Chapter 29 Why are you looking at me like that?
Saraphina
I fought the feeling for a while, but it was no use. My summer in Hawaii was magic. And most of that magic had a name: Ryan Jake Williams.
Ryan was never predictable. Today, he proved it. He shook me awake when the night was still pitch black outside. The clock read four in the morning. He pressed a finger to his lips, telling me to stay quiet. Before I could ask a single question, he was pulling me from my bed, through the house, and into the passenger seat of his truck.
“Ryan, what the hell?” I groaned, my voice thick with sleep. “Do you know what time it is?”
“Just trust me,” was all he said, and then we were moving.
I am not a morning person. I knew I looked terrible, my hair a mess in a loose ponytail, bundled in my big hoodie against the morning chill. I wanted to be angry, but fighting with Ryan never changed anything. So I gave up, letting him take me wherever he wanted. Outside, the world was still asleep. I closed my eyes, and the motion of the truck pulled me back under.
I am not sure how long I slept. The next thing I felt was a warm hand on my cheek. I opened my eyes to find my head resting on Ryan’s shoulder. His palm was against my face, his thumb moving slowly over my skin.
“Hey, you,” he said, his smile bright when I looked at him. “We made it.”
“What?” I sat up, blinking at the view through the windshield. “Where is this?”
We were parked in a lot of cracked asphalt. Beyond it, I could make out the shapes of boats resting in long rows. It took my tired brain a moment to understand. We were at the marina.
“I borrowed my dad’s boat,” Ryan said, a wicked grin on his face as he held up a key.
“You did what?” My mouth fell open.
He did not answer. He just laughed, that low, easy sound, and climbed out of the truck. I fumbled with my seatbelt and went after him.
“Ryan!” I called out, but he was already walking toward the water. “Come on!” he yelled back, waving a hand over his shoulder.
All I could do was let out a long breath. It was not even six in the morning, and I was about to help Ryan with a crime. The sensible part of me was screaming, but my body did not listen. My feet carried me right to him.
He reached back, and I took his hand without thinking.
If my mother ever finds out about this, I am dead.
Hand in hand, he led me down the dock to a boat. It was not big like the ‘Kona’. This was a speedboat, maybe fifteen feet long, built for speed, not for crowds.
Ryan stepped on first, then caught me when I jumped from the dock. His arms were strong, holding me steady. I would have landed on my backside without him. He took the driver’s seat, and I sat close beside him. A second later, the engine growled to life, and we were flying across the open water.
“Oh my God!”
This boat was nothing like the ‘Kona’. It was like his motorcycle on the water. It moved so fast the air pulled at my skin, rushing past my ears.
Ryan laughed, a full, loud sound of pure joy, and pushed the boat even faster. Cold salt spray kissed my face, and soon I was laughing too, a wild, carefree sound I did not make often. I raised my hands over my head, feeling the morning air stream through my fingers and tangle my hair. I pulled the scrunchie out, letting it fly free.
What a way to wake up.
After a while, Ryan cut the engine. We were alone, surrounded by nothing but miles of clear, blue ocean. On the horizon, the sun was beginning to rise, painting the sky in soft bands of pink and gold. I could only stare, my heart feeling too big for my chest.
The boat rocked gently on the waves. Ryan reached into his backpack and pulled out a large paper bag. From it, he produced two big paper cups with straws.
“Milkshake for breakfast?” he asked, that grin still on his face.
“No way,” I breathed.
He handed one to me, and I took it, still looking at him in wonder.
“I planned ahead,” he said with a shrug.
I could not stop my smile as I took a sip of the sweet, cold vanilla. But then he pulled out a cardboard takeout box from the same bag. French fries.
My God. A girl could get very used to this.
We spent the next hour watching the sun climb higher, eating warm fries and drinking our shakes. The ocean was calm, the air was clean and cool, and the view was perfect. If this was not a magical morning, then nothing was.
“I still cannot believe you took your dad’s boat,” I said, laughing a little and nodding at the key. “What will he do if he finds out?”
“He will not,” Ryan said, like it was the simplest fact in the world.
“You are a menace,” I told him, shaking my head. “I am going to die some stupid, reckless death because of you.”
“Maybe,” he said, turning to look at me, a slow smile spreading. “But your life will be pretty fucking epic first.”
I smiled back at him. Well played, Ryan. Very well played.
“Look at this,” he said, spreading his arms wide at the sunrise. “Is it not amazing?”
He was right. It was beautiful. A view you could only get here, right now, with him. It felt completely unique.
“You are right,” I sighed, looking up at the wide, colorful sky. “I guess this is worth dying for.”
Ryan turned his head, studying me for a long moment.
“I knew you would like it,” he said, his voice softer now.
He was right. I liked this. I liked being with him. It did not matter what we were doing. If I was next to him, I felt like the luckiest girl alive. A few nights ago, on a hidden beach, he had said something to me that I knew I would never forget.
‘I wish I had done everything on earth with you.’
Those words meant everything. Not just because they came from my favorite book, but because when Ryan said them, I knew he meant them. There was so much to see and do in this world, like stealing boats and chasing sunrises. But I only wanted any of it if I could do it with him.
“What?” Ryan said suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts. “Why are you looking at me like that?”