The Unseen

Calm Before The Storm

Drew called me this morning and I giddily answered. I remembered to leave a note for Bianca on my window. Now I sit waiting for him to show up.

As promised, a black Jeep pulls up, Drew inside. I walk up and hop in the passenger seat, "Hey trouble."

He smiles and chuckles, "Hey. And why am I trouble?"

"Because I came home with your sweatshirt on, my mom thought you got me pregnant." I tell him.

"Ha, nice. How much do you remember about the party? I only remember about up until the kiss. I'm not the only one who remembers that, right?" Drew asks, making sure I remember the happiest moment of my life.

Memories flood my mind. The warm feeling that filled my chest. The tingles that ran down my spine. The smell of Drew that filled my nostrils. The sound of faint music and my heart pounding out of my chest. The taste of beer that we had both been drinking. The way the moonlight lit up the moment perfectly. The way his lips felt on mine. The way I never wanted it to end.

I nod, "I remember." He sets his hand over mine, "So where are we going?"

"There's a storm coming in. We're going to the beach." Drew says happily.

I laugh, "What does a storm have to do with the beach?"

"You'll see." He says with a smirk.

+++

Drew parks the car and we both get out. The wind howls around us and is almost strong enough to blow me away. He grabs my hand and breaks into a run toward the beach, "Come on!"

I try and run with him but drag behind, no competition for the football player. "Damn it, Drew. Are you a freaking Olympian?" I stop and catch my breath.

He laughs and picks me up and carries me over his shoulder. I'm impressed. He doesn't even slow from the pace he was at before. My arms clutch onto Drew's back, then the wind picks back up. Sand flies up from the beach and bites my forearms. The air smells like lake and I taste sprinkles of the water on my tongue.

Drew sets me down into the sand and I notice that we're the only two on the beach if you don't count the three people windsurfing far down the shore. He crouches down and starts untying one of his black Nikes. I slip out of my flip flops and set them down next to me. Drew fumbles with the same shoelace, almost out of it. I kneel down next to him and expertly untie his other shoe, "Hidden talents." I explain just as he unties his other shoe.

We stand at the very beginning of the sand. The waves are high and rough and come crashing in one after another. Drew takes my hand and leads me into the waves. They're strong and move me with them as they come pounding up to my knees. The waves go up as far as the tree line and then back several feet more. Drew walks me around a tree through the waves onto a small strip of beach surrounded by boulders stacked on top of each other, trees towering high over our heads, and waves still crashing high. It's nice though. The tree we went around separates this area from the rest of the beach and this area. It's like our own little beach.

Drew goes over and climbs up onto the lowest boulder, setting his shoes under a tree far above the waves. I set my shoes with his and I very ungracefully sit on the boulder next to him, "This is beautiful." I almost need to shout for him to be able to hear me over the waves.

He saves his voice and talks right into my ear, "I thought you'd like it."

"I do. And I like you too." I say, sliding onto my stomach and lying with my head in his lap, staring out into the water, my feet kicking the cool, gusty wind behind me.

Drew sets his hand in between my shoulder blades, "Oh, do you now?"

I nod, "A lot."

"Well, guess what?" He asks, running his thumb over the hem of my tank top.

"What?" I ask playfully.

"I like you too. Very much. So much so that my dad wants to meet you."

A huge wave crashes up and I roll onto my back to avoid being splashed by it, "So you talk about me?"

"Maybe." Drew smiles, "Actually, he wanted me to see if you wanted to come over for dinner Tuesday night."

"Ooh, you aren't like secretly cannibals or something, right? I don't judge but I just don't want to be dinner." I say jokingly.

He shakes his head and smiles, "No, you won't be dinner. But, for real, do you want to come? You don't have to but-"

I sit up and press my finger to his lips, "Shh. I'll go."

"Seriously? Thank you! My sister is bringing her friend and she has a crush on me and it just gets so awkward. You'll be literally saving my life by coming." Drew hugs me and I wrap my arms around him.

I laugh into his shoulder, "So there are ulterior motives, huh?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." He smirks and I laugh.

I nervously trace his jaw with my fingertips, "What if your family hates me?"

"That doesn't matter. I don't hate you and if they do...then oh well." He shrugs.

I sit fumbling with Drew's facial features for a bit and then ask what's been bothering me, "What's your family like?"

"Like a normal family, I guess. Mom stays at home. Dad works. Sisters go to school. You know?" He answers, clearly surprised by the question.

I look down, "Not really. It's just me and my mom and my mom works a ton so usually it's just me."

"What about your dad?"

"Bailed before I was born. Never met him." I shrug.

"No siblings?"

I shake my head, "What are yours like?"

"Arianna is thirteen and currently she's into Harry Potter, One Direction, and boys." He rolls his eyes, "Brette is six and she's into Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and unicorns. Both are loud, but I love them."

"I can't wait to meet them." I say honestly. It was interesting enough to hear about Landon's family. But to meet Drew's, that would be amazing.

Drew sits twirling his fingers through my hair idly, "Y'know, we never did figure out what that 'us' meant."

"We didn't? I thought we made things pretty clear." I say, turning my head to face him.

"Hmm, I don't quite remember."

"I think I can help with that." I lean forward and press my lips to his. We sit there kissing and laughing and then kissing some more. And by the end of the night, it's crystal clear on what the 'us' means. We aren't Drew and Rain anymore. We're something entirely different. That night, the 'us' became Us.