I find myself unable to stop smiling as she turns and beams at me. Her hair is all over the place, but she doesn’t seem to care.
I recognize a sign up ahead and if we keep going, we’ll eventually hit the coast.
“This car is fucking amazing. I didn’t get to do this at prom. I was so worried that something would happen to the car, I drove twenty under the speed limit,” she says as I slow down and take the next exit.
“I don’t take it out much. It’s just for special occasions.”
“Oh really? And what makes this a special occasion?”
“You tell me,” I say as I turn left and into a neighborhood. Most of the houses are dark, with the exception of the blue glow of televisions or light from bedside lamps.
“No, I want to hear why,” she says, trying to keep her hair out of her eyes and failing. “If I answer first, can I put my hair up?”
“Sure,” I say.
She twists her hair around, smoothes it and has it back up in a bun before she speaks again.
“This is a special occasion because… it’s a full moon.” She looks up and I realize she’s right. How did I not notice? The moon is clear and bright in the sky and washes her skin with cool light.
“And?” I say.
“And what? That’s not a good enough reason?”
“No, I suppose it is.”
“Your turn,” she says, tucking a runaway strand of hair back from her face.
“It’s a special occasion because…” I don’t want to tell her the truth, but I can’t come up with something else to say.
“Because you’re here with me,” I finally say.
She laughs again.
“You are full of lines, Quinn Brand. But somehow I believe you when you say them. You’re sincere, aren’t you?” Now that makes me want to laugh. She has no fucking clue.
“I’ll be whatever you want me to be, Saige.” She snorts, and it’s a cute sound.
“You’re terrible, you know that?” Yes. I did know that. More than she could possibly imagine.
We lapse into silence again. I expect her to ask me where we’re going, but she doesn’t. So either she knows, or she doesn’t care.
I finally pull into an empty parking lot at the edge of a beach. The dunes wave in the wind and the moonlight makes the landscape alien-like.
She turns to me as I cut the engine.
“Wanna go for a walk?” I smile, remember what happened last time I asked her that.
“Sure,” I say as we both get out of the car. She slips her shoes off and sets them next to the car and I do the same. She’s still wearing her shorts, so I lean down and roll up my jeans as best I can before taking her hand and strolling toward the wooden ramp that leads down to the sand.
“I’ve never been to the beach at night,” she says, inhaling deeply. The air is spiced with the tang of the ocean. It’s one of my favorite smells in the world. My mother loved to bring us to the beach. She’d chase us around with the sunblock and I’d help Lizzy make castles before heading toward the rocks and searching for crabs.
“Hey,” Saige says, tugging my hand and bringing me back to the present.
“Hey,” I say, giving her a smile.
“You’re lost in your head again.”
“Guilty,” I say. She might not be able to read my mind, but she can get pretty damn close.
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I know you’ve got a lot going on up there.” She taps the top of my head and her fingers linger, brushing over my scalp. I stand still and let her touch me because it feels damn good.
“Probably not as much as you think,” I say and she drops her hand.
“Now you’re being modest? Interesting.” I’m not sure why that’s interesting, so I start walking and she follows me.
The sand is chilly without the sun to warm it and I hope she’s not freezing.
“Want to see how cold the water is?” I ask and we walk to the water. It laps over my toes and she sucks in a breath.
“Yeah, that’s brisk. I don’t know if I could go in,” she says, cringing. “I don’t know how people do those polar dips. That’s a recipe for hypothermia if I’ve ever heard one.” I stay in the water, wading in until it’s up to my ankles. My feet numb quickly and I wonder what she’d do if I just kept walking and went all the way in.
“You’re crazy,” she says behind me and I turn and see her over my shoulder, arms wrapped around herself. She’s cold.
“No. Just cold-blooded,” I say with a grin.
She rolls her eyes.
“Come on, let’s walk so I can get warm.”
I get out of the water and this time I follow her over the sand, purposefully avoiding her footprints. She has exceptionally small feet.
“Do you need my jacket?” I ask.
She shakes her head.
“No, I’m fine now that I’m out of the water.”
We take our steps in silence. The lap of the waves calms me and I realize I’ve been stupid. I shouldn’t have showed up. I hope she doesn’t think I’m desperate, or the kind of guy who will just show up whenever he wants. Even though I did it already. I don’t want her to think I’m obsessed with her. That kind of infatuation is dangerous and would probably drive her away.
Basically, I need to calm the fuck down.
She bumps my shoulder with hers.
“What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing much. You?”
She sighs.
“You don’t like personal questions, do you?” No, I don’t. Because I don’t want to slip and accidentally tell her the truth. Again.
“Does anyone?” She hops over a clump of seaweed.
“Some people don’t care. And then some people can’t tell you enough about themselves and you do whatever you can to get away.”
“I know what you mean. I guess… I just don’t like people knowing things about me that I think are personal.” I didn’t mean it to come out like that, but she doesn’t seem offended.
“It doesn’t bother me. At least not right now. But someday I’m going to want to crack you open and look at your insides, Quinn Brand.” She grins at me and I can’t ignore the trickle of unease that drips down my spine.
“That sounds painful,” I say.
“Getting to know someone can be sometimes.” We walk all the way to one end of the beach and I can tell she’s freezing, despite what she told me earlier.
“Ready to go back?” I say as we turn and head back to the car. Her arms are folded around herself, her hands tucked into the sleeves of her coat.
“Sure,” she says. “I guess I should have put on some pants.”
“Sorry, should have warned you.”
“It’s okay.”
We go back to the car and I open the door for her before rushing around and getting in the driver’s seat, turning the car on so I can get the warm air moving for her. She shivers as I put the top up.
The vents blast hot air like breath and she puts her fingers up to them.
“Why did you have to see me?” she asks, and her voice is so quiet I almost don’t hear it. I really don’t know how to answer this question. Not in a logical way.
“I don’t know,” I say. “I just… did.” She nods and seems to accept that answer.
“I’m glad you did. I was worried things were going to be… weird after our first date. I’m not normally like that, you know.” Actually, I didn’t. I know so many other things about her, but I didn’t know that.
“Don’t worry about it. I was worried you wouldn’t want to see me again. Wham, bam, thank you, sir.”
She snorts and sits back in her seat.
“So, tell me something, Quinn Brand.”
“Sure.”
“Who are you?” My blood freezes in my veins and I have a moment of panic before I smother it. She can’t possibly know what she’s asking. I struggle to put a smile on my face before I answer her. It’s a good thing it’s dark and she’s not touching me so she can’t see how fast my heart is racing.
“I’m a guy who thinks you’re painfully beautiful.” She is. I saw it in those first pictures and I see it even more now. Awfully, horribly, painfully beautiful.