A Time of Love within this Blackened Land

Jake - February 6

As soon as I arrive at the docks, I notice a strange smell. I get out of the van and the reek of fish pushes its way into my nostrils and then all along my throat. I can't help gagging a few times. I decide that I will kill Josh once I get back to the apartment. Either he has quite an exotic idea of what "romantic" means or he was just joshing me - duh! - when he suggested the docks after I asked about a nice place to spend the afternoon with Katie. I struggle not to throw up. Among the huge sweaty men coming and going all around, I catch a glimpse of her blazing carrot hair. She looks stunning, simply breathtaking – which is quite fortunate considering the aroma saturating the air around us.

She spots me, grins and waves lightly. I mirror the gesture with my hand and, as if having a mind of her own, my mouth curves into a huge smile too. All of a sudden, the distance between us seems unbearable and I start walking towards her. When we are finally facing each other, neither of us knows what to do next. I wouldn't mind standing like this for the rest of my life. Looking into her hazel eyes is all I'm interested in right now. However, I know for a fact that if I follow my instincts, she will forever think of me as the creepy guy from the docks and I certainly don't want that. I smile at the thought.

"What?" She looks confused. I hug her quickly as I shake my head, smile still on. "So, the docks, uh?" she says, breaking the ice.

"Yeah, I think they are... picturesque," I blurt out, echoing Josh's words. That rat. I'll kill him.

She nods and explores the place with her eyes, looking actually unbothered by the smell. "You know what? I've been here once, maybe twice before, and had never noticed. It does have a certain charm to it, doesn't it?"

I do not need any other reason to like her, but here it is. It is so easy to be around her. I almost don't care about the stench anymore. We sit right behind the spot where I've parked my van, our legs hanging above the crashing waves.

"You may be wondering why I asked you to come here, right?" I say looking down at my feet.

"Actually, no. I wasn't. But now I am"

Shit. Shit. Shit.

"Well I had come up with a stupid excuse anyways, so if you don't need one, that'd be... hm... that'd be just great"

"I really want to listen to it, Jake," she says aiming a smirk at me, that feels both like a punch in the face and a loving caress right after it.

I fear saying the wrong words and choose to stay silent. I notice that my palms are all sweaty. She is still staring at me, patiently waiting to be amused by my pathetic excuse. My cheeks seem to be about to catch fire and I suddenly feel a drop of sweat trickling down my temple. I own up to not being much of a talker, especially not around women, but this is going too far, even for me. I have never felt so intimidated and, at the same time, captivated by someone in my whole life.

"It is quite hot today, right?" she hurries to say when she sees how uncomfortable I've become.

"I think it is, yeah." She lets go of the excuse issue, which I am deeply grateful for.

We talk about the weather in St Kilda and in Frankenmuth. We talk about how cold it usually gets where I live while she has practically forgotten what sweaters look like.

"I can show you Sammy's collection whenever you please," I say jokingly, although if you think about it, it's probably not far from it.

She laughs and I'm suddenly upset about not being funnier. I wish I could play that laugh on repeat forever. We stay in silence for a while but not an uncomfortable kind of silence. A soothing silence. A this-is-the-time-to-kiss-her kind of silence. But all I can focus on right now is how much of a douche she must think I am, talking about the weather and joking about sweaters.

"You know, I googled your band" she says. "I... hm... I spent this whole morning listening to it, actually."

"Yeah, sure" I don't know if she is teasing me or just trying to talk about something, anything at all.

"I did! I swear! Test me. Well, don't. Believe me. Jake, you sound great. All of you."

For the first time since I met her at the beach, she seems to be nervous. She speaks in chunks and moves her hands excessively. I can't help but think that with a properly placed set of drums around her she would sound as good as Danny. I chuckle at the thought.

"Wait. What?! I mean it!" She blushes.

"Well, thank you ma'am. I just don't get why you got so nervous all of a sudden."

"I'm not. I mean. I know I shouldn't. It's just... do you remember the way I laughed about you being a rock star? I mean... you are. And a badass one by the way. And I'm here, talking to you, as if you were... as if you were just the guy in the bucket hat."

"Well, I am. Sometimes I wear a bucket hat, sometimes I play shows with my band and sometimes, apparently, I hang out with a gorgeous girl at the smelliest docks in Australia."

She laughs. Oh, for fuck's sake, that laugh.

"You are growing fast. Your band, I mean. I can tell by the pictures. They get better with time. Better quality, better setting. Mine beats them all, though."

"Yeah... I guess. Wait. Yours? Explain yourself, lady" I say having no idea what she means by that.

She stifles a laugh and takes out her phone. She swipes a few times, clicks here and there and finally gets to a picture of me in my wetsuit, surfboard beside me, looking at the sea, pretending not to be interested in looking at her. Silly me, I know now that I will regret wasting all that precious time. I must have looked concerned because she apologizes and offers to delete the picture if I feel like she has gone too far.

"No, no, no. I love it. I mean... not me. I love the fact that you took a picture of me. And that you came talk to me. And that you asked me to surf with you. I love how confident you are and I also kinda wish I were more like you sometimes."

She smiles cockily. "You can start by showing this to your thousands of Instagram followers," she says as she sends me the photo.

DO IT, JAKEY! My phone rings and my face turns red with embarrassment. Killing Josh won't be enough. "My... yunno... my brother likes to change my message tone... he thinks it's funny."

She bursts out laughing. I cover my face with my hands not sure if I'm trying to hide the fact that I'm also laughing my head off or that my face has turned bright red. She insists and helps me post the picture with a black and white filter. I only stop laughing when I finish writing the caption for it. 'We will return.' She stops laughing too. Tricky words. Coming back is cool, yeah, but we both know that means I have to leave first.

We just sit there in silence for a while, until the sun decides to move to our right, where the shadow cast by the van does no longer shelter us from its heat. It only takes me a few minutes to get as sweaty as the men working in the docks.

"I'm not used to these temperatures," I say excusing myself.

"What kind of fisherman leaves his bucket hat behind when coming to the docks?" Katie crawls a few steps and sits cross-legged behind me. "Let me," she says, as she combs my hair with her fingers. She arranges it in a braid and ties it with her brown bandana. The gentle breeze caresses my nape and as I close my eyes in delight, I feel her lips brush the side of my neck.

I smile.