Chapter 30 Beach Walks
Lana's POV
It was a hot day as we walked on the sea shore, barefoot and hand in hand. The ocean was a beautiful blue as we walked along it. Beachgoers were tanning in the sun, taking umbrellas out and sitting under them. Kids were running around with carefree laughter. Arden and I just enjoyed this so much. He smiled more and so was I.
I was wearing a dark blue bikini and a sarong over my bikini bottom. Arden was wearing black shorts and a dark blue t-shirt. He loved my hair loose because I always had it tied up in a ponytail.
We came to a stop as a little boy that seemed to be four years old, kicked a ball towards us and it came to a stop in front of Arden. The little boy came running and Arden gripped my hand tightly before letting go. I looked at Arden but he seemed tensed, his jaw clenched. The little boy came to a stop in front of the ball and Arden crouched, holding the ball.
"Can I have my ball?" the little boy asked. He had on little light blue swimming shorts. His chest was bare.
"What is the magic word?" Arden asked him.
"Please?" the little boy replied.
Arden smiled, "Good," he gave the ball back to him.
"Thank you!" the boy beamed and ran away. Arden was smiling, looking on as the boy continued to play with the ball.
That moment just made my heart flutter. Why doesn't he want kids but he seems happy and good with them. "You were good with him," I said as I placed my hand gently on his shoulder. He looked up at me, squinting because of the sun.
"I know I am," he replied as he stood up. "I always wanted to become a father," he said, but then his expression changed. "Shall we continue our walk?" he asked.
"What changed?" I asked as we continued to walk.
"I don't want to talk about it," he said. I would not push further. He told me that he would talk to me when he is ready, so the least I can do is be patient with him. He held my hand.
"I don't want to leave this place," I said, changing the topic.
"Me neither, it is peaceful and I have you by my side," he replied. "How about we go and have something to eat?"
"That would be nice," I said, and then we walked towards a little restaurant that was off the shore.
Once we got inside of the little restaurant, we sat down at the table by the window. There was a section outside where people could eat too if they didn't want to sit inside. I read through the menu. "You're beautiful," I looked up at him over the menu. He had this look of adoration, as if I was a piece of artwork.
"You're handsome," I smiled.
"I really would like to take you home to my parents, but I can't," he said with disappointment.
"You can take me when I am done with university," I replied.
"Let's hope that everything works out," he said.
I placed the menu on the table. "Why do you always say such things?" I asked.
"There are a lot of factors when it comes to us," he replied.
"We will work through it," I said.
" I'm sure we can try to," he said as he picked up his menu and started to read through it.
This kind of spoiled my mood, so I just continued to read through the menu.
"Hi, are you ready to order?" A waitress asked and she looked nervous, her eyes were on Arden.
"I will have an orange juice, please." he said.
"I will have water," the waitress jotted it down in a little notebook.
"Anything to eat?" she asked.
"I will have a chicken wrap," Arden replied.
"I will just have a sandwich," I smiled at her.
"Will that be all?" she asked.
"Yes, thank you," Arden said. "After this we can go jet skiing," he smiled.
"Can you ride those things?" I asked.
"Yes, I can. In fact, I have a boat license. My family has a yacht and these jet ski boats. One day, I will take you on the yacht," he said with a smile. I was amazed.
"Wow, you can do all things," I said.
He shrugged. "Maybe."
"Was Miranda successful with getting a job?" I asked.
"My father eventually allowed her to start working. I don't know what the conditions were that he gave her. I just hope that she doesn't f^ck this up. I want Terry to have a great bond with her. She deserves so much more, " he said.
"I don't know what Terry must be going through. I never experienced that. My parents are always together. They are like a happy couple. I hope that we have what they have. Apparently, when I was a baby, I was born prematurely. My mother had complications of some sort while she was pregnant with me. They always thought that the worst would happen...losing me. I was a tough cookie according to my dad. My mother would tell me that my dad and I were inseparable, he always took me wherever with him and I think that is why I am close to him, although he can be suffocating. He still sees me as his little girl. I want him to see that I am not a little girl anymore."
"A father will feel that way, especially when they want you when you are conceived, love you and you hold that special place in his heart. You were his little princess, the apple of his eye. So I try to be that father figure towards Terry," his jaw clenched. I just hope that he will tell me what he needs to say, but he isn't.
The waitress came back with our lunch. "I'm sure that you are doing great. So is she going into business too?" I asked.
"Yes, she wants to have her own company. We have to be careful because she can easily read me too. She won't be impressed that I am dating a student," he said.
"I can pretend that nothing is going on. So far we have been doing great," I replied.
I start to eat. How long should I actually wait for him to open up on his own? He helped me with my past, which I am sure that I might not be over completely, but I want to help him where I can too. I have kept my trauma all to myself for way too long, it caused me to have panic attacks and Arden was there and he helped.
I have a feeling that there is something major that he is going through or something that happened. He is afraid of perhaps telling me, but I am a woman that doesn't like to be kept in the dark about things. I do understand that he needs time, but for how long?
There are bits and pieces that get revealed but then he closes up again. He stopped Miranda from telling me everything, but what is it?