“Oh, I’ll run up with you. I want to see it.”
“Sure.”
The stairs for the loft were a spiral in the back corner of the den, partially hidden by a bump out. It was a good space, in that it gave him more sleeping space, but getting the furniture up here had been hard.
“Oh, nice. I like that it has that solid half wall, but you can see out the window. That’s the ocean I’m seeing, right?”
“It is. The main bedroom doesn’t have a view like this, but it’s a better room.”
“This isn’t too bad. I like that you have a place to sit other than just the bed.”
“Yeah, it’s a big space, but not really practical for little kids. I mean, I know people who own these condos who pack kids in, but it could be dangerous.”
She glanced at him and raised her eyebrows. “I’m impressed that you considered that. Like most guys wouldn’t see the problem.”
He let go of a bark of laughter. "Weighing risks is part of my job. I have to know how bad things will be before I do them."
“Totally get that.”
Link opened the window and then headed for the stairs. "Come on, let's get our sandals on."
When she slipped on her sandals, he saw that her toenails were painted red. He liked that she had them painted.
“What?” Ansley asked.
“I like that your toenails are painted.”
Her laughter was like a warm jacket wrapped around him. She put her hand in his.
“I would have done my fingernails, too, but I didn’t have time before I left. Also, my fingernails get chipped way too easily, or they did while I was active. Maybe I’ll start doing it.”
“Either way, I’m happy. I get that fingernails may be more of a hassle than toenails.”
“I do like some girly stuff, but I’m not really into it like some women.”
“I like you dressed in combat boots or sandals. I’m more interested in you as a person, not what you wear.” In a way he was glad he hadn’t met Ansley until now. If he’d met her when he was younger, he would have blown it with her.
They made their way to the boardwalk that went up and over the berm. Ansley stopped at the top and gasped. He took in the view, thinking it really did look good.
“It’s beautiful,” Ansley said.
He nodded, glad that he’d bought here. “It is.”
"The beaches in California are wide, and there is so much stuff built up around them. This is great with the wide dunes covered in plants and the beach beyond. It looks great."
“They did that not too long ago, putting in the bushes to stop the erosion.”
“Oh yeah, this area gets hit by hurricanes often.”
"It does. This condo is higher than most. There are some buildings constructed in a pit. This one, they raised the land before building, so it's not so bad."
They walked out to the sand, and she slipped off her sandals, then bent to pick them up.
Link kicked off his sandals and grabbed her hand. “You can leave your shoes here. There aren’t enough people to steal them.”
She glanced around. “Yeah, looks that way.”
"So I guess in California, they would be gone in seconds."
