“I love you, too, you weirdo.” Then, Kelly hugs me. “Good luck.”
“Thanks. Talk to you soon?”
“Yep. And you need a dye job again. Come in next week.”
Sam’s truck is parked down by the waterfront, and we hold hands and pop into a few of the shops as we make our way down the tourist-filled busy street. I’ve relished the simple things like this ever since I got to Maine but now even more so. My appreciation for good food, amazing friends, the beauty and feel of a small town, a place to call home, a boyfriend to hold my hand and guide me through a crowd…I won’t let anything undo that.Anything.
Maybe I should feel differently than I do. Something freakishly wild has happened to the very center of who I am. I don’t even know if I’m still considered human.Are death trippers human?I have no clue. But I should feel wobbly and jarred. And while I do to some extent, there is a significant part of me that feels as though this was supposed to happen. I’m not a big believer in destiny, but it’s hard to ignore the idea that it’s coming into play here. There’s also the undeniable feeling that, as a death tripper, I am closer to Sam.
Now that we are the same, yet another wall has come down between us.
Sam and I stand on the pier and watch the boats for a bit. Their lights remind me of the ones that Sam used to be able to make, and I’m surprisingly melancholy about him losing that power. There was something so incredibly sweet and pure about it. We haven’t done much with his floating skill, except help him control it and stop our togetherness from sending things flying into the air. I follow the path of a small fishing boat decorated with twinkle lights, and my sadness swells again. The time of the lights seems so simple now.
“It’s beautiful out tonight,” I say. “I never imagined loving a place as much as this.”
“Watermark is a pretty special town to live in, I agree. Come with me. I want to show you something.” He leads me down a set of wooden stairs that takes us to a small beach area.
“Sam, it’s kind of dark here. What are we doing?”
“You’ll see.” With a swift movement, he scoops me up into his arms and carries me a number of yards away until we are in the most remote area of the shore, none of the streetlights reaching us.
“Sam…”
“Shh…”
He kisses me, and my arms encircle him in response. It’s one of those kisses that melts me, that’s filled with adoration and devotion, and that pushes aside anything even mildly troubling.
Gently, he takes his lips from mine. “Look.”
When I turn slightly from him, my eyes fill with joyful tears. We are hovering three or four feet over the water, fairly far from shore.
“You wanted to float in the Maine air,” he says.
“So, you made it happen. Oh, Sam…” I take a deep breath and feel the air coursing into my lungs along with the salty wind dancing on my skin. I look down and see the ripples of small waves below us. It’s just the two of us and the night right now, and I’d happily stay in his arms, sheltered from so much—forever. “You are amazing.”
Even Sam, who is prone to brushing off the intriguing and fantastical nature of his powers, appears to be enjoying this. How could he not?
We jerk up a foot higher, and I squeal and clutch on to Sam. His mouth finds mine again, and my nerves settle as I relax into the feel of him. Kissing when floating, it turns out, is pretty remarkable.
Slowly, he takes his tongue from my mouth and whispers over my lips, “I’d better take us down. I don’t think we’re up for night swimming.” He rubs his nose against mine, and he floats us over the water and back to the shore.
He sets me on my feet, and I playfully swat his arm. “We could have been seen.”
“Whatever. It’s Friday night. Everyone’s drunk.” He hops up and down. Then, he picks me up by the waist and spins me around in the dark. “You and I should go home and get drunk and have some more fun.”
“I’m totally into that idea. Dirty martinis?”
“You got it. Extra olives.”
“Deal.”
“And extra mini swords?” I ask.
“I’ll spear as many olives as you like.”
“Maybe you can make them float from the jar into the glasses?” I suggest.
“For you, anything.”
