SABLE
"You were right, this fish is delicious," I said.
Perfectly battered, with a squeeze of lemon and a sprinkle of salt. Of course, with a side of fresh fries.
Forrest inclined his head to acknowledge the praise, but his mouth was full, having just taken a bite of his own fish.
"I have an idea," Leif said, gazing out toward the ocean. "Let's stay here forever."
"On the beach?" Woody asked.
We'd found a sheltered section between some rocks, but even here the air was chilly. When the wind got up, it'd be downright freezing. It was still quietly perfect though, only a handful of people and their dogs walking past every so often. They'd glance at us and smile, some calling out a greeting, others giving a nod.
"I meant in Saltgrave, but sure," Leif said. "There's worse places to be than on the beach."
"It's all fun and games until we freeze our asses off," Woody said. He looked warm enough in his leather jacket, thick jeans and boots.
"It's peaceful," Leif said. "Like, no one's in a hurry. I feel like I can breathe here."
Woody gave him a sidelong look but admitted, "Yeah, me too."
"It's nice in summer." I watched a seabird circle over the waves before diving in, coming back with something in its beak.
"Does it get busy?" Woody asked. Judging by his expression, a crowd better not appear in front of of us. He'd get stabby, or at least snarky, if they did.
"Only during spring break," Forrest said. "Most of the time it's this quiet at this stretch of beach. The kids from the local college have parties a mile or so up." He nodded in that direction.
Closer to my parents' beach house, where the action usually was. That tracked.
"I could imagine the kind of shit they get up to." Leif grinned.
"The kind of shit you got up to when you were in college?" I guessed.
"Basically, yes," he agreed. "All the fun things. Drinking too much, throwing up on the sand, waking up and having no idea where I was." He sighed wistfully.
"That sounds like fun." I dug the toe of my shoes into the sand, my eyes on the grains as if they were fascinating.
"You didn't do any of those things?" Leif asked.
"Not really," I said. "Savannah and I would go out and drink once in a while, but my parents didn't approve of anything fun. Definitely not coming down to a place like this alone to let loose."
"Then they took you out of college and married you off." That was Woody, looking more pissed off than usual.
"Yeah, I would have preferred to throw up on the sand," I said with a small smile.
"We can still make that happen," Leif said. "It's never too late for those kinds of shenanigans."
"Are you trying to lead me astray?" I teased.
He thought about that for a moment. "Yes," he said finally. "Yes, I am. How far astray can you go?"
"I stabbed a dead man in the heart," I said. "That's pretty far astray if you ask me."
"Oh, I don't know," Leif replied. "Sounds like we're just getting started. You don't graduate until you've done it to someone alive."
"What if I never do?" I asked.
"Then you don't," Leif said. "There's no shame in it. We'll think up another graduation activity."
