A Leap of Faith

Day Ten

“Come on!” Jessie said excitedly when I wasn’t walking fast enough. I frowned but matched her pace, glaring at her from the corner of my eye. “You can stop giving me evils; I’m not going to tell you where we’re going,” she said. I moaned, but accepted defeat and walked along the road silently. “Will you at least tell me what you have in that huge bag?” I asked, noticing the large holdall in her hands. It looked like there were enough supplies in there for a week, but Jessie wasn’t giving up any secrets.

We reached the corner of the road, and Jessie stopped in her tracks. “What are we waiting for?” I asked, hoping we had arrived but I hadn’t noticed yet. My hopes were crushed when Jessie shook her head and pulled out a scarf from the big bag of mystery. “No… Jessica I’m putting my foot down,” I said, realising what the scarf was intended for. Ignoring my pleas, she told me to pipe down as she tied the makeshift blindfold around my head. “Okay, how many fingers am I holding up?” I took a guess at 3, but apparently that was the wrong answer as she took me by the arm and guided me down the next street.

I began to worry that if anyone saw us they would start to stare, and I worried if I had actually spoken my thought out loud without realising as Jessie stated, “Don’t worry, there’s no one down this road. Unless there are any peeping toms looking out their windows, no one can see us.” I smiled, relaxing slightly more at the reassurance. The steps I took were tiny and cautious, but not cautious enough as my toe caught on a rock and I fell flat on my face. As I pushed myself to my feet again, Jessie couldn’t help me up as she was laughing too much. “If you’re going to blindfold me, at least do a good job at keeping me on my feet,” I said.

We walked for another minute or so, and I could hear Jessie chuckling under her breath. “You’re thinking about me falling over again aren’t you?” I asked, pretty certain of the answer. “I’m sorry,” she replied stifling her laughter, “It was just so funny!” I swung my left arm aimlessly about the air, trying to hit her for laughing at my misfortune. “You know I’m absolutely nowhere near where you’re trying to hit right now?” Jessie stated. I grinned and replied, “I know, but it’s the thought that counts.”

Eventually we stopped for a second time and I asked, “What now - an extra blindfold just for good measure? You’re going to bind my hands together? Maybe even my legs and make me hop the rest of the way?” I received a playful whack to the arm and then felt nimble fingers untying the knot at the back of my head. “No you idiot,” Jessie said, “We’re here.” I opened my eyes and took in the surroundings. We were standing down the driveway of a humungous house, and I could hear the waves crashing in the back ground. “Are we…” I started, and then looked at the road we were in. “Are we at your uncle’s house?” I asked, remembering the time when Jessie pointed out the large house by the beach as her rich uncles.

She nodded and my eyes widened with joy. “But… how?” I asked, thinking of the times I had admired the place as I walked by it. “He’s on holiday with his new 20 year old wife. My mum has spare keys to the house, so I thought why not make use of it?” I grinned, and normally I would feel guilty about entering the house without permission, but I was with Jessie so none of that mattered. We walked inside, took off our shoes, and my eyes scanned around the rooms. “If you go in the kitchen and look in the cupboards, try and find some food we can cook dinner with,” Jessie instructed, and I did as she said. I opened the cupboards and was taken aback by the amount of food stocked in there. There was enough to last several months, making the decision of what to have for dinner impossibly hard.

Once we had examined every pouch, packet, and can of food, we decided on honey glazed ribs and sweet potato chips. I watched as Jessie skilfully chopped the potatoes into chip shapes and said, “You’ve been hiding this talent from me for too long. I never knew you were a good cook.” She laughed as she sprinkled various herbs on the base of the baking tray, and then directed me with what to do with the ribs. A while later we were sat at a lavish dining table, tucking into the most delicious dinner I had ever tasted. “Mm… This is amazing. You have got to cook for me more often,” I said, about to take another bite of the ribs. Modestly, Jessie shook her head. “It’s not me, it’s the expensive food my uncle buys. At the price it costs it has to taste good whatever you do with it!”

