Between the Land and the Sea - By Derrolyn Anderson Page 0,55
He was looking at me strangely, and he seemed a little alarmed.
“OK!” I smiled broadly. I was thrilled. If she could find me here, at a different beach, I knew I could meet with her when I was ready. We definitely had a connection.
We gathered our gear and loaded it into his truck. I climbed in the cab and Ethan opened a small cooler and handed me an orange juice.
“Here, drink this. It’s easy to get dehydrated out there.”
“Thanks,” I smiled gratefully, surprised at how consistently thoughtful he was.
I was silent for a few minutes, thinking about Lorelei. It was warm from the sun and I was pleasantly tired and relaxed, sighing with contentment. I leaned back, stretching out my sore shoulders with my eyes closed. When I opened them back up I saw Ethan watching me.
“What?” I said sleepily.
“Marina, the dolphins... that wasn’t normal. I’ve never seen them act like that.” I looked out the window and smiled to myself.
“Yeah, I suppose so,” I said, thinking I wasn’t very normal either.
He cleared his throat, “Do you remember how I freaked out when I first saw you?” he asked.
I nodded, looking down. He continued, “It was your eyes. I’d seen your eyes before... I was starting to think I hallucinated the whole thing...”
My head snapped up, “What?” I said, looking over at him, “When?” His eyes locked onto mine and I could see him struggle with what he was about to say, “I was in a surfing contest out at the point. I was way out, sitting up on my board, waiting my turn when I saw a big shark heading for me.” He took a breath and went on, “It was a great white, maybe fifteen feet... coming at me fast. There was nothing I could do...” He glanced over at the ocean, remembering.
“What happened?” I asked quietly. I think I knew what he saw.
“A girl came from out of nowhere. Popped up right between me and the shark... She must of kicked it away or something, because it just took off.” He shook his handsome head.
“Wow,” I said softly.
“I was shocked... but I know I saw her. She looked me straight in the eyes and disappeared underwater. I looked all around, diving in the water, but I couldn’t find her...” he looked down,
“The whole thing only lasted a few seconds. I... I knew no one would believe me so I never told anyone.”
There was a moment of silence, “I believe you,” I said.
He turned to face me again and his eyes burned into mine, “I thought it might have been you when I first saw you...”
I shook my head, “No, It wasn’t me.”
“Then who was it?” his eyes were intense.
I wanted to tell him everything right then but something stopped me. What if he didn’t think I should look for Lorelei again? What if he was disgusted by my possible origins? Or worst of all, what if he didn’t want anything more to do with me?
“I…” I bit my lip, “I don’t know.”
I had to look away, unable to bear his gaze. There really was so much I didn’t know, and I was more determined than ever to find out. I remembered how I wanted to tell him what I’d seen the day he pulled me out of the sea. It was unbelievably ironic that just moments after I first saw Lorelei I would come in contact with the only other person in town who would have actually believed me.
He drove me home in silence, the unspoken truth hanging between us. He sighed as we pulled up in front of the house.
“You could be a really good surfer if you keep practicing,” he said.
“You sound like Cruz with my driving,” I replied, “Could we go surfing again?” I asked timidly, fearful he might say no. I had a feeling he knew I was being evasive.
“I was hoping that you’d want to,” he smiled at me and I relaxed.
We got out and started unloading my surfboards.
“I want you to have that board,” I said.
He thought about it for a second and shrugged, “I’ll borrow it when we surf together,” he glanced over at the Porsche. I had an idea.
“Do you want to drive it?” I asked.
He smiled, and again I noticed the way his eyes crinkled up at the corners, “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Be right back.”
I ran in the house with my bag, surprising Cruz and Megan as they sat on the couch watching television.