Love, Elliott (X Reader)

Chapter 4

Elliott's POV

The morning air is crisp. I put on a red jacket before heading outside. I crack a window open, letting the fresh air blow through the small cabin.

I see (Y/n) walking around the beach, bending down to collect clam shells that are laying on the sand. The tide always washes shells onto the beach in the morning.

She tucks them into a little basket. Then she walks out to the end of the dock, standing there in silence, gazing out at the vast cerulean ocean before her.

Willy exits his little tackle shop, a fishing rod in hand. He talks to her, but I don't hear what they're saying. He hands a rod to her and she smiles warmly at him.

Her hair blows away from her face in the gentle breeze. She's beautiful, even from a distance.

"Elliott! I need your help!" Willy calls, his voice as scratchy as the sand.

I walk across the warm sand, following the worn path onto the dock, my leather boots clicking against the creaky wood.

"Good morning Willy, and (Y/n). What do you need?"

"You can work a pole, right?" Willy asks.

"Correct, sir. I can."

"Perfect," he says, handing me his pole. "Do you want to show (Y/n) how to use one? I'd stick around to do it, but I'm expecting a big shipment of bait and I gotta go wait at the train station for it."

"Of course, Willy. If that's okay with you, (Y/n)?" I ask, looking to her.

She smiles. "Yeah."

"Okay. I'll see you two later."

When Willy is walking away, I look at the pole in my hand. It's heavier, the wood, smooth and stained dark. The handle is padded. This is his favourite rod. I'd better be careful with it.

"How are you doing, Elliott?" She says to me.

"I'm very well, thank you. How was your first night on the farm?"

"It was different. It's very quiet around here. I'm used to falling asleep to the sound of cars outside my window. But... the silence is kind of nice."

"I understand what you mean. I moved here from the city, too. It helps me focus on my writing."

"Can you hear the waves from inside your cabin?"

"Yes. They're very pleasant to fall asleep to." I tell her.

"I wish I were close enough to the water that I could hear them."

"Some people pitch a tent on the beach and sleep out here in the summer."

"I might do that someday." She says as she smiles. She looks down at the rod in her hand.

"Right. Have you gone fishing before?" I ask her.

"Once or twice as a kid. It's been a long time so I don't really remember how."

"Okay. Well, all you have to do it this." I say, and I show her how to set up and cast.

She attempts to cast, the rod slipping out of her hand and splashing in the water below us.

Her face quickly grows a deep shade of crimson. I drop to my knees, bending over the edge of the dock. I reach down, stretching my arm to grab the rod from the water. I shake it off, handing it back to her.

"Don't worry. We can try again. Try to keep a firm grasp on it."

"Okay." She says.

"Try to have a little bit of your line out to begin with. Give your bait some slack."

She turn the reel, turning it the wrong way so her rod begins to bend a little. She huffs before turning it the other way. The line extends.

"That's perfect. You only need a couple feet. You don't want to let so much out that when you swing it back you hit someone behind you. Or even yourself."

I watch as she holds up her rod.

"Swing it back, then whip it forward. And let the line go. Keep your hand off of the reel."

I show her using the rod Willy gave me.

Then she tries it. She seems a little clumsy at first. But she gets the hang of it. After a few casts her rod jerks forward.

"You've hooked something! Pull up on your rod!"

She pulls it upward, probably more than necessary, but it does the job. Her line continues to go out.

"Start to reel it in slowly. There's no rush. It's hooked."

She reels slowly, speeding up as she goes. Soon I hear splashing.

"It's trying to get away. Be careful. It will fight you. Hold your rod tight."

I see her grip tighten, pulling the rod upward as she reels the monster fish in. I see flashes of blue and white come closer, and loud splashing.

Soon the fish is pulled from the water, stuck to the end of her line. She gasps as she sees it.

"Pull it up. Let's see what you've caught."

She sets the fish on the dock, letting it flop around, still attached to her line.

"You got a tuna. Not bad! It's fairly big, too."

"I can't believe I caught a fish! It's easier than I thought it would be."

"Some days the fish bite more. Other days you're not so lucky. It all depends. Some old farmers's almanacs will tell you that the weather and how cloudy it is plays a big part in how the fish are biting. But no one really knows for sure."

"I'll keep that in mind." She smiles.

"Oh, another tip, some fish only come out in certain seasons. And sometimes, they only come out at certain times a day."

"What are some of the best places to fish?"

"The lake up in the mountains, and off the dock on the far beach to the right. You can catch some really big large mouth bass up in the mountains. On the beach, you can catch a lot of salmon and tuna. Sardines, as well.

"The bridge going across got knocked down last winter. I would've fixed it myself but wood is too expensive, and I don't have an axe to go get it myself."

"Fortunately for you, I have an axe. And I've been chopping down trees on my property to clear it out, so I also have wood."

"If you need help fixing it, I would love to pitch in." I say.

"Great! I'll bring the wood and tools by tomorrow morning, if that works for you?"

"Yes, that's perfect." I smile at her.

I never thought I'd be excited to fix an old bridge, but I am.