Cohen
I thought I was just being a nice guy by going back and helping Katrina with the boats, at the end of her shift. She finished the paperwork while I dragged two boats and two paddle boards back to the cage and when I was back at the hut, she basically threw herself at me.
This girl is barely five feet tall and somehow she's stronger than me. She gets me against the side of the building and she's pulling my face close to hers, kissing me a moment later. My brain is a bit foggy but as soon as I realize what's happening, I slip out of her grip.
"What's the matter?" she asks, clearly confused. "Didn't you come back to hook up?"
"What? Jesus, no. You thought I came back to help you because I wanted to hook up?" I snap back.
The look on her face says she obviously did think that. "Luke said you're not dating anyone."
"So, that doesn't mean I want to make out with you," I say quickly. "I mean, no offence. You're cute, Katrina, but-"
"Oh my god, whatever," she huffs. "See ya."
Well, that was weird.
I walk back towards my house alone, while Katrina goes the other way. I feel like I did something wrong but I don't even know why. It's only a bit after 7P.M. but I have no plans for the night and I don't think I'll be drinking anytime soon, since I woke up feeling like shit after I drank too much. I guess it'll be a quiet night.
It's 11P.M. and I'm in my bedroom, watching a movie on my iPad when my phone buzzes. It's a text from Rex, so I open it right away. I know he was at that party tonight, but I tried not to worry about him. I know he can take care of himself.
I also tried not to think about Teegan tonight, but it didn't work. I wanted to text her. I wanted to say that I was stupid and that seeing her today - even for a second - made me happy. But I didn't text her, but she clearly didn't want to hear from me.
Now, reading the text from Rex, wakes me right up.
So, something crazy just happened.
Me: What happened? Are you okay?
Rex: Yeah, I'm good. Uh, well, Naomi and Taylor got really high and decided they wanted to go swimming. They were out too far and the waves were big, and Luke realized it was not good. So Isaac and Luke and I swim out there and Taylor's okay but she's crying and saying that Naomi got pulled under. So Luke and I just keep going under and swimming around and finally we find her, she's not breathing. We get her back to shore and then Teegan is there, all of a sudden like doing CPR on Naomi.
It comes through in three texts and I read it over and read because it doesn't seem real.
Me: WTF. Is she okay? Why was Teegan there?
Rex: Naomi's okay now, she had taken in a lot of water and passed out, Teegan knew what to do. She was sitting outside at her house next door when she heard the commotion I guess.
Me: Shit, Rex. That must have been scary. Were you drinking?
Rex: You know I never drink. I'm actually just heading home now.
Me: Okay, be careful. Hang out tomorrow?
Rex: I'll come over after football drills with my dad.
I can't sleep after that conversation with Rex. I try, after the movie I am watching finishes. I stare at the ceiling and then I squeeze my eyes shut. I try for two hours before getting up and getting a glass of water. I eat a cookie from the cupboard. And then I slip into my shoes and go outside.
The air is surprisingly cool on my face and bare legs. I'm glad I'd been wearing a hoodie. I don't know where I'm going or why, but I start walking towards the beach. It's after 1A.M. when I get to the water and turn in the direction of Teegan's house. I know I can't go knocking on her door in the middle the night. She might be asleep, but I have a feeling she's not. Not after what she went through tonight. And maybe she doesn't want to see me, but I want to see her. And this is how I make it happen.
I pass her house and keep going until I get to that rocky patch of sand. I sit on the biggest rock and pull out my phone, my heart racing again, like every other time I think about her. Teegan isn't just a girl I like. She's not just a girl I recently met. I know she's more than that because I can't calm myself when I think about her and I feel the weirdest type of excitement when I see her.
I know you told me not to get in touch with you again. I wanted to respect that, truly. But I can't sleep tonight and I am pretty sure you're awake, too. I'm down by the rocks, just in case you wanted to talk. Xo
Within a few minutes, the text is showing as read. So I know she's seen it, now will she reply? For a few more minutes, I stare at my phone. No dots, no message. Then I flip my phone over so I can't see it. By the time ten minutes have passed, I'm assuming she's not coming. It hurts in my chest, but at least I tried. I put myself out there one last time.
I'm standing again and looking out at the water when I hear someone clear their throat. Spinning around, I'm not even convinced it's her, even when I see her in the darkness. Her hair is down and she's wearing a sweatshirt and shorts. I can't make out her expression but I know she's not smiling.
"You came," I say, so she knows I'm surprised to see her.
She takes a step forward. "Yeah, well, you were right. I was wide awake."
I take a step so I'm closer to her. "Rex told me what happened."
Teegan's expression changes and she looks worried, as if I caught her doing something wrong. "He did?"
