The Beach House

Chapter 32: Those Boots Are Made For Walking

               The car ride back is silent. I feel more relaxed with Bella in the other car, but I'm still on edge. I bite the skin around my thumb for a bit before Soren silently takes my hand and holds it reassuringly. I glance back at the backseat, but no one seems to notice. I close my eyes for a moment and drift off.

              The car stops suddenly in what feels like seconds later and jostles me out of my light slumber. The other car is already in front of us in the driveway. How'd they get back faster than us? I let everyone rush in ahead of me and Soren until it's just us. There's lots of shouting coming from inside. I wonder what's made them all so excited.

                "Wanna go on a walk before heading in?" Soren offers me his hand along with his invitation. My legs are aching from walking back from the bonfire earlier, but alone time with Soren is too irresistible.

                 "Sounds lovely. Can you text the chat so they're not worried?"

                 "Of course," he replies. I know I could peek in and tell them myself where we're going, but I don't want to risk getting caught up in something. "Do you need me to make up an excuse about why we're together?" I frown at Soren's question. I know i'm the one making this a secret, but the complexity of the situation is still extremely frustrating.

               "No, it's ok," I say. They've probably noticed Soren and I talking and will think we're just hanging out as friends or something. At least that's the hope.

               I loop my fingers through his as we walk down the beach. I close my eyes for a moment and breathe in the salty air as Soren's hand tugs me safely forward. I open my eyes again as I feel a bit of water splash my ankle from the crashing waves.

"Do you think it'll be weird when we're out of this house? You and me, I mean," Soren says. He's so good asking me questions I don't anticipate. I think on it for a moment in an attempt to give an honest opinion.

"It might feel a little different," I say finally. "This beach house has always felt like it's own little world. It doesn't really collide with my everyday world other than memories and the people I'm here with."

I look to Soren as we walk steadily together. I hate to admit Bella was right, but Sky really is a good nickname for him. It suits him.

"It'll be different maybe," I continue. "But not weird." Everything with Soren feels so natural and easy. Soren nods thoughtfully in agreement.

"When's your birthday?" He asks suddenly.

"It was May 1st. Why?"

"Just want to know everything I can about you."

"When's yours?" I ask.

"February 3rd." I reply with a simple nod. That seems to fit him for some reason.

"What's your ideal future like?"

"That's a much harder question than 'what's your birthday'," I state.

"Try and answer it anyways," he says with a soft smile. I take another moment to think. Something about the way time passes in the summer feels endless. I can take all the pauses I want.

"I don't know what I want in the immediate future," I start. "But I think I want a pretty conventional life. I've always felt a weird pressure to be something. That my life wasn't worth anything unless I was worth something to a lot of people. I think everyone expects me to be in the city because that's what our generation seems to want. But recently, all I want is convention. A small, pretty house by the beach. Dogs. A husband and a lot of kids." I blush at the last part. It feels weird to talk about things like that with someone you just started dating, but saying it to Soren feels right.

"That sounds nice," Soren says wistfully. "I always wanted a lot of siblings."

"Do you have any?"

"I have an older brother. But we don't talk much. We're very different people," He says.

"I don't have any siblings. Maybe that's why I want a lot of kids. So nothing is ever boring. And it has to be an even number of kids so no one is ever left out, too."

A gust of wind brushes Soren's hair back gently. He's so beautiful.

"What about you?" I ask.

"What about me?"

"What do you want in the future?"

"I haven't been able to pin down exactly what I want recently. It's nice hearing your plan and knowing it sounds appealing to me. Makes it easier for me to form a picture."

We carry on walking and talking for a while. Soren makes me laugh and I can see how comfortable he feels around me. Eventually, my legs feel so heavy that we have to turn back towards the house. I'll definitely be sleeping well tonight.

Soren stops me at the bottom of the back porch stairs, out of sight of the windows, for a kiss. It's not as urgent as before, more slow and gentle. We break apart and I see my massive smile reflected on his face.

"Thank you for tonight," he says. I blush and give his hand a little squeeze.

"Anytime," I reply, bashfully. We let go of each other's hands as we climb up the back porch to the sliding door. Thankfully it's unlocked this time. I can feel the heat of a blush on my smiling face as I open the sliding door. The lights are on and everyone is awake. Not only are they awake, but they seem to be in some kind of huddle. I can see Ali standing off to the side looking grumpy about something. Bella is leaning on Tess. I step inside and Soren follows, closing the door behind him.

                Ali looks up briefly and tries to mouth something to me. In my exhaustion, I can't process what she's saying, so I shake my head and turn to the rest of my friends.

"Hey guys, what's up?" I say.

"Didn't you see our texts?" Annika is the first to turn and speak to us. I shake my head and think about explaining about my phone, but something in their expressions stop me.

My friends turn the faces to me with hesitant, drunken smiles before stepping apart. I take in what they've all been huddled around. It's then I realize it's not a what. It's a who. The blood from my face drops to my stomach in a crashing wave as his eyes meet mine. I mentally slap myself for not trying harder to read the name on Ali's lips.

Because standing in front of me, in those stupid boots i bought him, is Noah.