The next several days went back to the way they were before, except that TJ and I were a lot closer. We never took it past the passionate kissing, and it was better that way. For now at least. I had called Tori and set it up that we were going to go to New York to clear out the apartment on July 15th. We planned to fly out and then drive a small Uhaul truck back with everything. The apartment was furnished when we moved in so luckily it was really just clothes and personal items that we needed to get moved out.
As we came up on the 4th of July, TJ asked me if I was up for a surprise to celebrate the holiday. I was weary, but I knew I could trust him to not do anything too crazy. So, the morning of the 4th we got up and headed out in the jeep. We each brought a small overnight bag, and we headed south. We were pretty quiet, aside from the music blaring, which is normal since we can't really hear each other in the jeep anyways. After a few hours, we arrived to some type of festival on the beach. There were tents set up along the beach with vendors and people everywhere. There was a boutique hotel on the south end that I assumed we would be staying at. There was a stage set up in the middle of the festival, food tents, and make-shift bars. This was the most public place I'd been since losing Brody, and I felt a tinge of fear. I knew I needed to get out of my lonely bubble that I'd been keeping myself in and I knew that TJ was just trying to help me, but I was still nervous.
We got out of the jeep and walked over to check in to the hotel. I let TJ go ahead and get that sorted out and I wandered around the open lobby. I was standing and staring out at the ocean when TJ walked up behind me, "Ready?" I flashed an uneasy smile and nodded. We walked down a hallway and stopped at a door 3 from the end. He opened the door and as I caught a glimpse of the room I grinned. There were curtains flowing in the wind, and there was no wall to the outside from the room. Beyond it was the ocean. It was magnificent and I was instantly excited to spend time here. I walked in and threw my bag down on one of the beds and kept walking straight out into the sand where I stopped, closed my eyes, and took a deep breath in. As I let it out, TJ yelled from the room, "Hurry up, we don't want to miss the festival!" rolled my eyes and turned to walk back to him.
I stopped for a second and looked back over my shoulder, feeling a rush of calm being there. I couldn't place it but it was almost as though Brody's spirit was with me. I took another deep breath before I turned back towards TJ and followed him out the door. We didn't talk the whole way back out to the festival, but as we left the hotel, he reached out for my hand. I weaved my fingers in with his and just kept walking.
We stopped and each grabbed a beer at one of the bar tents and then walked over to the stage. The music being played was upbeat, and a cross between rock and country. It made me want to dance, so I threw my hand with the beer up in the air, closed my eyes and started bobbing my head and swaying my hips to the music. I felt free. Like I wasn't surrounded by chaos. And it felt so good. When the song ended, I looked over at TJ and he was smiling looking at me. I smiled back and playfully punched him in the arm. "Come on, let's go check out the cool stuff over there," I said pointing to the craft tents. He nodded and we started walking. After a few steps I broke our silence again, "So what's the deal with this festival?" I looked up at him as we walked.
He looked back at me and then down to the ground, then took a deep breath before he spoke. "Well, Brody and I used to come here every 4th of July before he moved to Washington." My eyes perked up. Brody had never mentioned this place, nor did he ever come while we were together. "He didn't come back from Washington until after I was gone in Army already, so he stopped coming. Said it wouldn't be the same without me." I could feel him tensing up a little. I looked at the ground wondering why he would bring me if he clearly knew it wouldn't be the same without Brody. Then he continued, "I figured the next best thing would be coming with you. And it would be good for you to experience it." He paused again. "See what Brody and I saw here." He looked over at me from the side to gauge my response.
YOU ARE READING
The Crashing Waves | COMPLETED
Romance"When we think of 'meant to be' we automatically assume forever. But maybe it isn't supposed to last forever. Maybe it's just someone who is in your life to teach you something. Maybe the forever is not the person, but what we gain from them." Ha...
