"Virginia Beach lies where the Chesapeake Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean. A 3-mile boardwalk stretches along its beach-lined oceanfront. The bayside First Landing State Park marks the 1607 arrival of the Jamestown colonists from England," I read from my phone.
Blake stares at the road, unfazed by this information.
"That's nice, baby," He jokes.
"I'm sorry," I chuckle, "I just can't believe that you've never been to a beach before."
He grips the leather steering wheel.
"Well, running a full-time business didn't leave much room for other things," He starts, "Besides my parents never really liked the idea of a family vacation."
"The couple of times that we did go, it was either to Italy or France."
He talks as if it's normal to be eighteen and never have been to the beach.
"You're going to love it," I exclaim.
When I was younger, my family went to the beach more than twice a year. We always found a way to travel, no matter our financial situation. That's how I fell in love with the beach. It will always have a special place in my heart.
A buzz from my lap startles me.
I pick up my phone and read a message from Grant.
"Hey, hru?"
I move my fingers to unlock my phone and type back,
"I'm doing good. We are on our way to the beach. One hour left until sweet paradise!"
"Wish I could be there :( How is Blake treating you?"
I look over and notice him smiling to the music on the radio. It's some love song by Taylor Swift.
About an hour ago, he asked me if I was hungry, and we stopped for a quick ice cream break. I got one scoop of cookie dough, and he got three of mint chocolate chip (like a weirdo).
"Like a princess, as always."
"Okay, Bry. Stay safe and lmk if you need me to beat the shit out of him when he gets back."
I chuckle at his message and send him the thumbs-up emoji and the shaking head emoji.
"What are you smiling about over there?" Blake comments as he stretches his neck to look at my phone.
Once he realizes whose name is on the screen, he grunts and clenches his jaw.
"Can you please try to get along with him when we get back?" I give him my best puppy dog eyes.
He sighs and accelerates the car.
"It's not me you have to worry about," He boasts, "When you were having a seizure, Grant decided it was a good idea to pick a fight with me. I'm not sure if he's open to putting the past behind us."
My eyes unintentionally widen. "He fought you?"
Blake nods and grimaces at the thought.
"I'll talk to him when we get back," I assure him while stroking his arm.
"I hate that you two dislike each other so much," I look out of the car window.
"Hey," He catches my attention with his finger underneath my chin, "I don't hate your brother. With what happened between us, I can't blame him for how he still holds resentment. I crossed a boundary, and he didn't appreciate that."
I decide to stop talking about the sore topic because it seems to upset Blake from the looks of his furrowed face.
"Let's play a game," I insist while shuffling my back into my leather seat.
"What kind of game?" Blake intrigues.
"It's called the hot seat. The person on the 'hot seat' has to answer whatever questions the other asks them in a minute." I explain the rules to him.
"Okay, you got first," I continue.
Blake smiles as he continues to drive down the long stretch of highway.
I start the timer and begin to ask him questions.
"Favorite color?"
"Black."
"Favorite fruit?"
Blake looks at me and chuckles.
"You have to answer. Come on; we only have a minute."
"Grapes."
"Favorite food?"
"My mother's pasta," It pains him to say that one.
"If you could be anywhere right now; where would you be?"
"I would stay right where I am."
That one makes me blush.
"Where do you see yourself in ten years?"
"Starting a family," He instantly responds.
"Why did you come to my house after that night in the city?"
He pauses to look at me.
"I needed to see if you were alright," Blake straightens his back, "Mathias made some threats that night, and I had to make sure that he didn't get to you. I also might've wanted to see if my feelings for you were true."
"And were they?"
"One hundred percent."
The timer goes off, and I press the button to stop it. My heart is doing flips, so I take a couple of breaths to contain myself.
God, if we weren't in a car right now, I would consider throwing myself on top of him.
"Your turn," He snickers.
"Okay, the timer starts now."
"Favorite animal?" He exhorts.
I think about the animals I saw earlier today and smile.
"A sloth."
"Favorite restaurant?"
"Monty's Diner," I think about Elise and wonder how she's doing. I haven't seen her stop by the hospital since I woke up from my surgery. She was nice enough to bring me a gift card to Monty's, but I haven't been able to talk to her since.
"Favorite drug?"
I smile uncomfortably.
"HAHA! Just kidding," Blake bellows.
"Favorite book?"
"Harry Potter and Chamber of Secrets," I say confidently.
