Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,105
as a sister, albeit an annoying little one.
I pulled my legs back and asked him to take me home to change. When we pulled up, I was relieved to see that no one was there. Ethan helped me to my room and sat me on the bed. His face was hard and serious, and he wasn’t talking much.
I was nervous, thinking he was probably regretting getting involved in this whole mess. He went in the yard to wash out his wetsuit, and I peeked out to see him rinsing himself off with the hose. Once again, I found myself unable to look away. He was so beautiful my breath caught in my throat, and I blushed in spite of the fact there was no one around.
I changed into some dry pants. When he came back he had his duffel with him, and he pulled out a bag full of first aid supplies.
“I thought I was thinking ahead,” he said ruefully. He sat on the bed and started to unwrap the bandages on my feet. He looked relieved. “The stitches are still in,” he said, “Just ripped a little.”
“I can do that,” I said.
He ignored me, and continued to wrap up my feet. When he finished, I slipped on a pair of socks and slippers. I felt terrible for ruining his day of surfing, wondering how much longer he would put up with me.
“They feel much better,” I lied. “Thanks.” He still seemed quiet and reserved, worrying me.
I looked over at him, “I’m really sorry, I didn’t think anything like that would happen.”
“I didn’t either,” he said, “I was wrong.”
I put my hand on his arm, “Don’t worry about it,” I wanted him to lighten up, “It’ll be okay... I’m lucky, remember?”
He took me by surprise, lunging over to hug me tightly, burying his face on my neck. His voice was muffled, “I could never forgive myself if I let anything happen to you.” I stroked his back and felt him shiver a little. We sat there in a close embrace for a while, until our hands started roaming over each other on their own accord. He clenched his jaw, stood up with determination and pulled me to my feet.
“We better get out of here,” he said, “Let’s go get something to eat.” He took me to a little Mexican restaurant in town with small private booths. We snuggled together, hungry for the comfort of each other’s touch. We were having a hard time keeping our lips apart when a group of girls from high school came in and sat across from us. I straightened up a bit, embarrassed by their curious stares.
“How are your legs feeling?” he asked me after we ate.
“A little stiff,” I said, rubbing my thigh, “but I’ll be alright.”
“Those sea lions– they were huge! You were fighting them like crazy,” he said with admiration, “Weren’t you afraid they were gonna bite?”
I thought about it a second, “I was too angry to be afraid. They can’t force me into going with them. I’d rather get bit than be dragged away without my permission– asleep or awake. Lue told me that for a sacrifice to work it must be given freely. Once I know what they want, I’m going to decide what I have to do.” I silently hoped that Lue was right about that whole sacrifice thing.
“Marina...” his voice cracked and he looked like he wanted to say something but he just kissed me. There was an eruption of giggles from the nearby table and we pulled apart.
“You’re a really great surfer,” I said, asking him about the surfing competitions he’d been in. We sat and talked until it got late, and reluctantly left. I had another long night ahead of me, and though I didn’t want to admit it, I was afraid.
When we got home Abby’s car was sitting in the driveway along with the Jag. I looked at Ethan, “I’ll be okay tonight. You work early tomorrow, you need to go home and get some sleep.”
He leaned over to me, “No way.” He kissed my ear, moving his lips to brush my cheek, “I’m not leaving. I’ll park around the corner and you can come and get me when Abby’s in bed.” I hesitated, “Won’t your dad miss you?”
“He thinks I’m at Long’s tonight. Are you going to make me sleep on the porch?” he asked, and kissed me again, leaving my head spinning.