The two stood in line to get tickets to the movie. Bradin saw Kaitlin move to get her money just as they walked up to the stand.
"Two tickets to see 'Honey' please," Bradin said.
Kaitlin looked up and saw Bradin handing the money to the worker. "Bradin," she whined.
"Here you go," he said handing her a ticket.
"If we go out after this, I'm paying," she said taking the ticket.
"Oh but you're not," he said as they walked in and tried to find seats.
As they sat down, Bradin turned to Kaitlin who wasn't looking at him. "Are you mad?" he asked.
"I don't like it when people like you pay for things for me when I hang out with them. I feel bad."
"I don't mind," he said taking her hand.
During the movie, Bradin glanced at Kaitlin when a dance scene came on. Her face lit up as she watched it. He could tell that she loved dancing whether or not she was the one dancing. As he was watching Kaitlin, she turned towards him. He smiled.
She smiled back and said, "Movie's that way, hon."
"I know," he said as he turned towards the screen.
At the last dance part of the movie, Bradin looked back over at Kaitlin. He could see her moving to the beat of the song as she smiled. Why do you have to be so beautiful? he thought to himself.
After the movie, the two decided what to do next.
"Well," Bradin said looking at his watch, "It's four. What do you want to do?"
"I don't know."
Bradin studied her face. She looked like she needed someone to make her laugh. He thought about a surprise he had for her and whether or not it was the right time. He knew it was the right time.
"Come here," he said as he placed his hand on her back and guided her onto the beach. The two walked for a few minutes in silence until they reached the rocks that were used to get to the tree house. Kaitlin wondered why he was taking her to the tree house. As she watched him climb the rocks, he went on the other side of the rocks away from the tree house. Bradin looked down at her and held out his hand. She looked at his hand and took it to help her up the rocks. He jumped down and put his hands on her waist to help her jump down. When she landed, she looked at him as he walked off.
"Where are we going?" she asked.
"It's a surprise," he said, "Come on."
Kaitlin began to follow Bradin until they reached another part of the beach, a deserted part. Kaitlin looked at Bradin as he stopped walking. She saw a picnic blanket laid out on top of the sand with a picnic basket.
"You didn't," she said.
"I did," he said. "Shall we?" he asked holding out his arm for her to put hers through.
"We shall," she said sliding her arm through his.
Bradin opened the basket after they were sitting and handed her some food. She looked at him when she realized that it was her favorite finger food.
"My aunt helped me plan this," he told her.
"You planned this?" she asked.
"I sure did. I wanted to do something special for you. I heard you liked beaches and picnics. So I thought why not take you to both at once."
"Thank you," she said smiling.
As they ate, they talked. Bradin loved the way she found stupid yet funny things to talk about. He loved the way she always got into the conversation. She made it more interesting and exciting. He smiled and put the garbage into the basket. When he was done, he looked to find Kaitlin standing on a small hill looking out to the water.
"What are you looking at?" he asked.
She made a motion for him to join her on the hill. He got up and walked up next to her. He followed her gaze out to the water. The sky was filled with a pinkish orange color and the ocean went from light blue to dark due to the deepness of the water. Bradin looked over at Kaitlin and saw her calm and realized.
"Like it?" he asked.
"No," she said looking at him, "I love it. Scenes like this make me… they make me…" she trailed off trying to find the right words to say.
"They make you happy and relaxed?"
"Yeah," she said with a nod, "When I was lying in the hospital after my accident, I pictured myself here. I could feel the breeze blow against my face as a stood near the shoreline. I could feel the water run over my feet." She stopped when she realized she was talking about her accident. She looked at Bradin and said, "I'm sorry. I know you don't want to hear it."
"I'll listen," he said, "But, if you want to stop, I'm fine with it."
She bit her bottom lip. "Want to go for a walk?" she asked.
"I'd love to," he said.
The two teenagers walked on the boardwalk when the sky filled with stars. They walked for hours and talked about many different things.
