“Besides, the world looks a whole lot different after you come.” Oliver looked out to the endless blanket of dark ocean. “And that’s lookin’ a little scarier to me right now.”
The warm waters lapped at my hips as the soft waves broke on us.
“Let’s get out of here,” I said, agreeing the water looked a little too dark.
Before we turned to head back to shore, I pulled Oliver in for one more kiss. Our naked bodies pressed together in the water.
We made it back to shore without getting any of our dangling bits taken by sharks. There was no one else on the beach, so we sat down next to our clothes and waited to dry off. Even though the sun had set hours ago, the temperatures were still hot enough to dry up the salt water dripping down our bodies.
We sat silently for a while, letting the relaxing melody of the ocean take over. I felt a serenity wash over me then. Something I hadn’t felt in years. Like things were happening exactly as they were meant to. There was something about that feeling… something that allowed me to relinquish some control and, in its place, feel a profound happiness take root.
Oliver spoke, his words shaky at first.
“I’ve got a question, Beck… Does it bother you? How young I am?”
The question didn’t come from out of the deep blue. I had sensed he wanted to ask it when he initially brought it up. I was prepared for it, ready to answer with a solid “Absolutely not.”
“I’m just scared…”
He drifted off, but I didn’t want to let this conversation die. Communication was truly key, and this wasn’t a topic we could brush under the sand. “Scared of what, Olly?”
“Scared you’re looking for someone more set in life. Someone with a solid career and some experience out in the world. I still feel like a kid sometimes, like I have my life together by a very thin string. Hell, I haven’t even been out of school yet. I’ve literally been in school for the past twenty-four years of my life. And then I’ll be in debt for another good ten years, and that’s a positive outlook.”
“So what?”
His eyebrows shot up. I don’t think he was expecting the bluntness. “I, well, I mean…”
“I just mean, none of those things matters to me. I like you. I like spending time with you, a lot. Also, the further you pull back, the clearer you can see that everyone has their life hanging together by the same thin thread. And the fact that you’re months away from being a veterinarian, that in itself is impressive. Your own vet hospital will come later, I’m sure of it. Just focus on the now, focus on being happy, because time really does go by in a flash. If you spend it all on worrying over things that’ll eventually sort themselves out, then, well, ya wasted your time worrying.”
Oliver rested his head on my shoulder. “You think so?”
“Know so.”
“I just overthink things sometimes…”
“The last thing you need to overthink is us.”
I didn’t even realize how there was already an “us.” This was only our first actual date, but with Oliver, time didn’t feel real. This felt like our fifteenth date, like I’d been talking to Oliver for years now. Maybe it was because we were covering such hard-hitting topics all on the first night? I don’t think I had ever spoken about my father with anyone I was dating. It just never came up, and I never cared enough to share.
Not with Oliver, though. I wanted to share everything with him.
“All right, let’s get dressed before the sun comes up and we scare everyone off the beach.” Oliver kissed my neck before standing. He looked so fuckin’ good. The moonlight played with the lines of his body, the small curve of his hips, the heavy cock hanging between his legs.
He was perfect.
And then I caught myself.
This was only one date. And it was with someone many years younger than me. It was a generational difference that had sunk plenty of previous relationships. Even with our talk, things could change quickly. I couldn’t get too carried away. My feet had to stay planted directly on the ground, and my head had to stay as far from the clouds as bloody possible.
Which, in reality, was an impossible feat.
My head was already far past the clouds. My vision was already flooded with stars. Constellations shining as bright as exploding suns, and they all seemed to spell out a singular name:
Oliver Brightly.
14 Oliver Brightly
Two Weeks Later
The sun was shining bright through all my open windows, filling my apartment with light. The tall glass vase holding the flowers Beckham had brought me was sitting on my coffee table, the arrangement of pastel roses and beautiful orchids always catching my eye whenever I walked by. The pink roses matched the pastel pink TV almost to the exact shade. I thought about making some room on my rainbow bookshelf for them but figured I wanted the flowers front and center on the coffee table.