The Jump

24 Arrivals - Part 2

By sunrise Lucinda got up and went for a jog on the beach. This time she could see Raif out in the water, so once she was done, she stretched her muscles on the sand and waited for him. In the distance she watched as he paddled out quickly and then charged each wave he saw. It was as if he was taking out his frustration, and she would bet her money on it being about Eaddie's pestering. After a while, he made it back to shore and sat down by her.

"You looked good out there," Lucinda said, leaning in to give Raif a kiss.

"No, I did terrible. I haven't been out there in days. There's just too much on my mind."

"I know."

With everything going on, Raif had become distant, despite promising to not shut Lucinda out. The man who rarely took a day off, had been leaving the Barrel Wave in Lucinda's hands throughout the weeks. Even when he was there, he went through the motions to get through the day and it was as if Lucinda was just an employee. When they did spend time together, Raif was often very quiet and deep in thought.

He wrapped his arm around her, and pulled her in. All he could think about was the how the weekend would play out. Not only was he bringing Lucinda and Merrill over to meet his parents, but Rachel had bumped introducing his son to him from Sunday to Saturday. Which meant that Raif would be meeting his son at the same time as everyone else. This made him feel even more of a nervous wreck than before.

"Thank you for being so patient with me." He kissed the top of her head.

She turned her gaze up to him and cupped his face. "I'm here for you, always."

Raif tilted his head down, meeting his mouth with hers and planting a long kiss. Afterward he rested his forehead against hers and took in a big breath with his eyes still closed. Lucinda studied him with their noses touching and she shifted over so that she was sitting on his lap. He tightened his embrace around her and drew his head back from hers. Looking into her eyes, he began massaging circles in her lower back.

"I'm so happy you ended up here, Lucinda. You've become the best thing in my life, the person I look forward to seeing each day and the one who brings me sanity, so please do me a favor and never leave me?"

Lucinda let out a soft chuckle. "That sounded so perfect that if I didn't know any better, I'd think it was a proposal."

"Oh come on, give me more credit than that. The day I propose to you I promise it won't be where a bunch of locals are half naked."

Lucinda's jaw dropped slightly as she stared at him, completely at a loss for words. Had Raif admitted that he wanted to marry her? Her chest was suddenly pounding and surely her eyes were the size of saucers. Raif cradled her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb. Wasn't it too soon to think about marriage? The voice in the back of her mind said no, because deep down, entertaining the thought of growing old with Raif as his wife had crossed her mind once or twice... or five times. Raif pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth, distracting her from her conflicting thoughts.

"So do you promise?" He pulled away and grinned. "To never leave me?"

Lucinda nuzzled his nose with hers. "Well, with those puppy-dog eyes you're giving me, it's hard to say no."

"Is that a yes?" Raif tickled her sides.

"Yes!" she squealed.

After they parted ways to get ready for the big day ahead of them, Raif was beyind frustrated with Rachel. He tried to arrange a meeting before the barbeque, but Rachel refused. She figured if Lucinda was going to be in Raif's life, then she needed to meet her son too. Raif argued it was too soon and would overwhelm their son but Rachel disagreed, stating they might as well get all of the introductions over with. Raif couldn't help but think how much Rachel was behaving like her mother, Eaddie. Nevertheless, he was going to try his best to not be agitated, and a nervous wreck. So he hopped into the shower to wash off the ocean salt and hoped that the steam would calm his nerves.