"I guess some things never change," He glares at me while grinning. Sometimes, I forget that Blake knew me in fourth grade. I shudder at the thought of him seeing me drool over pictures of Harry Potter and watching the Titanic on repeat. I can probably still verse some of the scenes, line by line.
"Do you know how gorgeous you truly are?" Blake pulls me from my quiet rant.
His eyes peer into my soul as I feel my cheeks growing warmer by the second. I guess I never thought that someone as secretive and dark as Blake could ever love someone as simple and basic as me.
A feeling of skin-to-skin contact brushes across the back of my neck. His fingers trace my hairline and massage my muscles.
The timer goes off, causing Blake to grab my phone and throw it in the backseat.
Dang, that was hot.
He pulls the car over on a bed of grass and flowers, jerking the wheel for the fast effect.
I climb over the seat and sit on his lap, taking off his shirt. Looking around, I make sure that no one is watching before taking off my own with the help of his steady hands.
Heat radiates through my veins as his lips touch my chest. His heavy breathing is the only noise that I hear through the silence of the car.
"You do things to me, Brynne," He whispers while carefully caressing my wounded side.
"Do I?" I seductively slide my lips into his.
He pants as he pushes his hips into mine.
"You have no idea," He whispers in my ear.
I rest my head on his shoulder, and he continues to kiss my collarbone and chest. From the feeling, he's also placed a couple of hickeys in strategic hiding spots.
After what seems like an eternity of love, I almost begin to fall asleep on his warm body.
"Hey, do you want to stretch your legs?" Blake stammers.
"Sure," I sleepily respond.
As he opens his door, the light shines through, revealing just how tinted his windows are.
I blink before noticing the large sign that Blake is staring at.
'Welcome to Virginia Beach!'
"I guess we're here then," Blake emphasizes while drawing his hands to the blue metal.
We both get back in the car, and Blake begins to punch an address in his GPS. I survey my surroundings and come to the conclusion that nothing has changed since I came here in late July.
"I can already smell the salt," I squeal excitingly.
I can't wait to dig my feet in the sand.
Blake still looks flustered from our previous activities, so I give him a couple of minutes to get himself together.
Shortly after, we pull up to a small building on the bayside called;
'VA Beach Diving Center'
I look at Blake and smile.
He chuckles while parking the car.
"Don't give me that cute look," He whispers while holding the car door open for me, "I want to be able to control myself in public."
My cheeks go red as we walk to the entrance of the building.
The instant smell of wax and plastic hits my nose as we walk into the dimly lit blue store.
A tall skinny blonde girl greets us, "Do you guys have an appointment." Her hip pushes out once she notices how attractive Blake is.
"Yeah, it's under Wright," Blake says softly.
He pulls me to his side, and the girl purses her lips.
"Okay, I see it right here," She obnoxiously chews her gum.
"Lyla will be helping you today. Give me a moment," She rushes into the back room, obviously trying to make her butt look good.
Blake chuckles. I'm not so amused.
"Hi!" A middle-aged brunette woman walks out of the same room the blondie did.
"You guys ready to get suited up?"
We both nod at the same time, and she hands us a couple of wetsuits. The long black material feels cool against my skin as I slip it on. Every curve and edge that I have is on display, making me look ten times hotter than I am.
The neck evens comes up and over my scar, hiding the bumpy red skin.
I admire myself in the mirror for a couple of minutes and savor the feeling of confidence before walking out of the dressing room. Blake is sitting in a chair with his wetsuit tightly hugging his abs.
He immediately stands and clears his throat while looking me up and down.
"Damn," He coughs after noticing Lyla walking into the room.
"Not too shabby yourself," I say under my breath, just loud enough for him to hear.
"Maybe we should drop out and become surfers," He jokes.
Lyla opens the back door of the room, revealing a small speedboat with a couple of people already suited up and ready to go. Blake and I walk down the dock and join the group as an instructor explains some basic rules.
"So, we are going to take y'all out to the largest reef in the area," His heavy southern accent peaks through his words, "Once we get there, Jerry and I are going to help y'all put on y'all's oxygen tanks and goggles."
"Anyone got any questions?" He says through his long beard.
Nobody says anything, so he starts the boat and takes us out of the dock. It's around midday, so the sun is directly above us and shining onto the crystal blue water.
"Dolphins!" An eager woman points towards a school of large dolphins jumping out of the water and nearing our boat.
I giggle at the sight of their bodies coming completely out of the water and wiggling in the air. Blake leans into my shoulder and wraps his heavy arm around my back.
After about fifteen minutes, the boat comes to a slow stop in the middle of the ocean. Nothing is visible from any direction, so we are surrounded by seawater.
