Back Where It Began

Chapter 2

Chapter 2As they left his house and crossed over the bridge headed towards A1A, she remembered how much she loved and missed home. Vero Beach had changed some through the years, but it still had the small coastal town feel. There was a time when everyone knew everyone, but today it was a place where the tourist would come and crowd the beaches during the summer. You could tell that there were a lot of tourist that never left and ended up moving here and/or were retiring here.

They rode through town and headed south. Because it was such a small town, they wanted to get a longer ride in for the day. It was right at two hours from Vero Beach to Ft. Lauderdale. That’s where the destination would end. They had decided last night to head there and grab a late lunch, head out to the beach to catch the sunset coming across the ocean, and then head back to his house, and he would put some steaks on the grill, and she would cook some homemade macaroni and cheese, asparagus and dinner rolls.

The ride was so peaceful. She loved it. The wind, the thrill, the excitement, all of it. She knew it was time to really look at buying a new bike. She should have waited to sell hers after she bought a new one. But it sold so fast once she listed it that she didn’t have the chance. As they continued to make their way to Ft. Lauderdale her mind would go back and forth between thinking of this hunk of a man in front of her, to trying to think about anything else but him! She swore her hands even had a mind of their own a few times. She had caught herself rubbing up and down on his abs several times, but he never seemed to mind. Man, you could feel every ridge of every muscle. She could only imagine what he looked like without a shirt on and how she would love to run her tongue over all six of them.

They finally got to Ft. Lauderdale and stopped at a Caribbean restaurant, Jerk Machine Downtown Ft. Lauderdale, for lunch. Another one of her favorite things. She could already taste the curry goat, rice n peas, steamed cabbage, and plantains as they parked the motorcycle.

As they got off the bike, Wes asked her did she enjoy the ride. She replied, “It was great. Very peaceful and right on time. Just what I needed.”

“Great, I’m glad I could oblige!” he said with a laugh. She loved his laugh. It was one that even if you couldn’t see his face, you knew that he was smiling ear to ear. They walked in and got a table. As soon as the waitress got to the table, they ordered their drinks and food. They were so hungry at this point and both knew what they wanted.

“When you drive down the coast, do you stop here often?” she asked.

“It is one of my favorite spots, so I do tend to stop here a lot. How did you guess that?” he replied.

“Well,” she said, “the waitress seemed to know you, but looked scared to say anything because you were not alone.” she laughed.

“Ha, Ha, Ha,” he fakes a laugh, “I think I have had her before.”

“Oh, so now I really understand. I was thinking maybe she had a little crush, but you’ve had her before!” She is dying laughing now.

Laughing he replied, “Now that is a good one. You really out did yourself on that comment!”

They both just set back and laughed at this point. They continued with some small talk while they ate. Then got back on the bike and heading back towards the beach from downtown. They parked, got off the bike and headed towards the water. She missed the ocean living so far inland. But she promised herself that she was going to move back to the beach one day. She hadn’t decided exactly where yet though. She was thinking the move would be around this area or Miami. Miami would give her the big city life and the beach life she loved. It would be the best of both worlds. This area had the beach, and she would only be about forty-five minutes from Miami and the cost of living would be a little cheaper.

Once they got to the edge of the water, she took off her sneakers and socks and put her feet in the water. I guess the expression on her face was priceless because he just smiled this sweet, understanding smile.

“You really do miss the ocean. Will you ever move back home?” he asked as he took off his shoes and socks to join her.

She replied, “I don’t think so. It would have to be something serious going on for me to move back. I like the hustle and bustle of the big city. I am not too far away that I can’t come home to see my parents, but far enough to be in the city life. I do want to move back to the beach though. I have been thinking somewhere down here like Ft. Lauderdale or Miami. I do know that I want my next store will be located down here.”

“What would you consider something ‘serious’ for you to move back home?” he asked.

“Well since my sister is still living in Vero Beach, I am not concerned about my parents needing me when they are older, even though I would come home from time to time to help out. I guess it would have to be a significant relationship, probably marriage. Either with someone who already lived there, and the easiest sacrifice would be for me to move home than for him to move where I am, or for neither of us to be from there and decided we could work or retire there. It is one good thing about the business I own. I can work it from anywhere and when I need to show up at a store, I can just show up,” she replied. I probably said too much in that response, but that’s how I have felt since I moved away.

“Very interesting mindset.” That was all he said.

They continued to walk down the beach and as the sun started to set, he grabbed her hand. They eventually stopped walking and faced the ocean. It was a beautiful and romantic sight to see. But all she could think about was why he had grabbed her hand. She was completely caught off guard by it. However, it felt so natural.

They stood and watched the sunset for a few minutes before he gently guided her back towards the bike. They washed their feet off at the outdoor shower, got back on the bike and headed back to his house to cook dinner.

Once back at his house, he put the bike back in the garage, and she had carried their jackets and helmets. He then went out back to fire up the grill while she made herself at home and went into the kitchen. The conversation over dinner was just more about their businesses. What their goals were and how they planned to both grow them. There was one thing that she not only found interesting, but very exciting and intriguing was one of his hobbies. He raced motorcycles! When she had her bike she would love to ride out to the track and watch the races. She hadn’t been in a while. She missed going and would have to start going again. It was one of her favorite pass times. However, he didn’t race just at the track, he raced on the street too. Now she had never seen that first hand. Only on the internet or in the movies. That would be an experience she would love to see. She told him the next time he raced, whether at the track or on the street to let her know ahead of time that she would love to come watch. He said that he hasn’t been able to race the last few months because of his work schedule, but he was hoping to be able to go again soon and would let her know.

He walked her to the car after dinner. They stood outside for a few minutes as she expressed how much she really appreciated everything this weekend. She would head back home in the morning to get ready for the week ahead. He agreed that the time spent was great and that he hoped they could do it again sometime and keep in touch. He opened her car door, gave her another gentle kiss on the cheek. The problem was, his brain was giving her a gentle kiss, while his mind and body wanted to just pick her up and lay her across the hood of her car. He wondered what it would take to get them past the friend zone, to the friends with benefits zone. But he knew tonight was not the night to talk about that. He didn’t want to ruin the last 48 hours they had spent bonding.

As she got back in the car and headed back to her parents’ house for the night, she thought about how she wanted him to really kiss her, not just a kiss on the cheek. Her body had started aching for it. At the same time, her mind was telling her that it was a very bad idea. Or was it really a bad idea? Could they just hang out and have an intimate relationship too? Guess only time would tell. Right now, she couldn’t even have imagined before today that they would have even spent such a great time together.