Every Little Thing

Chapter Seventeen

"What do your parents do?" I ask after the waiter grabs our drink order.

"My dad's the COO of this big software company and my mom is an elementary school teacher" he says proudly.

"I love that she's a teacher" I say.

"What about yours?"

"My mom passed away from breast cancer right before I went in to high school and my dad is an ex pro surfer, he was one of the top in the country"

"I'm so sorry about your mom... I can't even imagine" he says and gives me a sympathetic look.

"It was hard, but my dad was amazing. He stepped up for my brother's and my sake which made it easier to get through" he nods.

"So pro surfer? That's awesome, I assume you grew up surfing"

"I did, I love it... I was practically raised in the water" we both laugh "My brother... we one of them is a surfer, taking after him"

"That's awesome, I grew up surfing as well. We should paddle out sometime"

"I would love that, do you have any siblings?"

"I have two younger sisters, they're both in college. Their names are Kelsea who's a freshman at UCLA and Taylin is a junior at Davis. I'm close with them" I smile.

"That's good, I bet they love having a big brother. Mine are both older, Stone is a surfer and Corey is the oldest and he's a lawyer in New York"'

The waitress brings our drinks over and we both notice how she bats her lashes at Axel, but he doesn't care. We continue talking, sharing college stories and ones from our childhood. He tells me all about his hobbies and we have a lot in common luckily. We both loves the beach, surfing, hiking and anything outdoors. I tell him how I love to read and that I'm dying to go on a camping trip soon. The conversation flows so smooth from topic to the next.

He's so easy to talk to and it's nice to have this new start with someone who doesn't know about my past. Ryder hasn't talked about me or else he would have known who I was or a little more about me and I don't know how that makes me feel. Like I wasn't important enough to talk about? I shrug off those thoughts and focus on my handsome date. We order our food and talk and laugh. At the end he snags the bill and pays for it, we finish a bottle of wine and then head out.

I put my jacket on as we walk out to his truck "Would you want to go on a walk on the beach?" he asks and I smile because I don't want the night to end either.

"I would love to" once we get to his truck we drive down a few streets and he parks in a neighborhood.

We both leave our shoes behind as we step out and walk over to the sand. We walk down by the water and then start to head towards the hotels and resorts "Is it wrong that I don't want this night to end just yet?" he admits.

"It's not wrong at all because I feel the same way" I say and nudge his arm.

"You're easy to talk to and I like your company Blake. Not to mention you're stunning" his words have my stomach flipping into somersaults.

"You're making me blush..." I say and he laughs "To be honest, it's been a long time since I've gone on a date or did anything like this and I'm really enjoying it so far"

"Same, my ex kind ruined a lot for me so I swore off relationships for the last couple years"

"I get that, I went through some stuff that made me focus on myself. But I feel like now is the time to put myself out there again, so this is really nice"

"Can I ask what happened with you and Ryder? You don't have to tell me if you don't want to"

I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear "Can we sit?" he nods and gestures for me to sit first and then he follows next to me "We had been together for a few months, and at a party one night we had gotten into a big fight. I disappeared and was sexually assaulted, it messed me up big time. I left town and went home to heal and figure out what to do next. I left him behind" I say out loud for the first time in years.

He lets it all soak in "I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I would have killed the guy... and I'm sure Ryder wanted to. You made a decision to work on yourself and no one can blame you for that Blake, what you went through was traumatizing. Did you ever talk to him?"

"I ended up pressing charges and only flying back for the court date and what not. But no, I didn't talk to Ryder or any of the friends I left behind. It was too hard, I wanted to move on and I felt like talking to them would bring it all up and I couldn't heal, as dumb as that sounds"

"Hey.." he says and turns my chin so I'm looking at him "That's not dumb and no one can blame you for that. No one knows what they would do in a situation like that, until they're in it. You did the best you could do and he knows that"

"I should have reached out, it's been years but after time passed I didn't know what to say" I sigh as he pulls his hand away.

"You have a chance now to talk to him... if you wanted to" he says.

I nod "True, but is it really worth it to tear open old wounds?"

"If you want closure or to be friends, maybe that's exactly what has to happen"

"Thank you Axel, for listening" he smiles at me and my heart flutters as our knees brush up against one another.

"You're welcome Blake" I don't know what it is, if it's the emotional topic or the beautiful night but we both end up leaning in and kissing.

It's soft and gentle which is the opposite of him. He caressed my cheek in his hand as we deepen the kiss and I open my mouth a little, and he slides his tongue in. The sparks between us are undeniable and my god is this kiss absolute perfection. We slowly pull apart and stare at each other with wide eyes "Fuck, that was.. amazing" he says and runs a hand through his hair.

"Wow" is all I can say and we both chuckle.

"Let's head back" he stands and reaches a hand to pull me up.

We brush the sand off of ourselves and start walking back to his truck. We talk about a much lighter subject; movies. We go over our favorites and even recite some of our favorite lines which is so ridiculous. We talk food, tv shows, sports, and I can't keep the giant smile off of my face because this has been the best first date.

When we get back to his truck I wipe my feet off and step back into my shoes. He drives me back to my apartment and once we're there he pulls right up front and puts the truck in park "Tonight was amazing Blake, and I would love to do it again sometime"

I unbuckle my seatbelt "Me too Axel" he leans across and kisses my lips again.

We slowly pull apart and I slide out "I'll text you" he says and I nod, shutting the door and walking towards the front door. He doesn't drive off until I'm inside the building, the entire elevator ride up I lean against the wall with a grin across my face.

I get inside my apartment and dance around feeling like I'm on cloud nine. I change into pajamas, wash my face and then dive into bed. He texts me when he gets home telling me good night and I swoon over the simple message. I close my eyes and get some of the best night's sleep, forgetting to take a sleeping pill.