"What makes you happy?" he asked.
"Playa Linda," she told him as she walked over to the edge of the boardwalk, "I love it here." She turned around and leaned on the edge so she was facing Bradin. "What makes you happy?" she asked.
"It's not a what. It's more of a…whom," he said taking steps closer to her, "She makes me smile when we talk about weird things, when she smiles, and just when she's in my vision. I love the way that her beauty shines in the moonlight. I love the way that she has many people care for her. I hate seeing her sad and upset because of something that happened to her."
At the time, Bradin was standing in front of her with her caught between his arms. Her gorgeous green eyes were staring into her eyes. She could tell that he was talking about her. He played with her hair as he described the girl.
"I wouldn't change anything about her, not even one hair on her head. She's the most amazing girl in the entire world. She makes me happy," he told her as their lips met.
Jay and his girlfriend, Erika, were walking on the boardwalk after dinner. Jay saw a young couple kissing near the edge of the boardwalk. When they pulled away, he saw that the girl was Kaitlin. How could she do this to Bradin? he asked himself.
Kaitlin and Bradin pulled away from each other and smiled. Bradin placed his jacket on her shoulders due to the chill in the air. She smiled and kissed him again.
"Kaitlin!" the two heard.
"No," Bradin whined pulling away, "Please god, no."
Kaitlin laughed at his cuteness. Jay walked up to them with Erika.
"Hey. Oh, hey Bradin," Jay said surprised.
Bradin moved so that he wasn't standing over Kaitlin. He leaned next to her and looked at Jay. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Well, Erika and I were going for a walk," Jay told him, "What are you doing?"
"Leaving," Kaitlin said getting up.
"Kaitlin," Bradin said grabbing her hand.
"Look," she said turning to Bradin, "I don't want to ruin your night. Every time I try to have a good time, it always gets ruined. I'm just going to tell my parents that I want to go back to New York."
Kaitlin walked away. Bradin turned to Jay. "Why did you ruin the best thing that has ever happened to her?" Bradin asked him. "Why did you do this to her? I thought you cared."
"I do care, Bradin. I thought she was kissing someone else and not you. I didn't want you to get hurt."
"You did hurt me, though. You ruined the best time I've ever had here since I can remember. She listens to me. She understands me. She helps me with problems. She's an amazing girl and I have to go catch her and ask her something important."
Kaitlin walked up to her house and realized that she still had Bradin's coat on. She stood in front of the door not knowing why she wasn't going inside.
""FUCK!" she yelled punching the door.
She leaned forward so that her forehead was on the door. Tears filled her eyes knowing that she ruined the night right when she walked away. She turned the door knob and opened the door. She walked in and tried to close the door. It wouldn't close all the way. She looked to find a foot in the way. She opened the door to find Bradin standing there.
"Hi," she said.
"Now I know you weren't going to end our night because of Jay," he said stepping inside and closing the door behind him.
"I thought that you planned him to do that," she said.
"Why would I do that?" he asked with a laugh. "All I wanted was to spend today alone with you and tell you how I really feel."
"Jay doesn't do something like that unless someone told him to," she said.
Bradin wiped away the tears on her face. "You're so beautiful," she said as he caressed her cheek, "not just on the outside, but inside as well."
She blushed, smiled, and lowered her head. She felt Bradin lift her chin up and kiss her. He took her hands and placed them around his neck. Then, he placed his hands on her waist. Kaitlin pulled away.
"What's wrong?" Bradin asked.
"We can't do this," she said, "I live in New York. I'm only here for another three weeks. Yes, I want to be with you. But with the distance between us, I don't think we'll last."
"Let's try it out the next few weeks. If it doesn't work out, let's just be friends. As long as you are in my life, I'll be happy."
Kaitlin bit her bottom lip and sighed. She looked at Bradin to find him giving her the puppy dog eyes. She laughed and shook her head.
"Okay. Let's try it," she said.
Bradin smiled and kissed her hard on the lips.