I choose me.

Part 17: I told you I'd see you soon

They touched down around 1:00 and were due to meet the first property manager at 3:30, they got their luggage and were directed to Enterprise to get the rental. It was in his name because she didn't have a license, but she was paying for it. Thrifty she was, and had searched the internet for a discount and had eventually scraped up a ten percent off. It was an economy sedan, a silver Ford Taurus. They stopped by Plant Powered fast food and she could feel the happy vibes coming back already. Their hotel wasn't on the beach, it was actually a ten minute walk, but the price was right, it was like a San Diego version of a Motel 6, but it had a bed and a bathroom and it worked.

Olivia flung the curtains aside to let the Southern California sun in on her and heard a camera shutter go off, she pulled one of the drapes around herself, hiding.

"I can't help it." He snapped a few more, "So is it alright to post any of these online?"

She emerged from the drape and chewed on her fingernail for a second, then sat next to him on the bed. "Is it? It feels like a stab-" she retracted, "It's fine, it's fine yes. It's not a stab, yes." She said and then stood and jumped on the bed a few times before flopping down.

"Want to go to the beach real quick?" He asked slyly. Like a spring, she jumped and ran with her bathing suit into the bathroom and changed, threw on a t-shirt and had a towel ready to go while Crawford had just gotten his shoes off.

She made sure to be super aware of the streets, the neighborhood, the stores and overall feel as they walked, keeping her eye open for any RENT or SALE signs. It wasn't hot by any means, but it wasn't cold and as soon as pavement gave way to sand she ran, kicking off her flip flops as she went, dropping her towel and throwing her shirt off, she took in a sharp breath when she hit the cold water.

"Your lips are blue." Crawford said from just out of the water's reach and held out her towel.

"What time is it?" She shivered.

"Almost three."

"Ooops." She rubbed the towel over her goose bumped skin and they walked back, she was cold, but felt like a new person. She threw on a slouchy shirt with leggings and flip flops, her hair wasn't going to be brushed right now so she twisted it into a bun on the top of her head.

They were headed to the La Jolla area first and were meeting a lady near Mission and Pacific beaches. According to the GPS on her phone it would take fifteen minutes to get there. He parked on the street and they followed her phone to a row of Southwestern inspired townhouses. A woman with a tablet was standing with her back to them on the phone, her hair was streaked gray in a low bun and she had on a casual sun dress and flip flops too, she turned around "Oh!" She walked over, her nose and lips were narrow and pointy, but Olivia got a good feeling when she smiled.

"You must be Olivia?" She stuck out her hand.

"Yes, I'm Olivia, this is my...this is Crawford." The lady tapped the pen in her hand to her head, "Swimmer—no surfer right? Anywhoo, I'm Agatha Norris with Beachside Rentals—so these are our shoreside townhouses, the one coming available is on the left end, but I'll be showing you the same model in the middle, I got permission from the tenant, he's in Europe right now."

They approached and walked up the narrow stairs. The entryway wasn't much wider than a closet, further down there was a staircase to the right, it opened up into one large room, the kitchen was to the right, the appliances were more modern than she had and there was a dishwasher too, and a peninsula to sit at. Then there was space for a dining table, the whole place had rustic wooden floors and the living area was bright, her eyes automatically went to the sliding glass door, she pushed the shades back and slid it open. A small fenced in yard with a small patio sat out there. These people had a fire pit and lounge chairs, the lady was talking but she kept going and opened the gate, there was the ocean, not even a two minute walk away. "Wow."