out all night. “I suppose you’d better take me back to Mandy’s. It’s getting late.”
In no time at all, we were pulling in front of Mandy’s house. He leaned closer. “Can I see you again tomorrow?”
“Sure…I’d love to see you again.” My tone was charged, sounding too eager. I absentmindedly scratched at a new, itchy bump on my forearm. Those things still refused to stay away whenever Tate unhinged me.
My insides quivered when he pulled me close and caressed my face with his fingers—their coldness p
enetrated me. He stared at my mouth, and a smile advanced across his face. Then he took my face in his hands and brushed a light kiss across my lips.
My insides wouldn’t calm down. He pulled me in tighter, his lips forceful this time. I knew he felt my lips quivering. Am I doing this right? The moment couldn’t have been more surreal. My very first kiss…I eagerly waited for the fireworks that I expected to go off. There was none of that. It may have been because my eyes were closed…or because my heart sprang open, and I got lost in him. At that moment, I decided I could very well spend every waking hour of my life doing just this.
“Good night, Sophia.” He pushed the hair back from my face and nuzzled his chin into my shoulder.
I couldn’t speak, the sexy distraction pounding inside me…insurmountable. “Good night.”
He opened his door and got out, then came around to my side, opening the door—a true gentleman once again. I waved one last time before I disappeared into the house, imagining his hot gaze following me.
The house was dark and quiet. With my insides a tornado, I tiptoed upstairs and collapsed onto the bed, my thoughts incoherent. Then I pulled out my journal.
June Thirteenth,
Like a smoke ring drifting in thin air, you came back to me. Just like that, you were standing before me, wanting all of me, for eternity…. I finally found my Tate—the man meant just for me. The man I plan on spending eternity with. The reason he was gone for so long was that he was hurt, thinking I had a boyfriend. This made me happy to know that he has feelings for me, but I also felt a little bad for hurting him like that. I had no idea he even saw Brian Tarris sitting by me. All is resolved now, and I think he is going to ask me to be his girlfriend. I’m hoping so anyway. I’m so happy, although, sometimes, I scare myself with these strange visions. I know they’re not real, but they’re frightening, nonetheless.
Sophia Bandell
Chapter 10
The next morning, I raced downstairs to tell Mandy and Matt the great news.
Mandy stood by the sink, a dishtowel in hand. “Oh…you did make it home. Find Tate?”
I grinned and fluttered down into a chair, casting my head back. “I’m in love.”
“She must have.” Matt giggled. “I think she’s incoherent.”
“I…I did, and I had to pinch myself to see if it was happening. How could a guy like Tate ever be attracted to someone like me? There has to be a catch.”
Mandy sat down across from me. “Oh, quit being so hard on yourself. Tate knows what he’s doing, I’m sure.”
I eagerly rubbed my hands together, scooting to the edge of the chair. “I want you two to meet him. Do you have plans for the day?”
Mandy glanced at Matt with a questioning look. “No, I don’t think so. Do we, Matt?”
“No. If you want, we could ride my personal watercrafts, and the four of us could do some wave crashing today?”
“That sounds fun.” My phone lit up with Tate’s name across it, and adrenaline shot through me with a sizzling warmth. “Oh…wait…Tate just texted. I’ll let him know what our plans are.”
* * *
We met him at our usual hangout, and my heart pattered fast, stomach stirred with excitement. His well-built muscles glistened in the scorching sun.
“Hi, Sophia, it’s great to see you.” He threw me a bright smile and a sexy wink, making my stomach tumble even more. But he kept his distance, not wanting to show Matt and Mandy how close we had become.
“Hi…these are my friends, Mandy Stuart and Matt Cobain.” My voice went into hiding again; it eked out timidly like a dog with its tail between its legs.
They shook hands and Mandy smiled. “I’ve heard so much about you, Tate. Glad to finally meet you.”
Matt flexed his bicep. “Yeah, glad we can put a face to all the things that Sophia has been saying about you.”
My face blushed.
Tate grinned. “From what Sophia says, you’re quite the surfer, huh, Matt?”
Matt flexed again. “Well, I hate to brag, but there’s not a lot of people out here that can quite hang with me when I’m riding the waves.” He brushed at his shoulder. “But enough about me. Let’s get these skis on the water and have some real fun.”
Mandy and I waited on the shoreline while the guys went to unload the skis. “Tate’s a pretty good guy, isn’t he?”
I beamed. “Yeah, I’ve never met anyone like him before. All this time I thought chivalry left with the older generation, but he opens the car door for me, waits until I’m seated before he sits down, and is super nice.”
“Looks like you’ve found a keeper there, Sophia.”
