Santa Cruz Boardwalk. 11 AM.
As the sun beamed down on the coastline and the tides splashed against the boardwalk, Katelyn and Danny exited his car and walked hand-in-hand towards the boardwalk. Even though the day felt unusually cold, Katelyn was comforted by the warmth that emanated through Danny's hand.
"So what happened when I was knocked out last night?" Danny asked while putting on his shades.
Katelyn thought back, "Well... once we got to the party and got split up I went looking for you since... you know... you did invite me." She paused and then started to blush, "I looked around and then when I checked the basement I saw you down there..."
Danny saw her face redden; he lifted his shades and looked at her and smiled. "As embarrassing as it was, I'm glad you of all people found me."
The two giggled together and walked onto the boardwalk. Most of the attractions were closed due to their seasonal nature of operation. Nonetheless, the two walked around the boardwalk and parts of the beach while continuing to talk about movies, TV and even celebrity crushes.
Danny thought back to when he was dating Maria. Back in middle school, Maria acted very similar to Katelyn now; nice and chill. But as they grew up, Maria started to get aggressive and it strained their relationship to a point where he would commonly feel embarrassed whenever they would be out in public together. It really got worse this past summer after Maria's furry companion passed away. He thought that time would heal all wounds; but it only harden her. And even though she felt cold to him, he would never have imagined how abusive and violent she would be towards Katelyn.
But compared to Maria, Katelyn not only seemed to be more down to earth but she was also more chill. Sure might look like a "plain Jane" but for some reason he felt a mix of emotions when he was with Katelyn; her cosplay the night before certainly didn't help untangle his feelings. But was it a costume? Or was Katelyn the green-headed goddess...
"Nah," he thought to himself. Even though her face was green it didn't mean that she was the only girl in county that was wearing makeup; it was Halloween after all you're suppose to dress up. But still, it wouldn't hurt to ask about it...?
After an afternoon of walking, the two eventually diverted from the shore and headed into an ice cream boutique to take a break. Danny ordered two affogatos, one per person, and took their order outside.
"Fancy~" Katelyn teased as she poked Danny with the other-end of her spoon.
"I always get ice cream... but since it's getting cold why not add some nice hot espresso?" Danny quipped back at her.
She dug into her cup and savored the rich taste of vanilla gelato and the sharp warm coffee mixture.
"So I wanted to talk to you... about your costume last night," Danny said in a more serious tone.
Katelyn froze with a spoon in her mouth. "Oh no... the jig was up," she thought to herself.
"What about it?" She replied with her mouth full.
"I..." He stopped himself. Danny felt that he could burst. He wanted to tell her everything; the bar, the beach late at night, the night at his Uncle's place. But he was worried about seeming like he was crazy; each encounter with the green-headed girl was wild and unbelievable...
"You okay dude...?" Katelyn asked politely after a few minutes of silence.
Danny sighed. "Like... when I saw you in your costume I had a weird feeling like..." Danny said while looking down at his cup of continuously melting ice cream.
"... like I knew we were gonna have a good time. I don't know..." Danny still tongue tied.
Katelyn, now seeing Danny struggling to express himself, tried to redirect the conversation. Maybe this could be her opportunity to open up to Danny and slowly let him in on her little secret.
"So you liked what I wore last night, eh?" Katelyn asked in a feisty tone. Danny nodded shamefully back at her.
"Well, maybe sometime we can cosplay together," she suggested. Danny's head rose up and he smiled back at her.
As Katelyn saw Danny's smile she was startled by a reflection in his sunglasses; her alter-ego was sitting right behind her. She quickly looked around; nothing was there. She looked back at his shades and the mirage was nowhere to be seen.
"What's wrong?" Danny quizzically asked.
"Nothing... hey look people surfing," she said; quickly changing the subject.
Danny turned his attention towards the waves, "you surfed before?"
"Kinda... I mean I guess I had some help," Katelyn said thinking back to her time surfing with her mask.
"Neat. I also tried to learn when I was young; never got the hang of it," Danny paused. "But I'm great at skiing."
"Really? I thought California was too hot for snow," Katelyn asked. In her mind, California was always a warm place; even in the winter.
Danny chuckled, "Not here. But my folks have a place up in Lake Tahoe. We go there every year to just relax and get away from it all. Just think in one month, those slopes will be packed full of snow ready for us to ski."
"Us?" Katelyn asked with the raise of an eyebrow.
"Uh... yeah I mean..." Danny stuttered. "If you wanted to... you know..."
Katelyn rolled her eyes at him. "I mean I guess I can be your plus one... again," she said with a cheeky grin.
But then she suddenly realized, "uh, but I don't know how to ski."
"No worries I'll show you the ropes," Danny said confidently. "I mean... it's the least I can do after you freed me..."
"Deal," Katelyn brought out her hand and the two shook on their new agreement.
"Cool. I'll tell my dad. We usually go when school's out so maybe sometime after New Years?" Danny asked.
Katelyn nodded.
"Awesome, get ready for some high intensity action on the slopes." Danny said confidently and the two continued to talk until sunset.
================================
After a night of rough-housing; let's have something sweet...
Let me know your thoughts down below in the comments and vote up this chapter if you enjoyed it! If you'd like to see more stories in the future, please consider supporting with a cup of coffee for some late night writing at: https://patreon.com/manifestbound
