It's About Time

Let's Go Watch a Sunrise

        Monday rolled around again and once again Natalie found herself surprised at how late in the school year it was.  It was already the second week of February.  

        She dressed quickly, grabbed her cellphone, and headed downstairs, checking her phone as she went.  The screen lit up with a voicemail from Emma and Natalie felt a pang of guilt, seeing as the two hadn’t talked in a few weeks.  Looking at the time, she saw that she had about ten minutes until Grayson would arrive and she decided that it would be enough time to call her back.  

        She scrolled through her contacts until she found ‘Emma’ and then pressed the green call button.  She waited as the phone rang a few times before Emma’s voice buzzed through the receiver.

        “What’s up bitch?”  Emma asked as she answered the phone.  Natalie chuckled, shaking her head. 

        “Hello to you too.  You called?”

        “Yeah.  I just feel like we haven’t talked in forever!”  Emma’s voice took on her signature whine.  “And I know that you have new friends now and a hot boyfriend but-”.  Natalie cut her off.

        “Firstly, he’s not my boyfriend.  Secondly, you’re not being replaced.  I know we haven’t talked in a while but you’re still my best friend, I promise.”  Natalie reassured.

        “Good!  I knew I was being insane but still.”  Natalie could hear the smile in Emma’s voice and smiled as well.  Emma continued to talk about some of the occurrences at home as Grayson’s Jeep pulled into the driveway.  Deciding to let Emma keep talking, she grabbed her bag and headed outside.  

"Good Morn-” Grayson was incapable of finishing his welcome as Natalie’s hand flew up to his mouth to silence him.  He raised his eyebrows at her and Emma cut off mid-sentence.   

“Who was that?  Was that Grayson?  HI GRAYSON!!”  Natalie pulled the phone away from her ear to avoid busting an eardrum.  She dropped her hand from Grayson’s mouth and he chuckled, reaching for the phone and prying it out of her fingers and placing it up to his ear.

“Hello?... Oh, I’ve heard a lot about you… All good things I hope.”  Natalie sat up and stretched to get the phone out of his hand but Grayson leaned away, pressing his back to the window and placing a hand on Natalie’s shoulder to keep her at a distance.

 “Oh really?” Grayson asked interestedly, sending a smirk in Natalie’s direction.  She wasn’t sure what exactly Emma was telling him, but based on the their past conversations and the look on his face, it wasn’t good.  

“Mmhmm… Really?... Definitely… I promise.”  Grayson kept his eyes locked with Nat’s through the rest of the conversation and Natalie couldn’t find it in her to look away.  Her cheeks flared as he sent her a crooked smile and handed the phone back to her.

“What the hell was that, Emma?” She whisper shouted as she put the phone back up to her ear.  Grayson pulled out of the driveway, heading in the direction of the school.

“I just wanted to get to know the guy that took your heart”  Emma said, feigning innocence. Natalie rolled her eyes.  

“Please never say that again.  It sounds like a cheesy movie.” Natalie said, exasperated.

“Is your life not a cheesy movie?” Emma asked chuckling.

“No it is not.  Thank you very much”.  Natalie tried to keep a stern tone but failed as she started laughing.  Grayson navigated the car into a vacant parking spot in the student lot.  Natalie quickly said goodbye to Emma, promising to talk to her soon before hanging up.

“So, what are the odds on us skipping school today and doing… Well, anything but school?” Natalie mused.  She had had a lot of homework over the weekend and not much sleep due to the Grayson incident, leaving her exhausted and in no mood to go to school.   

Grayson chuckled.  “I would say one in one thousand.”

“That low?” Natalie whined.

“You really want to skip school?  Will you get in trouble?” Grayson asked, genuine concern in his voice.  Natalie shrugged.

“What’s she gonna do?  Ground me?  Oh well.  I just cannot deal with school today.”  She pleaded, giving him a pout.  Grayson let out a sigh- feeling guilty that he was part of the reason she was so tired-  and gave Natalie a look of mock disappointment.  

“I guess, just this once, we can skip school.”  Grayson gave in.  Natalie beamed and buckled her seatbelt back up as Grayson pulled out of their parking space.

“So, where do you want to go?”  He asked as he pulled the Jeep out onto the highway.  Natalie thought about it for a minute before realizing that in the six months that she had been here, she had spent almost no time out of the house and didn’t know where the good hangout spots were.

“Um…”

“How about the beach?  Have you been to the beach yet?”  Grayson asked, switching lanes.

“I’ve actually never been to the beach, ever.”

“What? You lived in Michigan.  You literally had one of the most famous lakes in the country and you’ve never been to the beach?” Grayson asked incredulously.  Natalie smiled sheepishly.  Her friends had invited her to got to the beach with them hundreds of times while she had still lived there.  However, beaches had never seemed appealing to Natalie.  All of the crowds of people and the sun burning everything and the sand getting in all of your crevices.  No part of that had sounded appealing to her when her friends had invited her.

However, with Grayson, the idea of didn’t seem so awful.

“Yeah, I just never really got around to it I guess.  But yeah, let’s go!”  They smiled at each other and Grayson pulled off on an exit ramp.  As they exited the highway, Natalie caught a glimpse of the ocean, lit by the houses and businesses surrounding it.  They drove through the small town, doing their best to fight the early morning traffic.  It was only 7:55 and the sun was just starting to peak over the horizon as Grayson pulled the Jeep into a space, right in front of the sign reading Misty Shore Beach.

The two climbed out of the car and Grayson headed around the back and digging in the trunk, coming back a few moments later with a wadded up blanket in one hand and one of his sweatshirts in his other.

“You might want this”.  He tossed Natalie the sweatshirt as he neared her and she reached out, managing to catch it before it could land in the dusty parking lot.  She smiled graciously before slipping it over head and burrowing into its warmth.  With his free hand, Grayson reached out for Natalie and she hesitated for only a second before wrapping her slender fingers around his calloused hand and letting him drag her towards the sand.  

        “C’mon.  Let’s go watch a sunrise.”