It's still dark when my cell phone alarm starts going off. I grab it from the nightstand and squint one eye open while I swipe my thumb across the screen four times before finally managing to hit snooze. Rolling over, I stretch my arms and legs only to encounter empty space beside me. I open my eyes to find that Dean is nowhere to be seen.
I sit up and toss the covers off before dragging my sleep-heavy body out of bed. After brushing my teeth and hair, I pull a bathing suit, a pair of shorts and a long sleeve t-shirt out of the small dresser drawer. I change quickly and make my way into the tiny living area. I finally spy Dean standing in the little kitchen, slicing open croissants and doctoring coffee in two mugs. I walk up behind him and wrap my arms around his waist before standing on my tiptoes to kiss his bare shoulder.
Without missing a beat Dean turns and places both hands on my hips, dipping his head for a kiss. "Good morning, beautiful."
The smile takes over my face before I can control it. "Good morning, although I really have to question the use of morning in this instance since it's definitely still night outside." I nod my head toward the window as I step back and take a seat at the table.
"That's kind of the point of getting up before sunrise, there's no sun."
I stick my tongue out when he hands me a mug and sits a plate in front of me. He laughs at my childish reaction and takes his seat across from me.
"We've got about forty minutes before sunrise, so we've gotta hurry if I'm going to get any pre-dawn shots," he says sipping his coffee.
"Well I'm dressed and ready. Where'd you get the croissants by the way?"
"I picked up a few odds and ends from the store last night when I bought dinner."
I take a bite of the buttery croissant before gulping down the scolding liquid. I'm worthless in the morning without my caffeine. Five minutes later I'm rinsing our mugs while Dean grabs his camera bag and tripod.
We lock up and walk along the small side streets toward the beach. The neighborhood is quiet, only a few birds chirping here and there. The houses all look like variations of our tiny cottage, some bigger, some about the same. The sky is starting to turn a dark blue gray color as dawn approaches, and as we cross a large street I hear the sound of surf in the distance.
As we approach the beach entrance, Dean pauses to take out his camera and attach a lens. Even though he brings his camera bag almost everywhere he goes, I've never gone with him to take pictures before. He's totally in his element. His face is serious with a hard look of concentration as he frames a few shots and begins walking over the grassy dunes to the white beach below. I kick off my flip flops and follow behind him, admiring the view.
Wandering along the soft, cool sand my mind is drawn to my current situation. I've gone from what some would refer to as a bitchy loner with a chip on her shoulder, to a girl who walks along the beach with a boy, daydreaming about rolling around with him on the sand, and feels giddy at the thought that he likely wants to do the same. Things have certainly changed in the last month or so. I've got this fabulous boyfriend, really the first actual boyfriend I've ever had if I'm being totally honest. I mean Joey Sanders in sixth grade didn't really count since it only lasted one day. The fact that I pushed him into a lake when he tried to kiss me is probably a big part of why we didn't work out. I never really welcomed physical contact from boys. God knows I didn't welcome it with Will… Will was just one big mistake. But now with Dean, it seems to be all I think about.
That's not really true. I think about lots of things when it comes to Dean. Lately I've been thinking more and more about how my mom would wiggle her eyebrows at me behind his back and corner me when we were alone to tell me how 'dreamy' he is. And how my dad would give him the third degree, probably bringing over Uncle Trent to intimidate him. He'd like Dean though. He's so real, never holding anything back. Dad really appreciates when people are straight with him. He's not afraid to open himself up and lay it all out there. I wish I could be like that sometimes. Dean would definitely get along with Jared too. They'd bond over soccer talk and I'm sure Jared would end up dragging Dean out back to show him a few tricks. My mom and Aunt Mer would insist on seeing Dean's portfolio, which I haven't even gotten a glimpse at now that I think about it.
I smile as I realize how perfectly Dean would fit in with my crazy family. They'd love him just as much as I do.
Holy shit. Did that really just happen? Did I just think that?
My usually traitorous heart doesn't flutter or flip flop at this realization. Instead, it beats slow and steady. Not willing to analyze my feelings right now, I choose to just enjoy them.
I look over my shoulder quickly, as if he could have been eavesdropping on my silent thoughts. It's then I realize that I've walked a good distance from where we entered the beach. Dean is a few yards away and his camera is pointed in my direction. I blush at the thought that he was photographing me and not the sunrise.
Smiling shyly, I make my way back over to where he's standing, several feet behind the surf as it creeps its way towards the band of dry sand.
"You know the sun is over there, right?" I point my thumb over my shoulder at the trees and hills to the east as he snaps another shot of me.
"Yeah, but the best view is right in front of me." Tucking his arm through the camera strap, he shifts it so that it's hanging across his chest and behind him, then takes my face in his hands and pulls me in closer. His lips hover just above mine as he looks into my eyes with such intensity that my pulse accelerates.
A whisper away, he says, "You just don't see it do you?"
Before I can consider his question, he lowers his lips to mine and everything else fades away. His lips are soft, yet firm, and taste like mint with the bitter bite of coffee lingering as well. His tongue brushes mine and I sigh into the kiss.
Eventually we break apart and I tug at the camera strap resting against his chest. "So when can I see these masterpieces anyway? I just realized, other than the ones on Facebook, I've never seen any of your photos."
For the first time, Dean actually looks embarrassed. "I'm a little eccentric when it comes to my work. The shots I take for class are one thing, but I've got some personal photos on here that I'm not sure I'm ready to share."
"Lots of selfies on there huh? I get it. Do you stand in front of the mirror and flex in any of them?" I tease, trying to lighten the mood.
