Second Chances

Chapter 9: Paradise

Kenna

"Jeez, tiny person, do you think you could go any slower?" Jack yelled from the front door. We landed in Silver Falls an hour ago and finally arrived at the house. Zane lent us a jeep to use while we were here.
      "You could have helped me you know!" I yelled back. I could hear his deep laugh from the car. I finally made my way to the door and unlocked it. We lugged our stuff in and took a look around. Everything looked the exact same. I gave him the tour and we took our stuff to our rooms.
      "What do you wanna do first?" I asked as I walked into his room.
      "Sleep sounds perfect right now." He told me as he unpacked.
      "What? No!" I said. "Let's go swimming! There's so much to show you." He only shook his head.
      "Have I told you that you're demanding?" He laughed.
      "Yeah several times and I demand you stop pointing it out." I flopped down on his bed. "Come swim with me please?"
      "Well since you asked nicely for once, sure." I could hear the sarcasm in his voice.
      "Great! I'll go change!" I jumped up and ran to my room. Within minutes we were walking down to the water, hauling the snorkeling gear. The house was placed perfect within this cute little cove. The view from the house was amazing.
      Once we reached the water, I walked out barely ankle deep and let the water rush over my feet. I closed my eyes and breathed in deep. Taking in the sun and sounds, I knew I was home. When I opened my eyes, I turned to see Jack staring at me with a small smile.
      "What?" I asked with a nervous laugh.
      "Oh. Nothing." He looked away shyly. "I can see why you love it here so much."
       "You'll really see when we get in. I love snorkeling. I could stay out here for hours." I said, looking back over the water.
       "Well what are we waiting for then?" He said, suddenly charging at me. He quickly threw me over his shoulder and took off into water. I could do nothing but squeal. Once he was waist deep, he dumped me into the water.
       "Rude!" I laughed deeply. We put on the masks and snorkels and dove deeper in the water.
       Once we were swimming I signaled for him to follow me and took him to all my favorite spots. He followed without hesitation. I noticed him reach into his pocket and pull out a GoPro camera. After the strap was around his wrist he started snapping pictures. I would occasionally point at something cool and he would take the pic. Several times, I dove deep into water and looked up to see him taking a picture. He looked adorable.
      After an hour, we started walking up to the house.
     "That was amazing!" He said, almost in awe. "I think I got some good photos!"
     "I'm glad you had fun." I said with a laugh. "We'll definitely be doing that again while we're here."
     "Oh for sure." He opened the door for me. "What else is there to do?"
      "There's a lot here actually." I said as I walked in. "There's a fun side of the island, mostly for the tourists. We can go tomorrow afternoon. I'm gonna go see my grandmother in the morning."
      "Your grandmother lives here?" He asked.
      "Oh yeah. My mother was originally from this pack. When she met my dad, she moved to the Crescent Pack." I explained. "But he told her he wanted to keep this house too for vacations. I spent my whole life going back and forth. It's how I know Zane so well."
"That makes so much sense now." He said while heading to his room. "He's a pretty cool guy."
"He's the best. We share the same birthday so we call each other birthday twins. I'm glad he's Marie's mate." The moment I said the word, we both got quiet. He nodded and went into his room, closing the door behind him.
I slowly walked into my room and went for the bathroom. After a quick shower, I went and knocked on his door. When he opened the door, I could see the pain I felt. I gave him a sympathetic look and opened my arms. His confused look only lasted a second before stepping into my arms. We hugged each other for a minute before stepping back. He cleared his throat and scratched the back of his head nervously.
"Wanna go find something for dinner?" He asked, breaking the silence.
"Sounds good. I'll even let you drive." I playfully shoved him and went to the living room. Hearing him laugh I knew we'd be alright eventually.