Chasing you | ✓

Chapter 41 - Lemon Beach Café

Sunday used to be my least favorite day of the week. 

Back in high school, Sundays were the long stretch of road leading up to a new week. Hating on Sundays became a part of my backbone—I either hated them because I was dreading a new week or because I was excited about a new week. Either way, Sunday became the day that never gave me what I wanted. 

As I sat in the passenger seat of Jack's car, my hand playing with the wind through the rolled down window, I realized that Sundays might not be so bad after all. A lot of good things happened on Sundays. 

Like our first official date.

We didn't specifically say the word, but it was implied. After our kiss on Friday, we spent all Saturday texting. He asked me out to lunch on Sunday and when I agreed, he told me he wanted to take me to one of his favorite spots. 

Little did I know that one of his favorite spots was in Malibu.

Incapable of saying no, we got in the car and headed up the coast. It seemed a little excessive to me to drive over an hour just to have lunch, but the smile that stayed on Jack's face made it worth it.

I hadn't been on a single road trip since I got to California. I finally understood what I had been missing out on.

The view from Highway 1 was incredible, with mountains on our right and the vast blue ocean on our left. Olivia Rodrigo bolted out tunes on the radio and the sun was high in the sky. When we rolled into a cliffside parking lot, gravel dust splashing around the car, I was happy to finally stretch my legs. 

I hopped out of the car, waving my hands to clear the dust from the air as I took in the sights.

The view was breathtaking. The ocean stretched out below us, waves crashing onto the beach below the cliffs. Despite the season, a few brave souls had put on wetsuits and gotten their surfboards into the water.

"Are we going down to the beach?" 

"Not today," Jack replied and grabbed my hand. 

As we walked through the roadside parking lot I didn't know what warmed my heart the most—the clear November sun or having Jack's hand comfortingly squeeze mine. I couldn't help but to sneak a glance at him, his blonde hair tousled by the wind. 

"We're going to have lunch over there," he said, nodding his head to the restaurant built dangerously close to the edge of the cliff. 

Green vines climbed over the sides of the building and trailing down from the roof. The entrance looked more like a garden gate than that of a lunch restaurant. The wooden sign on the side of the building was shaped like a surfboard and read Lemon Beach Café in a bright yellow font. 

Inside, the restaurant looked just as relaxing. The garden theme continued throughout, and in the middle of the place grew a live palm tree up toward the ceiling windows. I couldn't help but to stare at it while the hostess walked us to our table. The tree was growing dangerously close to the windows and I couldn't help but wonder what they would do when the tree reached them.

"Right this way," the perky hostess told us. She set down our menus on a table by the windows overlooking the beach. 

I slid into my chair and stared at the forceful waves crashing against the cliffside, pressing my face against the window to take it all in.