The southern man pulls out a large container of oxygen tanks, and who I assume to be Jerry pulls out another container of scuba gear.
Everyone passed around the fins and goggles, and Blake helps me put them on. Then, we are handed two oxygen tanks. Once strapped onto my back, I feel like falling over.
We move to the edge of the boat as people begin to jump in. The eager lady was the first one in, and she dove in head first. I slowly lower myself into the water and instantly am shocked by the freezing temperature.
"It's cold," I signal to Blake through my oxygen mask once half of my body is immersed.
He gasps while climbing in himself.
We both allow ourselves a couple of seconds to adjust to the coldness before completely submerging. I use my fins to kick towards where the rest of the group is located, taking large breaths through the tube in my mouth.
A colorful reef under me shocks my eyes.
So many fish.
One comes close to my stomach. Its orange and white stripes remind me of Nemo. Blake dives deeper to observe the eels worming through the maze of a coral reef.
A couple of dolphins dive down next to our group and begin to play with some of the people. I swim over and pet one of their fins, admiring their soft skin.
I feel something touch my back and immediately jerk, only to find that it's Blake messing with me. I look at my oxygen tank and notice that it's halfway out. My finger points to the gage, and Blake nods in understanding. He waves me to where he was previously, and I follow him to the bottom sandbar.
He points to a small shark that looks to be guarding some kind of purse. Then, I realize that those are eggs that she's protecting. We don't get too close but begin to swim around, looking at her wonderful creation.
My lungs begin to grow sore, and I take a look at my oxygen level.
It reads low.
I tap Blake on the shoulder and show him the gage. He nods, and we both start swimming upwards, following the finished group.
I start to kick fast because I am not getting enough air. The stupid heavy oxygen tank isn't helping. I pull at it and try to catch up with Blake, but his legs are stronger than mine. Shortly after, Blake has reached the surface, but I am about twenty feet still under, gasping for nonexistent oxygen.
It takes him a second to realize that I am not up there with him, and Blake dives down to grab me. By that time, my lungs are starting to burn, and I feel my incision site splitting.
He pulls my waist towards his and begins to kick at full speed. Once we reach the surface; my vision is blurry, and my lungs are on fire.
"Pull her up," I hear two men say as they grab each of my arms and pull me onto the side of the boat.
I am still sucking in the air since the bad oxygen tank is in my mouth. Hands pull it out, and I choke at the abundance of oxygen flooding through my sore lungs. I hold my side and cough harshly.
"Brynne!!" I hear Blake yell as he gets on the boat.
My voice still hasn't come back yet, but I grab onto his shoulder and nod. He comes close to me as everyone on the boat watches in horror.
"Are you alright, miss?" The southern man says concernedly.
I give him a thumbs up as my body still gasps for air. Blake looks worried as he stares at me helplessly.
The boat begins to move towards the shore, and I sit up. Blake pulls me against his body and holds me with his arms around my waist.
"You scared me," He kisses the top of my head.
A sharp pain shoots into my side, but I try to mask it as I turn around and hug Blake.
I don't want to ruin this day for him.
"I'm fine," I assure him through large inhales.
He deeply smells my head as I weakly lean into him.
The boat reaches the shore, and I quietly groan as Blake helps me off. We walk inside the store to change into our clothes, and I can barely hold myself up.
"Do you have any bandages in the car? Mine is probably soaked," I phrase through the curtain, and Blake says yes. He runs to the parking lot to grab them, and I lean against the wall in agony. Slowly peeling down the suit, I reveal a blood-soaked piece of gauze and pull it back to reveal that around three of my stitches have ripped.
I wince as I pull back the wetsuit, just in time for Blake to pull back the curtain.
"Here," He returns with bandages and medical tape.
I smile in gratefulness and close the curtain after accepting the items. My smile immediately disappears, and I try my best to dry the area without using anything that could stain. I place a large stack of gauze on the wound and wrap the tape around my ribs until the bandage doesn't move when I breathe.
I take off the rest of the wetsuit and get changed back into my normal clothes. The black linen pants and white loose shirt don't show anything of my injury, so I take a deep breath and open the curtain to find Blake sitting with his hands on his knees, brushing through his wet black hair.
"Are you sure you're alright? There is a hospital like five minutes from here. They could check you out quick." He says while holding his hands out to mine.
I grab his sweaty palms and squeeze them tightly.
"Yep! I'm perfectly fine, Blake," I swear, "Now let's go hunting for some seashells."