Little Things (Second Chances 1) - Page 89
He smiles, “Oh, come on! It’s only sand. It won’t hurt you!”
I yell back at him playfully, “No, but you have to catch me first.”
He accepts my tease, “Oh feisty one…” and runs straight at me.
I scream and try to fun as fast as I can but he grabs hold of me and tackles me to the ground. He pours mounds of sand on me and even stuffs it in my hair. I swipe at him and laugh as he continues to bury me. After several minutes, he’s successfully buried me completely and I can barely move.
He stands up to take a good look at me and bursts into laughter, “Ha-ha! I wish I had a camera because you look hilarious, Raya. I think this new look suits you.”
I scowl at his remark, “Shut it, Duke. Now let me out.”
He grabs my hand and slowly pulls me out of the sand, “With pleasure.”
Suddenly, he hauls me over his shoulder and races toward the water.
I scream, “Duke! What are you doing?”
“You’re all dirty. You can’t go inside the house with sand all over you.”
I glance at the water and see we’re headed straight for it. My heart beats a mile a minute as the anticipation and excitement seeps into my bones.
He holds me tight, “Hold on!”
I squeal as he rushes into the ocean and the cold water shocks my body.
He shouts, “Holy shit, this water’s cold!”
He pulls me off of his shoulder and lets me stand up. My body adjusts to the cold temperature as the small waves ripple around us. I look up at him, only to catch him staring at me as I take in the feel of the ocean.
“So, how does it feel to be in the ocean?”
I smile, “Honestly, it’s everything that I imagined it would be.”
He smirks at me, and then he waves his arm into the water and splashes it right in my face. I spit the water out of my mouth and find him laughing at me once again. I growl and we go into an all-out splashing war. We slam water into one another, hit after hit, until we are completely drenched. I laugh so hard that my stomach begins to cramp and my cheeks ache from smiling so much.
We continue our water fight until my body starts to shiver in the cold water. Duke notices my frigidness and hoists me up in his arms.
“Let’s get you all warmed up.”
He carries me back to the beach house and I smile at him. Even though I’m wet and cold, it feels good
to be in his arms again. When we enter the house, he carries me upstairs to the bathroom and turns on the shower for me. He passes me a towel and turns to leave the room.
I grab his arm, halting his exit, “Duke?”
He turns to face me, “Yeah?”
I smile, “Thanks for today. It really meant a lot to me. I felt…happy again. And I haven’t felt that way in a really long time.”
He brushes his finger along my cheek, “That’s what I’m here for. I’ll go downstairs and make us something to eat. What are you feeling? Hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches?”
I think about my choice, “How about some pasta?”
He agrees, “Pasta it is! Coming up in twenty minutes.”
After we eat the delicious fettuccine alfredo that he prepared, I immediately become exhausted. With the combination of the past few weeks, the thrill and excitement from earlier today, and my stuffed stomach, sleep deprivation has finally caught up to me. I offer to help clean up but once he again, he refuses and instructs me to rest on the sofa. Within a few minutes, my body and mind slips away into sleep and I drift off into a deep slumber.
The sound of the crashing waves along the shore sound off in the distance. I hear the chirping of seagulls communicating with each other as they glide through the summer air. The cool breeze flows through my windows and into my room, bringing the salty scent of the ocean along with it. The bright sun warms my face and blinds my eyes a little as I open them.
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