At 7pm I walk down our paved driveway towards a smirking Nathan leaning against his bike. He is dressed in black jeans and a dark grey t-shirt under his signature leather jacket. He hasn't shaved so the stubble is starting to grow in, which somehow makes him even more handsome. I feel butterflies in my stomach that I have to push down hard... no strings Emily, I remind myself.
My smile grows as I reach him and I place my palm against his chest as I lean in and kiss him hello lightly. Nathan grins as I step back and I glance at his motorcycle. At least I am not wearing a dress this time... I will never make that mistake again.
"What do you have planned, mister?" I ask him.
He smirks at me again and I already know he won't tell me yet. "You'll see," he says handing me the spare helmet. I take it, accepting his no answer as an answer.
I place the grey helmet on my head and Nathan puts his black one on and climbs on the bike, standing it up. He reaches his hand out to me for support and I take it as I swing my left leg over the side of the bike and sit down behind him. I wrap my arms around his stomach as the engine roars.
"Hold on," he says quickly before speeding off down the street. I grab tightly on his leather jacket so I don't fly backwards and I feel his chest against me move as he laughs. I roll my eyes but stay silent. I doubt he could hear my sassy remark anyways over the wind at this speed.
As he drives, I lose track of the street names and stop watching for familiar buildings that would give me a clue where we are going. It's fun being on his bike. Freeing. No one can recognize me under this bulky helmet so I don't have to worry about the press and I can enjoy the excitement and exhilaration.
I feel the cold leather against my cheek as I press it against his back and watch the cars and trees passing so quickly that they look like flashes of light as he speeds down the highway. I eventually close my eyes and drift closer to sleep as the ride goes on.
Finally, the bike slows down and I open my eyes to see palm trees and sand around the half-full parking lot. I smile as I realize where we are - West Beach. My favourite beach in town actually, but that is just a coincidence, he wouldn't know that. This is also where Dean and I took my favourite picture hanging on my bedroom wall.
It's darker out now than when we left my house and I can see the half moon glowing in the sky. The parking lot is lit up with tall street lights and I don't see any other people around.
After Nathan parks I climb off the bike and hand my helmet to him, turning around to look out towards the beach. I feel Nathan's hand against my lower back as he comes up behind me.
"Wanna take a stroll?" his breath tickles against my ear as he speaks.
I turn slightly to look at him. "Of course," I say beaming and grab his hand, leading him towards the ocean.
We walk through the sand and up to the shore. I slip off my pink flats and carry them so I can feel the sand in my toes as we walk along the water. Nathan does the same with his runners. There are no people around us, they must be on the other end of the beach.
"What did you do today?" I ask Nathan curiously.
He sways our intertwined hands between us as we walk. "Nothing much, really. Took a nap."
"Me too."
"I think we needed it." He winks at me and I blush. It's true... we didn't sleep much last night. My face heats up as I see flashbacks in my head.
"What did you tell your friends you were doing last night and this morning?" he asks, pulling me back to reality.
"Nothing." I reply plainly.
He looks at me confused.
"They didn't ask so I didn't offer up a lie. I don't think they would ever expect me to do anything like this, anyways." I shrug.
"Why not?" he asks sincerely... or at least it sounds sincere.
"I'm sort of a lone wolf type of girl and anything I do or go out for recently is usually with them. They know that."
"You don't seem like that to me." Nathan says softly after a minute.
I look up at him and smile. "You don't know me yet. I am not the party girl on the cover of the magazines," I pause before adding, "anymore."
He looks at me like he wants to press further on the topic but decides not to. I silently thank him in my head. I don't want to get into this tonight.
We walk for a few more minutes in silence and listen to the waves crashing beside us. I feel Nathan let go of my hand as he steps around me towards the water. He walks parallel to me as the water climbs up and down the shore through his feet.
"Come here! It feels great," he says, holding his hand out towards me.
I look at him like he is insane. And he is if he thinks I am going near the water. The sand is more than enough. I'm not getting my feet and bottom of my jeans wet on a chilly night.
"I'm good over here." I reply hesitantly.
"Emily, trust me, it isn't cold." I watch as he kicks and splashes the water as he walks, clearly enjoying himself like a little boy. I like this cute side of him... but that doesn't mean I am getting near the water for him.
"No thanks. I don't want my pants to get wet."
He looks at me with an evil twinkle in his eyes and his smile growing. He better not do what I think he is going to do...
"Nathan..." I warn him. He stops walking and grins at me.
Suddenly he runs toward me and I scream. "Ahhh! No!"
