“No.”
He quirks a brow, waiting.
Right! “I know a spot.”
“Lead the way, trouble, you’re my tour guide.”
“I could lead you right off a cliff,” I tell him, matter of fact.
“I’d follow,” He vows seriously, “But we’re not on a cliff, trouble.”
“Right,” I laugh awkwardly, “It’s just,” I point and begin moving, walking back up the dock and onto the sand. I feel him behind me. My dress suddenly feels too tight, the material swishing around my legs and tickling my skin. And fuck, had it just got hotter by like ten degrees?
“Did you wear this pretty dress for me?” He rasps behind me.
I glance over my shoulder, “Yes.”
His eyes sparkle in the darkness.
I take us through some trees close to the waters edge and follow a trail that gets thinner and thinner the further you go down. Most don’t go past the fallen pine since the branches and rocky earth make it difficult to navigate if you don’t know your way past it, but I’ve been coming to this spot since I was little.
“Watch the rocks,” I tell Kolt, too focused on not breaking an ankle or being impaled to forget about the nerves for a few minutes.
“Take my hand,” I hear Kolt command gently but I’m already past the harshest part and turn back to find him navigating his way through.
“I’m a local,” I tell him, “I could walk this with my eyes closed.”
“Mmhmm,” He grumbles. It’s another five minutes before we spot the opening and I beeline for it, coming out onto the sand, the water lapping gently only five feet away, and to the left of us is the small cave I’ve grown so fond of over the years.
I pause to grab the torch I put in the basket Kolt is carrying, and shine it into the rocky cave.
The tide often came in far in these parts but I knew the very back edge of the cave was a safe spot. I lead the way and then come to a stop, finding the divot in the wall which tells me we’re in the safe zone.
“Here.”
Kolt looks around and then back out to the water.
“It’s safe,” I assure him, “This line is where the water will stop.”
I grab the blankets from the basket, placing the torch down to start laying them on the floor. I take a seat and Kolt follows, sitting opposite me.
“No one comes out here,” I tell him, “Not anymore.”
“So, it’s just us?”
“It’s just us,” I breathe.
“Then come here, trouble,” He growls, “I want to see that pretty blush again.”
Chapter Seven
She crawls to me.
Fuck.
Shecrawls.
Her cheeks are stained pink, her eyes wide and lips parted, but she comes to me and then straddles my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.