We powered through the washing up, and I was about to suggest going out to the beach when Jessie said, “Why don’t you change into your pyjamas and then go through and watch TV for a bit? I’ll be in soon, I just need to do something first.” I nodded, eyeing her up suspiciously. Nevertheless I complied and wandered into the living room once I was in the vest top and shorts I considered nightwear. The television was massive, and set out on the table before it was eight different remotes. It took a while before I managed to actually turn the TV on, and even when I did the remote was so complicated I couldn’t change channel, forcing me to watch Mastermind. It was back to back re-runs of various episodes, and I found myself getting so into it that I didn’t noticed two hours pass by without any sign of Jessie. I was about to get up and go looking for her when she sauntered into the room in her own set of tracksuit bottoms and vest top nightwear like she was only gone ten minutes.

“I never put you down for a Mastermind kind of girl,” she said teasingly. I glared at her and then explained, “You try figuring out the remotes. I’ve never seen anything so intense!” She sat down next to me, and as I expected failed to change the channel. “Anyway, where did you go?” I asked. She looked at me as if she had been waiting for me to ask the question, and then took me by the hand pulling me to my feet. “I’ll show you,” she said with a wink, and I wondered where we were going. “Just a quick heads up, I’m not too big on the idea of being blindfolded again,” I said worryingly. Jessie laughed and reassured me she had a different sort of surprise in store, which only made me more concerned.

At the back of the house was a sliding door, revealing the dusky sky reflecting on the waves at the base of the beach. The door slid open and just before I stepped out Jessie said, “Close your eyes.” I began to protest but she insisted, “Close your eyes or I’ll get the blindfold again.” Instantly my eyelids closed together, and I allowed her to lead me down several steps. I felt the sand move beneath my feet and the waves became louder the further we walked. “Jessie…” I began, but she cut me off and told me not to be so impatient. We stopped, and I found myself relaxing at the peace and quiet. I started to really appreciate the benefits of having a private beach.

Jessie undid my blindfold, and the sight before me made me want to scream with excitement. A comfy looking hammock was strung up between two trees, and a few metres away from one of the trees sat a small fire. Next to the fire were two swimming costumes, and Jessie looked at me with a gleam in her eye. We were changed within a minute and sprinted towards the sea. It was freezing cold, but the adrenaline and excitement overthrew the low temperature.

As it began to get dark, we left the water and retreated to the burning embers of the depleted fire, but Jessie soon built it up again. Once we had dried off, we changed back into our pyjamas and sat by the fire. I looked over at Jessie and her hair was still slightly wet from the sea. The fire glowed against her face, and everything looked so perfect as the sun had set and the sky turned a deeper shade of blue. “I could live here easily,” I said, admiring everything around me. “Same,” Jessie muttered, deep in thought.

“Are you alright?” I asked. She returned back to reality and nodded. I leant backwards onto the sand and it moulded to my body, feeling like a soft, warm pillow. Jessie copied me, and we just lay there for a moment listening to the silence. She entwined her fingers in mine, and before I could get my hopes up I reminded myself of the previous day and how we were nothing more than friends. Jessie turned her head to the side so she was facing me, and I did the same so I was facing her. Her hand rose to my cheek and she cradled my face softly. I leant into her touch, not worrying about where it was headed or where it wasn’t headed, just enjoying the feel of her hand against my skin.

She moved her head forward and we were inches apart, just like before. I could feel her breath, I could smell her perfume, and I could see only her in front of me. My senses were flooded with Jessie and she infected my mind as I thought of nothing but her. Hearing her breath shake with nerves, I took charge and leant towards her, closing the distance between us entirely. Our lips touched and her mouth pressed against mine, grateful of the contact. Forgetting all inhibitions she previously had, Jessie rolled me onto my back and placed one leg either side of me, never letting our lips break contact for too long. My hands ran up her sides as she tugged slightly on my hair. Eventually she pulled away, and lay on the beach next to me. Only one word escaped her lips; one word that perfectly summed up how I was feeling.

“Wow.”