My Cherie Amour (Fully Posted)

Chapter 35

Cherie

Kisses from the ocean made Cherie laugh, but she remained steady on her board. Riding the waves had become one of her favorite pastimes in Bahia. Only joining in on bossa nova jams ranked higher.

"You looked good out there, linda," Henrique said when she returned to the shore. "How did it feel?"

"Amazing. I think I overdid it, though." Dripping wet and sore, her body agreed.

"Yeah, you've been practicing a lot."

"I'll slow down then. I recently promised myself that I'd work on not pushing my limits. This is a perfect opportunity."

He nodded and took her surfboard for her. "It's like my mother says: 'Don't squeeze so much into life that you run out of time to live it'."

"I like that," she said and walked with him up the trail back to the cottage. "Speaking of living, have you asked Gabriela out yet?"

Gabriela was the manager of a small grocery store near the beach, and Henrique had a longstanding crush on her.

"No," he said, drawing out the monosyllabic word a tad bit more than necessary. He followed this was a shake of his head and a smile. "You saw us dance one time, and you think we're destined for love."

"Never said that, but I know chemistry when I see it." She patted him on the back. "Besides, you told me you've wanted to ask her out since high school, and she's finished college now. How much longer can you wait?"

"Until I'm good and ready."

"And when is that? Retirement age?"

He snorted. "Says the woman who came here solo. Just where is Ms. Matchmaker's beau?"

"Deflecting," Cherie sang. She paused outside her cottage door. "But if you must know, my heart's broken, and I'm salvaging the pieces."

Henrique's expression clouded. "Whoa, who hurt you? I'm fluent in mixed martial arts if you need something handled."

"It's not like that, okay? The timing just wasn't right, and we both have a lot of work to do on ourselves."

He grunted.

Hoping to restore his good mood, she put on a cross-eyed look. Once Henrique was finished chucking, he muttered that she was the silliest student that he'd ever had.

Opening her door, she gave him a salute. "As always, thank you for my lesson. I'll see you on the waves later this week, but not too soon. I need to do more of doing nothing."

"You're welcome, and I'll mind my business instead of your love life. But you know where to find me if you change your mind."

Touched by these sentiments, she kissed him on the cheek. "I do know," she said. "And I'll try to mind mine too." After that, they waved goodbye, and she went to wash away the remnants of the tide.

***

Cherie dreamt of Blaise that night but, beyond being a dream, it was also a memory.

"Dove likes to say I'm of two minds," he said to her one Sunday. They were checking on their plants, two patches of vanilla and lavender that grew near their willow tree. Gardening was a task with which he tended to brood, so this was true to form. "You always seem so focused. Can you even relate?"

"Oh, I'm definitely indecisive sometimes. Just yesterday, I irritated Rosa with how I talked about our first date. It's strange, but I was torn between shouting it all from the rooftops, because I'm just that excited to love you, and keeping the important things to myself, because part of me wants to keep us 'ours'."

"So, which side won?"

"Neither. I ended up doing something weird in between that left my sister dissatisfied, and without enough detail, it kind of fell flat."

"Hmm, something weird in between? That's my brand, mama! That's my brand!"

The dream-slash-memory ended with her laughing at him, but when she woke, she only felt disturbed. The mixed bag that had been her and Blaise's relationship continued to raise questions. Was she mourning a romance, grieving a friendship, or something in-between?

Taking her leave from the bed, she realized she might never get answers.

***

When afternoon came around, Cherie headed for a lounger on the beach. No one else was in sight, and the solitude mixed with the shade of the umbrella helped her resolve to read. Thus, she fell into a copy of Rebecca from the local bookstore.

In the middle of a scene where the narrator's guest brought up a costume ball, she heard a familiar voice. Goosebumps rose on her skin, and she tightened her cover-up, but as she glanced here and there, she didn't see anyone.

"Great. I'm hearing things," she said. Blaming her book's Gothic undertones, she tried to get absorbed in it again. This didn't happen, however, as the previous interruption repeated, and the sound of her name hit her ears. This time, her searching looks landed on a source, and she saw one of the last people she expected.

"Cherie," Blaise said at a normal volume when he was finally close. "You're here too." He looked at her with as much shock as she felt, but his was paired with an excitement that she didn't share.

"Obviously," she said. She frowned as she recognized that her tone reminded her of him, and that his outfit wasn't suitable for the beach.

Amusement in his eyes, Blaise didn't show offense. "Great minds think alike, I guess."

Ignoring that, she asked, "How did you find me? I didn't tell anyone but my parents that I would be here." The possibility that he might be having her followed made her irate.

Blaise held up his hands. "I didn't do anything sketchy. It's a coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidences."

"Me neither," he admitted with a smile. "That must mean it's meant to be."

Cherie felt a headache coming on and had the urge to make herself smaller; the memory of glass pieces coming at her was resurfacing. "I thought I was clear about needing space. I believe that I asked you not to reach out to me unless you made changes. Didn't Kenny give you the note?"

"He did, and like I said, this wasn't planned. But now that I'm here, you should know I have made changes. Major ones. And since you're the only person on earth I can talk to about them without being committed, this has to be fate."

Determined to at least put up a front of confidence, she folded her arms. "Let's say I believe you. How, exactly, do you want to proceed?"

"Well, counselor, what do you say to accepting an olive branch, taking a walk with me, and getting reacquainted?"

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