And Then it Happened

26

Out of everyone on the beach, he was the last person I was expecting. What was my luck? Out of all the spring break vacation spots, he chose the exact same one my friends and I were at?

"Rachel, what's taking so long?" Ashlyn exclaims, her voice echoing slightly. "I thought we were-" she quickly cuts herself off when she notices the scene that is unfolding.

"Can I talk with you?" Cameron asks me, his voice is soft, and I can sense a hint of nervousness in it. I feel the weight of the friends' eyes on me. The ocean-air blows through my wavy locks, caressing my skin, and I feel the sand pebbles scratching the bottoms of my feet.

"I uh-" I clear my throat; my heart is beating nearly a million beats a second. My palms are starting to feel clammy. I don't know what to say. What is there to even say? Especially with the way we left things last time we saw each other. "Yeah, sure," I finally choke out.

He seems almost relieved as he heavily exhales. When I stand still, he gives me a pointed look. "Alone?" he emphasizes.

"Oh, yeah – right, sorry," I mumble. I see his upper lip curl up into a half-smile, almost as if he's trying hard not to laugh at me. Honestly, I wouldn't blame him if he did laugh at me.

He turns around, his back facing me, and begins to walk forward. I try to follow him, but his legs are so much longer than me and his strides are huge. My feet keep sinking down into the sand and it only makes it harder for me to keep up. My breathing is labored, and I can feel a sweat coming on, all thanks to the humidity.

Okay...so maybe not entirely the humidity's fault? There is a possibility that I'm just out of shape.

"Cameron, wait!" I shout.

He stops and turns back to face me, taking in the distance between the two of us. He shakes his head and chuckles. He makes his way back towards me and extends his right arm. I stare at his arm for a second, confused.

"Rachel, just hold my hand."

Understanding washes over me. I tentatively place my hand in his, immediately feeling the warmth of his hand spread through my body. I appreciate the warmth from his hand; it was a nice contrast to the slightly chilly night. The feelings I had tried so hard to ignore in the past were suddenly rushing back. I feel giddy and try my hardest not to crack a smile. His fingers close around my hand, and he begins to walk again; this time, holding my hand.

After a few moments of walking, I become worried. "Uh, Cameron?"

"Yes?"

"Where exactly are you taking me? We've been walking for a long time."

"We're almost there. Don't worry," he replies.

This does nothing to help assuage my fears. I quickly tear my hand from his and stand in place. "Are you going to kill me? Because my friends know I'm with you; you'll be the first person people suspect. I-"

Cameron stops and turns to look at me, before cutting me off. "Rachel?"

"Hm?" I hum in response.

"I'm not going to kill you, I promise," he states, making me sigh in relief. "I just want to show you something that I think you'll like. Just trust me," he adds. His blue eyes are boring into my eyes, urging me to trust him. Deep down, I know he would never hurt me – well, not now anyways. I nod, indicating that I trusted him. We continue walking.

Eventually, we stumble across a small, grassy hilltop that overlooked the ocean. As we get closer, I can make out some flickering lights, so I squint my eyes to see better in the darkness. Cameron stops walking, but I continue to walk closer to the lights. As I get closer, I recognize the flickering lights are candle flames; someone had lit a bunch of candles and assembled them to form a heart shape. Next, I notice the rose petals scattered along the outside of the candle shaped heart.