The Senior Trip

Chapter 25

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HARPER

These teens are the nicest kids I've met. The music is loud, and the food is delicious. The party girl didn't even care that her friends brought us along. We've been dancing for at least an hour. The tequila is plentiful, and the company is fun.

"Did you see the view?" Asher asks. His words slur together, and my lips curl up in a smile.

"It's pitch black. What are you talking about?" I ask as I look out the large glass doors on the back of the property. With the lights on inside, it's impossible to see anything. The fact that my eyes are also trying to close and see the world blurry and in slow motion is also not helping.

He takes my hand in his. I love the warm and security of our joined palms.

"Come on. I'll show you." Asher tugs me from the dance floor. He slides the back door open slightly as if he owns the place and does it all the time, and we step out into the perfect night air. I love the desert in the evening.

"I still can't see," I whisper. There is only one other group of kids out here with us, and they are off on the edge of the patio smoking.

"Be patient," he scolds playfully.

"Be efficient," I reply.

He turns and faces me, "I have to get you from point A to point B. I can't teleport us, there's no car to drive us, so it looks like this IS actually the most efficient way to get there." Then he spits his tongue out, and I dissolve into giggles again.

"You're such a toddler," I tell him, but my pace has quickened as the excitement builds.

"Oh, I'm the toddler?" he asks, holding up our hands between us. "You can barely walk."

"yOu cAn BarEly WaLK," I mimic immaturely. Then I stumble over something I can't see, and he has to rescue me before I hit the ground.

"We're almost there. Do you think you can keep it together a little longer?" he asks. From the glow of the party behind us, I can see his beautiful smile. It makes my stomach do a little dance.

"I'll try," I say with a sigh.

We descend the bank of the property, and the light of the party is blocked out of our site by the large rocks and landscaping behind us. I can hardly see two steps in front of me, but my eyes are starting to adjust to just having the moon and the stars.

I hear the faint sound of waves lapping on the beach. It's a gentle roar that reminds me of a sleeping bear. At high tide, it will awaken, and the beast will come alive.

"See," he says as our feet hit the soft sand. He leans in close so I can watch where his finger points in the distance. The heat from his body seems to seep into my skin and fall down my spine.

"Mmm hmm," I answer as I sway on my feet.

Out in the distance, there is a large ship of some kind with eye-catching lights strung around the deck. The moon helps it to look like a black vessel from a long-ago time. It's like a postcard come-to-life right in front of us.

"Have you ever been on a ship?" I ask.

"Lots," he answers. "My dad loves traveling. I go with his sometimes."

"I've never been," I reply sadly.

"Put it on the list."

"What list?" I ask.

"The list of things you'll do one day." He slowly sits down on the sand.

I follow his lead and sit beside him. The warm breeze kicks up around us, and the smell of the salt water seems to cleanse my soul. This could be my happy place.

"Ok," I reply. "It's on my list. But so is this place right here."

"What do you mean?" he asks, his head turned in my directions so he can watch me.

I turn to face him too. "I want to come back here and do this again. I want to be in the exact location at least one more time in my life."

"Me too," he answers softly. "Something just feels right about it, huh?"

I nod. Somewhere behind us, a party is raging, but right in front of us is the perfect picture of calm and tranquility. I love living in the space between.

"I'm so tired," I say. The weight of my eyelids is increasing with each blink.

"Me too," he says again. "Maybe we should just rest up real quick and then go back to the party."

"Yep," is all I can manage and I'm suddenly too tired even to sit up any longer.

Asher takes his shirt off and rolls it up beneath his head as he lies down. I watch him with envy. If I weren't so tired, I might take a few moments also to admire his built chest and strong arms. But I really just need to close my eyes...

"Here," he says, extending out an arm in an invitation to rest on him so my hair doesn't get sandy.

"Thanks." I'm asleep before I can think much past how good it feels to be held.