I figured now would be a good time to bring up the CD and see what Mandy’s thoughts were. “You know…the other day I found the strangest thing—”
“Ready to go, girls?” Matt stuck his nose in between us. “Skis are waiting.” He motioned to the two skis bobbing in the water. I jumped, startled to see both guys standing there.
“Yep, let’s go. Oh, sorry, Sophia, what strange thing did you find?” Mandy gave me a puzzled look.
I waved my hand. “It’s nothing. I’ll tell you some other time.”
We put our life vests on, and I climbed behind Tate on the black personal watercraft. I wrapped my arms around his waist, loving the feel of his hard abs.
Tate and Matt raced, both throttling up on the skis, one not letting the other outdo him. Both skis whizzed at full speed, racing across the ocean and jumping waves. I held my breath, holding on tightly, burying my face into Tate’s back. The guys looked at each other, laughing, as Matt and Mandy lurched out ahead.
Finally, we slowed down to a more tolerable speed, and I enjoyed it. We cruised around the ocean, passing by other skiers and big boats. The ocean brimmed with cabin cruisers, yachts, and sailboats, all out enjoying the day.
“I’d like a boat like that someday.” I pointed to a yacht with the word Caroline written across it in bold black letters.
Tate glanced at me over his shoulder. “Yeah, it’s cool.”
“That’s something I could only dream of having, though. I’d never be rich enough to afford anything like that.”
“You will someday, Sophia. Have some faith.”
I scoffed. “Ha, I wish it was that easy, Tate Forester.” He pressed harder on the throttle, and I held on tight, burying my face deep into him.
Matt and Mandy came riding up beside us. “We’re going to head back in. Mandy wants to get a picture of all of us on the skis.” Then Matt took off at full speed as we followed close behind. It looked like the race was on again. This time we caught up, passing them in a blur, Tate waving and smiling as we sped by.
We made it to the shoreline and Mandy hopped off, reaching for her bag. “Let me grab my camera. I want to get a quick pic of all of us.”
She set the camera’s timer and raced over to join us. We put our arms around each other and exposed our best smiles to the camera—the hot, glaring sun beating down on us.
To top off the day, Tate and I took a quiet stroll along the beach. The sun dipped low, flooding the air with a reddish hue. A whisper of wind fanned our faces. The day ended perfectly, except for one thing—the mosquitoes. They buzzed in thick droves, and I couldn’t swat them away fast enough.
“Ouch, aren’t you getting bitten by these annoying things?” I smacked a fat one off my forearm, leaving a dab of blood and a smashed mosquito lying in a heap.
“No, you must be too sweet or something. They’re not bothering me at all.” His eyes sparkled as he leaned closer and itched my back where one had bitten me.
“You’re lucky, they’re driving me nuts, and I’d be happy to share them if you’d like.” I batted at another one.
“That’s okay, you can keep them.” He swung at a couple in the air.
We walked for a while, the mosquitoes lessening some. Tate grew quiet. Finally, he broke the silence. “When are you leaving here?” His hand squeezed harder around mine.
“A
ugust fifteenth. I board the plane at six-thirty that morning. School starts the twentieth.”
With his head down, he kicked at the sand, not saying anything. “So, that gives us about two months…. I can’t let that happen.” He shook his head. “How am I ever going to let you go clear back to Montana? How can I be here, and you…clear over there?” It seemed as if he was asking himself this question.
“I don’t know, Tate. I’ve been asking myself that exact same thing.”
We looked at each other longingly, the desolation…slinking its way in.
With the moon shining on the ocean, he walked me back to Mandy’s. A shiver ran the length of me, and goose bumps prickled my skin when he took me in his arms on the front step. I couldn’t tell if it came from the chill in the night air or the electricity sparking between us.
“I wish we didn’t have to call it a night, Soph.” He nuzzled his head in next to mine. “But, I have a big day planned for us. I’d like to leave bright and early.”
“Wh…what? Where are we going?”
He put his fingers over my lips, whispering, “Shh…it’s a secret.” Then, he leaned in and kissed me. The slow kiss made me tremble, and I couldn’t get enough. A moan escaped the back of my throat when he pulled away.
“Good night, Sophia. Sleep tight, my Ladybug.”
I giggled at his nickname for me. “Good night, Tate. As ever, I’ll be dreaming of you.”
I raced up the stairs and pulled out my journal, jotting down the exciting day I’d had.
June Fourteenth,
The days just keep getting better and better. Had a fun day of jet-skiing with Tate, Matt and Mandy. Outside of getting bit up by mosquitoes, (Tate never got bit once…strange?) the day ended beautifully with Tate giving me a good-night kiss that I wished never had to end.
Sophia Bandell
* * *
Ringing jolted me out of my peaceful dream. My hand flew to the nightstand, groping in the darkness to find the source. Is it my phone? Who’d be calling at this hour? The dark still intruded; it had to be nighttime.