“Why do you say that?”
He turned me on his lap to look at him so he could see my face, my legs on both sides of him.
“I just hope...I turn out to be what everybody expects,” I muttered softly.
“You will,” he said surely. “I have no doubt about that.”
“Well, I’m glad one of us does.”
He chuckled quietly.
“You’re so funny, you know that? It’s still my favorite thing about you.” I just smiled a wry smile. “Are you tired?” he asked and tucked my hair tighter under my hood.
“Yes, very.”
He pulled me back to lie on his chest and rubbed my back.
“Sleep, Maggie.”
“On the beach,” I asked and it broke with a yawn.
“Yep,” he chuckled.
“You’ve slept on the beach before?”
“We used to camp out all the time when we were kids. You’ve never?”
“Never.”
“Well there’s a first time for everything.”
Under his warm soothing hands, I fell right to sleep.
~ Ten ~
I woke with overly warm breath on my face. I crinkled my nose and I thought Caleb’s breath was awful bad this morning. My eyes peeked open and I was licked on the cheek by a fluff of blonde.“Bella,” I crooned. “Did someone let you out? Huh?” I said as I scratched her scruff.
“She really has taken to you,” Caleb said, startling me.
I didn’t know he was awake, but I could tell from his tone he was happy about Bella’s and my blossoming relationship.
“Yeah, she has. She’s a sweet girl. Us girls gotta stick together, don’t we,” I crooned to her.
“I’m trying not to be jealous.”
“Jealous of me or Bella?” I asked with a little smile and a raised eyebrow.
“Either.”
I giggled and accepted his kiss but Bella was having none of it. She nuzzled her nose in between us.
“Alright, you,” Caleb said and pushed her away playfully. “Go lay down.”
She trotted about six feet away and plopped down on the sand.
“Now,” he pulled me back to him with a hand on the nape of my neck. He kissed my lips sweet and long. “Good morning.”
“Morning,” I breathed, dazed.
“So, did you like sleeping on the beach?”
“Yeah,” I pulled my hood down and looked around. Caleb smoothed my hair for me, I’m sure it was a mess. “I love the beach. Can we move here? Buy a little yellow beach house with a wrap around porch and just never leave,” I said and snuggled into his chest, wrapped in my fantasy.
He sighed. It was a very loaded sigh. I realized what I’d just done. I just made plans… albeit hypothetical plans, but plans none the less. Caleb had wanted to talk about me moving in with him when we went to school for a week now. And I had studiously avoided it from the beginning.
“I will do whatever it takes,” he said softly, “to get you to move in with me. Anything you’ll let me do if you’ll allow me to take care of you the way I was meant to. I want to buy you a house and if I have to move to California to do it, I will.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, it was still scary to think about being married and having my own house. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be with him. I wasn’t doubtful of our always being together. It wasn’t just the being young thing and people thinking I was hillbilly either, even though that was front and center. The label of marriage just brought something different to the table. I wasn’t sure what. But my mom didn’t honor the vow. She just left. Why couldn’t we just be together and not worry about that right now? No, Dad would freak about my living with a guy and that’s not what I wanted nor believed in either.
Caleb had a point about living with him, also. It would be impossible for him to reach me with conflicting class schedules while living in the dorm.
Wow, I was being so stupid. The answer was right there in front of me. Marry the man. Live with him and be happy and prosper.
Why was I being such a silly idiot about it all?
I looked up at Caleb from under my lashes to see him watching me work it all out. His face was anxious and hopeful. When I stayed silent and continued to stare into his ocean of blue eyes he sighed and framed my face with his big warm loving hands.
“Maggie, marry-”
A deep sharp bark interrupted as Bella jumped and bounded up the beach. We looked behind us to see Kyle and Amber coming our way. I looked back to Caleb knowing full well what he was going to ask me. He looked back at me, smiling sadly and we waited for the annoying giggling to reach us, only then did we look away.
“Hey, guys. Wow, did you sleep out here?” Amber asked with a high voice and I glared incredulously at her thoughts.
Mmmm. The beach...maybe tomorrow night Kyle and I should change venues.
