She flips over so fast and gets to her feet quicker than the Road Runner. “Really?”
“Swear it. You stay close to me. That’s the rule.”
“I’ll be like a parasite!” she squeals as she runs and jumps on me. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! You won’t regret it, Sebastian. I’m so excited!” She sprinkles kisses all over my face and jumps down. “I might see a whale!” she screams and runs down the hall toward the front door, then she stops, flaying her arms and runs back to me. “Are you coming? Come on!” She grabs my arm and starts to hop. I’ve never seen her look so excited, and it makes the decision to say yes worth it. The smile that takes over her face makes me the luckiest man in the world. Her teeth are white, straight, but the only flaw is the front tooth. There is just the tiniest little chip, and I remember her saying it was when she fell off a scooter when she was eight and smashed her chin on the sidewalk.
I adore it.
I never want anything about her to change.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” I say as she pulls me behind her to the garage.
“Oh.” She comes to a sudden halt, and I slam into her back.
“What’s wro—ng?” I follow her gaze to see Julia feeding Heaven the cereal. Piece by piece.
With her mouth.
They are laughing, and he is rubbing his fingers up and down her arm. Even with a broken leg, the man pulls women left and right no matter what.
“We are going to act like nothing is happening. Look down. Go to the garage.”
“I’m looking. I’m looking,” she says, casting her eyes to the floor as we make our way to the door.
When we open the door, she turns around with her mouth wide open. Right as I shut the door she speaks. “No!”
“Yes,” I say with a nod of my head.
“No!”
“Yep.”
I open the passenger side door for her, and she climbs in, then I run around to the driver’s side and get in.
“That was disturbing,” she murmurs and clicks her seatbelt into place. “I didn’t know he was interested in older women.”
“He’s interest in all the women.” I click the button to the garage door and wait for it to open before backing out. The day is beautiful, bright and sunny, a little cooler, which is perfect for whale watching. I hope she gets to see a them because it is a once in a lifetime experience.
I hold her hand on the way to the whale watch tour. It's only a few miles down the road, and I rented us kayaks for the day. I want to make sure she gets to see a damn whale. Ten hours on a kayak, she better.
“Thank you for getting me out of the house. I don’t think I could have taken another minute.” She sighs in content as we pull into the driveway of the small business.
Well, it is more like a shack on the edge of the ocean. It would look abandoned if it wasn’t for the different colored kayaks laying on the ground. They range from reds to greens to yellows and blues. The truck dips as I turn into the makeshift parking lot. It seems like a lot with no parking spaces and the grass is worn out.
We hop out, and she runs to the kayaks where the instructor is waiting for us. I made sure to get a private tour. She is so damn excited, she leaves me in the damn dust. I don’t blame her. Whales are so much cooler than me.
“First thing is first, I’m Matty. I’ll be your instructor on this beautiful day!” He claps and zips up his wetsuit. “Please put on your life vests. I see you got a tandem kayak which holds two. That’s romantic.” The guy looks at me and winks. “Our goal today is to see some whales, but sometimes they don’t come up for air, and we don’t see them at all, but don’t get discouraged. We always see something out there. Even sharks.”
Her excitement vanishes.
Poof.
Gone.
“Sharks? The kind that … swim?”
Matty tosses his head back and chuckles, holding his pink painted nails to his chest. “Girl, you’re funny. The kind that swim. Ha! You’re so cute.”
He isn’t taking her serious.
Gabriella hates sharks.
“Well, come on. Let’s go. Whales aren’t going to watch themselves.” Matty grabs a blue kayak and drags it into the water. He climbs inside