Swell (Complete)

Chapter Forty-Three (Part Two)

"The water shines,
Sings to the sky,
The sea-spray,
It stings my eyes,
If I could stay..."

....

Adora sat outside in the alfresco for lunch on Saturday. Marti had sent her hair and make up ideas for the dance and told her about the planned photos. Try as she wanted to, it was hard to catch Marti's excitement.
Her phone sat on the table beside her empty plate and she stared at it, trying to ignore the security camera over the back door staring at her every move.
The only way she was without her guards, in front of security cameras. It was suffocating and she had tried to convince her Mum and Dodge that they could let her be alone with the Taylors, but they hadn't gone for it.
Dodge was organising extra chaperons for the dance, Tara was going to be there as his date, and a few off duty police officers.
Adora felt the fuss twisting her stomach in sickening knots.
She picked up her phone and opened the messages between her and Will.
For a while she just stared at the screen trying to think.
'Meet me at the bakery today?'
She sent the text and a smile crossed her face as she got an almost instant reply.
'What time?'
Her heart fluttered and she stood from the round table and looked into the kitchen window. Her Mum was busy at the dishwasher and Adora bit her lip before she walked quickly out of the alfresco, trying to figure the time it would take to ride to the bakery.
An illicit, spontaneous date made her feel human as she sent the text back to Will and unlocked her bike from the side of the house.

The weather was mild, the wind was cold but the sky was blue for the first time in days. Adora felt the wind blowing through her hair as she rode down the Ocean Highway towards the Esplanade.
Her Mum was going to kill her.
She would message her at the bakery, but she needed this time.
Will was waiting outside the bakery when she coasted down the footpath towards him. A smile grew on her face and she slowed the bike down and stopped beside him.
"Thanks for meeting me. I made an escape." She chuckled a little and his eyes grew wide.
"Won't you get into trouble?" He asked, his hands remaining in his jacket pocket.
"Most likely. I'll message Mum now. I'm going to say we're with the band though, OK?"
"Are you asking me to lie with you?" Will frowned.
Adora smiled cheekily. "Only if you get asked." She straddled her bike and sent a text to her Mum before putting it on silent.
"What did you want to do?"
"Anything. I'm suffocating at home, Will. You can't imagine not having any time alone outside of the bathroom."
"So, you escape to meet with me? That's not very alone."
"I know, but it feels different being around you." She gave him a small smile. "We could go to the cove, or the falls... No, actually, I really don't want to go to the falls." A flash of Gus' car in the lake of the falls sobered her expression and Will took a hand out of his pocket and put it on hers over her handle bar.
"No falls. Let's go to the cove." His hand was warm on her cold, windblown hand and she turned her hand around and closed her fingers over his.
"Let's."
"Did you want to drive, walk or ride?" His warm fingers wrapped around hers and she took a deep breath.
She didn't see his bike on the street, but if they wanted they could go through the bakery to the Taylor's house behind it and use a car or his motorbike.
"Do you know how to dink people on push bikes?" She looked from the bakery windows to his face.
"Um, it's been a while... but Yea, I guess. You mean on the pegs or the handlebars?" He looked at her bike underneath her as she stepped off it.
"I'll hop on the pegs, they're safer." She moved back over the back wheel and their hands separated as he lifted his leg over the middle of the bike and sat on the seat.
"You are so small, Adora." He chuckled as he reached the handlebars and looked at her over his shoulder.
Adora grinned and shrugged. "Pocket rocket." She put her hands on his shoulders and lifted her first foot onto the peg. A few small bounces on her foot and she lifted her other leg up. Her fingers tightened on his shoulders and he pushed off and began to peddle.
It felt different being on the back of the bike; Adora closed her eyes and felt the wind blowing her face. Her phone vibrated in her pocket and she ignored the ringing.
Will wasn't built with muscles like her cousins were, he didn't have the swimmer's shoulders, but they were solid and strong. She could feel the strength focused on balance as he rode them down the Esplanade towards the cove on the other side.

He wobbled slightly on the gravel as they rode towards the edge of the cliff above the cove, and her fingers dug into his shoulders a little more.
"Here!" Will stopped the bike and put both feet on the ground to stabilize it.
Adora leaned forward and kissed his cheek before she stepped off the pegs and onto the ground.
"Leave it here, just behind that bush, in case Mum decides to come looking for me." She pointed to hedges and left him to hide her bike.
She was sitting on a rock when Will reached the sand.
"I knew I needed to escape, I didn't realise how much." Her shoulders slumped as he sat on the sand beside the rock.
She moved down onto the sand beside him and leaned into his shoulder.
He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm sorry it's been so... awful."
"They love me, I know, and they are really worried," she felt Will's eyes on her as she took a deep breath. "I'm worried, I mean... I can't blame them."
"Do you need to talk?"
"I don't know whether they're watching because of the stalker, or because of my history with grief. I can't say I haven't thought about doing it again, especially when Brett was attacked."
Will shifted behind her and she found herself in between his legs, his arms wrapped around her waist.
"It's a real sickening feeling you know? Hating yourself so much that you hurt yourself."
"I can't imagine." Will whispered and shook his head.
The waves rolled around the cove, soft whooshing sounds echoing off the high, rock walls.
"It's worse when people you love see it though, the guilt of hurting them is the worst thing I've ever felt." Adora felt her voice tremble as she remembered faces of her family after she had fainted. "I couldn't do that to them again."
She closed her eyes and felt herself leaning back against Will's body, their legs stretched out before them in the sand.
She put her cold hands on his and let out a shuddering breath.
"You're OK, we're here, and you can breathe." He breathed beside her ear.
Adora lost track of time as they sat in the middle of the cove listening to the tide change.
It felt so safe and comforting to just be against his warm body, is his safe arm.
He rested his chin on her shoulder and she leaned her head against his.
"This is a lot easier than I thought it would be." He broke the silence.
"What is?"
"Being comfortable holding somebody."
She turned her head to look at him, his small smile making her heart flutter.
"I thought I'd feel bad, because of Liss, I guess knowing what happened kind of took that away. I'm not worried about hurting her by having feelings about you."
Adora felt her breath catch with his grief and she bit the corner of her lip as their eyes locked.
"Does this mean you want to try us out?" Her words were shaky. She knew there was nothing between her and Gus before summer had even ended, she had no guilt liking Will, except that she was afraid to pressure him.
"I wanted to before, but I thought Liss was still alive, and... It felt strange." Will swallowed and she smiled gently as she watched his throat move with the motion. "It doesn't feel so strange right now."
"How does it feel?"
He bit his bottom lip now and his eyes moved to her lips. "Easy." He breathed as he closed the space between their lips and gave her a soft kiss.
She smiled behind his lips and gave his arms a small squeeze.