"Yeah. I hear you saved Luke's crazy girlfriend." I try to sound like this is some casual conversation we're having, even though the elephant in the non-room is that she screamed at me on the phone last night and told me she didn't want to see me anymore.
"Well... I would have done the same thing if it had been anyone else, too." She looks me right in the eyes and waits, but then starts talking again. "It happened really fast and I just reacted."
"Good thing you did," I tell her.
We're still standing a few feet apart and I still can't believe she's here, in front of me. I texted and she came. She must not hate me after all.
"I'm sorry I yelled at you last night," she says a moment later, then shrugs.
"Uh, okay." I don't know what else to say. She's apologizing to me?
"Lola was at my house... my mom's house... when I got back from my walk. She was just saying all this stuff about you and how horrible it was that we were hanging out. And then she made me feel really stupid because you hadn't told me about her being your ex..."
I swallow hard. "I'm the one who's stupid, Teegan. I'm sorry. I kept wanting to tell you, but I wasn't sure that you'd still want to hang out with me if you knew. I was being selfish."
She shakes her head and then steps forward again. "I overreacted. I should have calmed down before I called you."
"It's okay. You had every right to be mad," I say quickly.
"The summer is too short to be mad," she tells me, and then suddenly she's right there, right int front of me.
If I even move a little bit she'd be touching me. God, I want her touching me. But I stay perfectly still, barely breathing. I keep my eyes on hers and as she bites her bottom lip, off to the side, I can't help it. My hands go to her sides and I pull her into my arms. She makes a noise that I really like and then I press my mouth to hers, gently at first.
She initiates the deepening of the kiss. She puts her hands into my hair and opens her mouth and lets our tongues collide. She's on her tip toes and she's pressed against me in the middle of the night, right there on the beach. And it's the best feeling I've ever felt.
I do not want this kiss to end. I'd like to lower her to the ground and lay on top of her and kiss her for the rest of the night. I'd like to fall asleep with her in my arms. But she pulls away and takes a deep breath and looks up at me, like she's challenging me.
"Rex told me to talk to you," she says, quietly. "I was going to call you tomorrow... er... later today."
"You were?" I ask, my voice even quieter. I can still feel her lips on mine.
She nods and sighs. "I realized I don't really care that you dated Lola. It was before, and..."
"And what?" I want to know.
"And... I like you." The words are like sweet perfection to my ears.
"Yeah?" I ask her, because I want her to tell me again. She just nods. "I like you, Teegan. And I like kissing you even more."
She might be blushing, but I don't notice because even though I want to grab her and kiss her again, I turn and start walking back towards her house. She catches up a moment later and slips her hand into mine. It's the most innocent gesture but it's just what I need.
It only takes five minutes - but they are beautiful, quiet minutes - before her mom's house comes into view again. I don't know what time it is and I don't care. I also don't want her to get into trouble for being out in the middle of the night.
"Your mom doesn't mind you go out at night?" I ask, breaking the silence.
The waves have calmed and the water is still.
"I told her that I haven't really slept well since I've been here," she answers. "So she knows that I go out and walk, sometimes."
I nod, her hand still in mine. "I would sleep better if I wasn't alone in the house, I think."
She smiles and bumps her shoulder into mine softly. "You need Rex to come for a sleepover?"
I laugh lightly and shake my head. "He stays over sometimes, but his dad is hard on him about getting up early and training."
She looks over at her mom's house, which is mostly dark. The back light is on, though. Then I see her look over at the house where I assume the party was. There's no evidence of it now.
"I was scared," she says, and I know exactly what she's talking about. "I saw Rex and Luke carrying her and I thought... she's dead. But when they layed her down I checked her pulse and it was okay... I just had to..."
"You're amazing," I tell her, because I don't want her to have to talk about that anymore. "Seriously. I knew there was something special about you. Now I know you save lives. You saved Naomi. She threw a beer in your face two weeks ago."
She laughs and then covers her mouth. "I wasn't going to let her die because of that."
I smile at her and then remember that night, suddenly. She was walking past me when I was going down to the party. I was going to try to talk to Lola that night. Ugh. But I past Teegan, and I just realize it.
"I feel like I'm a different person since I met you, Teegan," I admit, because that's exactly how I feel.
That night, Rex was trying to tell me to get over Lola. He was telling me that she was dating Josh and that she didn't want to see me, but I went down to that party anyway. I was still hung up on her, but that's the night I met Teegan, unofficially. Since that night, I haven't given a crap about Lola. I have focused on myself, my job and Teegan.
"I... I sort of feel the same way," she tells me, then steps in close to me again.
"Good," I say, and then pull her closer and kiss her, hard.
"See you tomorrow?" she asks, pulling away slowly.
Her dark hair is messy and I want to run my fingers through it. I want her close, always. I want -
"Tomorrow," I say anyway, agreeing.
I'd agree to anything, for her.