Kyle gave me a look for my glare and I rolled my eyes looking away.
Those two are seriously trying to show me up.
“So romantic,” she crooned.
“Yes. It is,” I said looking at Caleb, offering a little smile and then leaned my head back on Caleb chest and shut everyone out.
With his arms wrapped around me I could feel the rumbling deep in his chest as he and Kyle conversed, but I didn’t hear the words. I was in a mental state of shock, awe, happiness, fright and most importantly, unbelief. This just couldn’t be my life. Sleeping on the beach with warm loving arms around me, being almost proposed to as we snuggled in the sand, blocking out annoying chatter from my mind with just a thought. I was so very lucky and so very scared. I’d always wanted to be special and important and now that I was, I wasn’t so sure anymore.
I was the Visionary. It was time I accepted that and learn exactly what that meant. Then it hit me, we had to call the Reunification meeting early. There was no other way around it. I had to meet these people and understand exactly what it was that everyone was doing in the present day that was wrong when they were powerless and without abilities. It was strange to me that the ones who had already ascended got to keep their abilities. It was only the ones who hadn’t ascended who were affected. That had to mean something.
I glanced up to see Amber fluttering her hands as Bella tried to lick her hand.
“Ooh, ooh, get it away!”
“Come here, girl,” Caleb ordered softly and she dropped her head on my leg as she lay down beside us. He rubbed her ears. “She just wants some loving.”
“Well, she’s way too big and slobbery.” She wiped her hands on Kyle’s shirt. “My Pomeranian is way cuter and not so disgusting.”
Caleb cocked a brow at her and then Kyle, who just looked at the sky and shook his head. He had nothing to say to that.
“She’s not disgusting,” I sang to Bella. “You’re a sweet big girl.” I looked up at Amber. “She’s really sweet and soft and lovey. She can’t help it she’s so fluffy.”
She looked at me, almost like she was sorry for something, but her mind just flitted right on to the dogs again before I could grasp anything. She seemed like she was trying to not think about something awfully hard, like it hurt her to.
“Well...whatever, I just don’t like big dogs. Kyle, you ready to walk me home?”
“You live like three streets over,” he said and looked back at the house. “Can’t you just scurry home real quick like and I’ll see you later?”
“You’re not going to walk me home?” she asked and put her tan hands on her hips.
I was thinking the same thing actually. What kind of jerk wouldn’t walk the girl home after he spent all night with her in the pool regardless of what they did?“Yeah, Kyle,” Caleb smirked and nodded his head at her. “Walk her home.”
“Everyone will be up soon,” Kyle said and glanced back to the house again.
“Maybe you should take responsibility for the things you choose to do,” Caleb said, not unkindly, just matter-of-factly. “If you’re ready to hang out all night and rebel, then you’re ready to walk the girl home and make sure she gets there safely.”
“Ahh,” Amber said and looked at Caleb with new eyes. “That’s so sweet.”
“Eat me,” Kyle said to Caleb, glanced at me, almost shamefully. “Fine, let’s go.”
“Ok, bye,” she said and let him drag her up the beach by her arm.
“Jerk. His daddy didn’t raise him to act that way,” Caleb muttered sarcastically.
“He just doesn’t understand. He doesn’t feel anything for her. That’s why he doesn’t care.”
“I know, and that’s the problem. How could he be like that to her and not feel like a jerk?”
“He’s just a normal human teenage boy. That’s how they act.”
“I never did,” he countered.
“Yes,” I put my arms around his neck, “but you were waiting for me. Remember?” I said sweetly, smiling brightly and playfully.
“Mmhmm.” He pressed his lips to mine, sucking on the top then bottom before taking them completely. “And now I’ve got you,” he whispered against my mouth and then deepened our kiss.
I felt myself being pulled to his mind, my body wanting to take over and feel everything in him. It felt like so long since I’d been in his mind, when it had been only a few days. I felt his protective barrier, burning even brighter. It almost hurt to feel the flame of it. He was almost angry it seemed regarding something he was worried about protecting me from; I wondered about it. His need to protect had doubled and it was a full force wild fire now. Something had happened.