The Woman He Married

18. I Stole It

"Obviously," Mae exhaled as soon as the car came to a stop in the driveway of a beach house. She glanced at Zane, "We're on different leagues."

"Oh, your hiding spot is a resort of some sort?" Zane asked.

"I go for affordable ones," Mae told him, "Like a hotel, or hostel, or a motel maybe."

"As long as you're near your parents, right?"

"You remember."

"Of course. That's how I found you when you left," he smiled. "Don't worry, this beach house isn't my hiding place. It's somewhere else. We're just going to check in, and then we'll walk there."

"An adventure," Mae hummed, "I haven't done that in a while."

"And it's not your fault," Zane clasped her hand, "Your new adventure starts now, with me."

They got out of the car and checked into the house. Mae stood by the window and looked out to the beach. She looked over her shoulder when Zane stood behind her. "I thought you would want to go on a stroll while we're here."

"Is that a nude beach?" Mae asked, chuckling at her own question.

"I'm not sure..." He trailer off, "Are you planning to do that?"

"Can't I?" She looked up at him and he stared right back, somehow nervous.

"I mean, if you want. There's nothing wrong with that," Zane muttered, "I just didn't think you would be into exhibitionism."

"I'll just lay out here," she pointed at the lawn, "Wearing nothing."

"Huh," Zane hummed, adverting his gaze to the lawn.

"It's pretty much the same thing, just no sand. The point is I'll get tanned," she shrugged.

"You know what," Zane cleared his throat, walking away, "I don't want to imagine it."

"I didn't ask you to imagine anything," Mae giggled, going after him as he walked to the back door.

"You're a tease, Mae. I didn't expect that out of you either," Zane scoffed. He extended his hand to hold hers, and she took it.

They walked down a pathway into the woods behind the house, and Zane told her tales of his childhood. The beach house belonged to his grandparents, and he usually visit there on summers with Xavi and their other cousins. With each summer that passes by, less people gather there since they got married and moved away. It got harder to gather everyone in the same place at the same time.

"Here," Zane stopped, pointing at a treehouse inside the woods. It wasn't a normal treehouse. It looked like it could fit over ten people in it. Like a cabin, but it hangs above three huge trees. "Here's my hiding spot. Not always, but on special days like this."

"Today's a special day?" Mae pondered.

"It's a special day from now on because I brought you here," Zane told her.

"Only me?" Mae asked, following him as he took her to the front door. "What about your other girlfriends, the ones before me?"

Zane glanced at her, then back to unlocking the door. He muttered, "I took them to the beach house, not here."

"Are you sure they've never been here?" Mae asked, and she sighed when Zane looked at her in concern. "I'm just asking, not that I think you're lying or anything."

"Well, I did lie," Zane shrugged.

Mae hummed, "That's fair, since I lied in the first place."

"We promised not to talk about that ever again," Zane told her, "What I meant is that I lied about taking my previous girlfriends here. I wouldn't bring someone I don't trust over here."