"WHY ARE YOU CRYING?" He strokes my back. "I should be the one crying."
Through my conversation with mom and dad, Aiden heard everything. He knows about the job I'm wanting, my dilemma of meeting him or leaving him. In a way, that's another weight off my shoulders because I didn't know how or what to tell him.
We sat by the pool with our legs dipped in.
It's too early to blub.
"I'm sorry," I kept sniffing. "I'm just really lost here."
"You're going back," he starts. "We both saw this coming, but it came earlier than expected, so why are you crying over it?"
"I don't know."
"Do you really?"
I nod. "I've been waiting for the company to get back to me, and after months of silence, they only responded now, when I'm doing something with my life. When I met someone who I want to get to know even further," I stared at my reflection in the pool. What an ugly mess.
"It's clear what you should, Corey," he held his hands. "Go home, get your dream job. Let nothing or anyone get in your way."
"That's the thing, I don't know what I want. The job? Or you?"
I felt his eyes on me, but I was afraid to face him because he now knows what I wanted besides the job.
"As I mentioned before, a billion thank you will never be enough to express my gratitude for everything you've done," he stuttered. "We cross paths in an unexpected timing, built a bond without realizing and now we have to part ways. It's simply fate."
"Fate sucks."
"It exists, like it or not, Corey."
He reaches for my hand and took it in his. Our eyes met. His eyes were just as blue as mine. "Go home, get the job, and work on your life," he's trying to speak. "And if you have the time, visit me? I'll always be at my shelter."
He gave a lopsided, sad smile.
We held on to each other hands in silence while swinging our legs back and forth in the pool. It seems like silence always gets the best of us. One way or another. And sometimes it can be even louder than everything around us. Now, my thoughts are louder than anything.
A change of mood took over the atmosphere.
"Corey," he took his hand, pulled his legs out of the water, and faced me. "You did so much for me. Things I won't be able to repay, so now, it's my turn."
He seemed jovial, as he can't stop smiling.
"You've heard of whale watching right?" He asks.
I nod. "Yes, the one where people venture to a specific location to see the whales."
"Right. Now, have you tried whale riding before?"
Now that confuses me.
Whale riding? Is there such a thing? There is horse riding, but never before have I heard about whale riding.
"Can't say that I have."
"Excellent," he clapped his hands. "We both love the ocean very much, so I believe this will be the best experience of your life.
"Let's go whale riding,"