I throw my shoes at him and try to run away from him down the beach. I hear him chuckle as he chases after me. The sand slows me down and he reaches me quickly, grabbing my waist and scooping me up and over his shoulder. He places his right hand right under my bum and his left hand carries both of our shoes as he starts walking back towards the water laughing loudly.
I burst into giggles at how childish this is and pound against his back with my fists to put me down. He doesn't seem to feel it, though.
"Nathan!" I yell through my laughter and he walks into the water. "Nathan! I swear to God... if you throw me in this water I will kill you!" And I mean it. Is this guy crazy?
Nathan drops his shoulder down and I gasp as I feel myself almost drop, making my heart stop for a second. I brace myself for the cold water.
His strong grip catches me in his arms and I look up to his amused face. I smack him on his chest roughly.
"That was not funny!" I say as seriously as possible but quickly burst into giggles again. His dark eyes sparkle as he chuckles.
I love the sound of his laughter.
He walks up the beach a few metres away from the water and places me down on my feet. I take my shoes back from him and put them back on my feet.
"You're such an idiot." I say smiling and roll my eyes. I take his hand and link our fingers together as we continue on our walk.
I look forward away from his gaze and see bright colourful flashing lights ahead of us. I squint and see a sign for a ferris wheel.
I smile widely and tug on Nathan's hand, pulling him eagerly towards the lights. A ferris wheel ride sounds perfect right now.
"Did you know this was here tonight?" I ask him.
He looks genuinely surprised. "Not at all."
"Let's go for a ride!" I beam up to him and he chuckles and nods, amused by excitement.
We walk quickly up to the ride and there doesn't seem to be a line to get on. Nathan hands the ticket man some cash and he opens the rope to let us through.
I pick the first car near the ground since it is my favourite colour - light blue. Nathan follows right behind me and lifts me up by my waist onto the seat since it is just a bit too high for me to jump into. He pulls himself up and sits to the left of me. It's a little snug in here once the bar lowers to lock us in so he wraps his right arm around my shoulders, pulling me closer into his chest.
I feel the car jerk and we start moving up. I smile and lean forward to look around at the city lights glowing under the night sky beneath us. Santa Barbara looks beautiful from up here. It is peacefully quiet away from the city noises and people on the ground.
"It's so beautiful." I say quietly as we climb higher and the buildings and lights get smaller below us. I look back at Nathan who is watching me intently with a funny look on his face.
"What?" I smirk at him.
He smiles and shakes his head. "You're cute."
My heart swells at his words and my smile grows. "I know." I reply sarcastically and look away from him before he can see how his words affected me.
He chuckles behind me.
We pass the top of the wheel and start moving down again on the other side.
"Can I come over tonight?" Nathan asks suddenly, making me jump a little.
I look up to meet his eyes. He smiles down at me, his eyes glittering in the moon light.
My parents won't be home tonight, they left this afternoon until Tuesday, and our housekeeper, Anna, won't come until Monday, so I don't see why he can't stay the night... but it will be more fun to tease him before I give in.
"No." I say with a straight face. His eyes widen in surprise, surely not expecting me to be so blunt in refusing him.
He scoffs. "Why not?"
"I'm kind of sick of you... to be honest." I say and try hard to not laugh at his expression right now.
His mouth drops open in shock, my desired outcome, and he takes his arm back from around my shoulders and puts his hand to his chest dramatically, faking heartbreak. "Take that back."
"Or what?" I raise my eyebrows and smirk, challenging him.
"Or I will jump out of this car thing right now," he says seriously and I laugh instantly. He is so ridiculous... I know he would never jump from this height.
"Fine." he says and stands up, rocking the car roughly back and forth. I grab onto the bar for support. Nathan swings one leg carefully over the front of the car and grabs hold of the bar at the top of roof to balance. He swings a little making the car rock more violently.
"Nathan!" I yell, gripping on to the safety bar for dear life. "Get back in here right fucking now!"
He doesn't budge, just rocks the car more by leaning further away from me. "Say I can come over." He smirks at me, challenging me.
This guy is actually crazy. He is going to fall if he keeps swinging like this.
"Fine! I take it back!" I yell, giving up, and he smiles at his victory but doesn't move.
"And?" he presses further.
"And you can stay over... now get back in here before you kill yourself!" I yell and he chuckles as he climbs back in with ease and sits beside me. He looks so smug now, so proud of himself, that I can't help but laugh.
"You are insane." I grin and pull him closer by the collar of his jacket, crashing my lips to his.
Author's Note:
Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! My longest one yet! 2100 words :)
I wanted to have a cute, fun date for Em and Nathan before some craziness in upcoming chapters. Next chapter will also be them together and then in 16 there will be some drama llama!! So stay tuned!
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