Every Breath You Take

45

Terra Nova High School was a good thirty minutes North from our area. The fastest way to get to-and-from there was to take the highway that tip-toed just along the coast. 

The moon was full, heavy in the sky as if it were on the verge of slumping down the horizon and into the deep slumber it usually passed into as the Sun took over. But the night was young and there were still many hours before the Sun would even think of pressing against the horizon.

Kaden and I had driven down the highway for a good twenty minutes, the adrenaline finally coming to a downwards slope. My notepad was safely tucked in my skirt's pocket and I was still fishing for some good excuse as to why Casey would not be getting back a very blonde wig tomorrow morning, when Kaden pulled into the parking lot of a familiar beach that had been present in both Kaden and I's memories.

It was a small stretch of sand, more of a cove than anything, with a small wooden pier that led out and onto the water. Carnival lights illuminated the small ice cream shop on the end and I knew immediately why we were here and I was very, very, veryyyy pleased.

So now here I was, sitting on the front hood of Kaden's dads' convertible, my feet bare and nestled deep in the cool sand. I was pretty sure my hair looked like a bird's nest right now from how fast we were speeding down the highway, but I was a little too lazy to rake my fingers through it. Instead, I went with the easy messy bun look hoping that I didn't look as undead as I thought I did.

"Here I was thinking you'd seriously ask me for a scoop of Vanilla, but Cotton Candy?" Kaden winked at me. Any thought of Eddie, our grand escape, or the championships slipped my mind as Kaden handed me a sugary cone filled with Cotton Candy ice cream. "You've surprised me yet again, buttercup."

"I think we've established that my tastes are far from Vanilla, if you get my gist," I winked back, nudging him in the side, playing along with him.

"And she has finally admitted it!" Kaden fisted the air victoriously before shooting me a smirk, "Welcome to the Darkside, young one, I have taught you well."

I burst out laughing, scooping up some of my ice cream onto my spoon and popping it into my mouth, shaking my head at him. Peeping at his cup, spoon stuck between my lips, I asked, "What did you get?"

"Not Vanilla, that's for sure."

I rolled my eyes, "Rocky Road, am I right?"

"Hell yes! This place has the best kind, ten times better than the stuff you buy at the store. Here, try some," He scooped some up on his spoon, moving it in front of my mouth. I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner or even think about it, but I ate off his spoon like it was natural and he did too. Eventually, he wanted some of mine too and I think the two of us swapped spoons for the next five minutes until everything was gone. Literally. Not a drop of ice cream lingered.

Kaden leaned a hand back, supporting himself as he sat down on the hood of the car beside me, "Do you remember the first time we went to the beach together?"

"With Aiden and Isaac?" My brows furrowed as I tried to scrape up as much as I could about that day in my memories. All I really remember was being so displeased at the fact that Kaden was going.

He laughed gently, looking at me beside him, "Yeah and you lugged that giant white picnic box of shovels and sand toys across the beach."

"Are you making fun of me?" I narrowed my eyes.

"Never," He teased.

"Good because I hope you remember that you used some of those toys too. It wasn't just me."

Kaden simply laughed, looking out at the dark water, the moon reflecting along the surface of a small wave cresting along the sand. "That day is one of the fondest memories I have of my childhood. I don't remember a lot of it, but I remember that day clearer than anything."