"Ha ha. Hmm, that actually gives me an idea."
Bringing the camera back around to his front and removing his arm from the strap, Dean tugs my arm until I'm standing next to him. Our back is facing the ocean and he lifts the strap off of his neck so that he can turn the camera around to face us. I laugh and tuck my face into his shoulder but he snaps away anyway.
"Come on, you know you're dying to make this your new profile picture." He laughs and wraps his free arm around my waist.
As much as I hate posing for pictures, the idea of having a shot of us together is pretty appealing. I lift my face with a sarcastic smirk for the camera as Dean continues to press down on the shutter. I'm about to tell him that's enough when he squeezes me tight into his side and places a kiss on the top of my head. I melt and can't help the beaming smile that takes over my face.
"Last one," he says as he leans down and places a brief kiss on my lips. I hear the snap of the camera just before he pulls away.
"Happy now? You finally have some pictures of me."
A brief sheepish look passes over his face before he fiddles with his lens and swaps it out for another one.
"So, what do you want to do before your surf lesson?" he asks as he frames a shot of a bird picking at some rubbish on the sand.
"Actually I wouldn't mind some sunbathing time. I could use a nap since I was woken up at the butt-crack of dawn," I say pointedly.
"Well it looks like you're going to get your wish. It's going to be pretty clear today. The sun is already beaming and it's only just after seven."
"In that case," I unroll the towel that I packed in my beach tote, "wake me when it's time to suit up."
I pull my t-shirt over my head and roll it up to use as a pillow as I get settled on my towel. I happen to look up as Dean stares down at me.
"What?"
"Are you trying to kill me?"
"I don't know what you mean," I ask, confused.
"If it were any other girl I'd call bullshit, but with you I believe you really don't."
Still confused, I raise my eyebrow at him. He shakes his head and walks off toward the water to get more pictures as the sun climbs higher in the sky. I slip my sunglasses on even though it's a bit too early to really need them, but I don't want to wake up blinded by the light.
I nod off and the next thing I know the sun is directly overhead and I hear Dean talking with someone off to my left. Turning my head, I see a short man with long, sun-bleached hair in a black wetsuit standing next to Dean while they examine his camera. I stretch as I sit up and notice that my skin is tingling from the sun.
Dean notices that I'm awake and brings his guest over to where I'm perched on the towel. "Jessie, this is Kirk, your surf instructor. I was going to come wake you but we got into a little lens debate."
I stand up to shake his hand and Dean holds out a wetsuit for me. "You ready for a life changing experience?" He smiles at me and steps into his own suit.
"I don't know how life changing this first bit will be. We're starting off on the sand for the basics but we'll have you out on the water in no time." Kirk winks at me before heading off to unstrap the boards from his truck.
"Nervous?" Dean asks as I step into my suit.
"Should I be?"
"I don't know. First time out, it can be a little nerve wracking for some people. Here let me zip you up." He steps behind me and takes his time dragging the zipper from my lower back to my neck. Leaning in, he places a kiss just below my ear and I shudder in response.
"My nerves were fine until you started touching me." I turn to face him with my hands on my hips. "So, how do I look? Can I pull off the whole surfer girl thing?"
Dean's eyes take me in from head to toe and my cheeks redden at his appraisal. "You should definitely come surfing with me every single day when we get back to campus."
I chew the side of my lip to hold back a smile and Kirk whistles and waves us over to where he's arranged the boards.
After half an hour on the sand I'm anxious to finally get in the water. Dean stands at the edge of the water with his camera, insistent on capturing every aspect of the day for me.
"Alright Jessie, we're going to stay in the shallows so I can help you out for the first few rides. If you're comfortable after a bit, we'll head out further," Kirk explains as we stop in the thigh-deep water.
"You're the boss. So I'm not paddling yet right?" I ask as he turns the long foam board to face the shore.
"Not just yet. What I want to do is hold the board steady so you can work on popping up on the water. Once you've got that down you can ride a few waves to shore."
We practice several times until I'm able to get up on the board without tipping the nose down and throwing the balance off. I step off the side of the board and fall a few times. I didn't realize how hard it would be to maintain my balance but once I get it, I start feeling confident and tell Kirk that I'm ready to try catching a wave on my own.
He grabs his short board from the sand and I position my board just as a wave forms behind us. I'm too late for the first one, and I mess up my stance on two more, sending me into the water. Another wave is building behind us and I paddle a bit then grip the board and push myself to my feet, steadying myself on the center line before standing up straight and riding the small wave to the shore. The smile on my face actually pains my cheeks but I'm so excited I just can't wipe the grin away.
When I step off the board Dean is standing there waiting for me. He throws his arms around me and lifts me into the air.
"You looked amazing out there!" he tells me as he sets me back on my feet.
"It's only the shallows but that felt absolutely unbelievable. I'm ready to try the real thing now!"
Kirk laughs as he comes up behind us and says, "How about we nail a couple more first? Paddling is going to take a lot out of you and I want to make sure you've got it down 100% before we head out past the breakers."
I agree and we spend another half hour in the shallow water before Kirk deems me ready for the real thing. Dean is happily snapping away on the shore and I'm nervous to see some of the shots he must be getting. I may be popping up and riding the waves all the way in but I'm sure I look less than graceful doing it.
"Please come out with me? I want you to have fun today too, not just hang out on the shore the whole time," I ask Dean as I chug some water.
"This is your lesson. Once you're good to go we can surf all week together if you want. Plus I'm really enjoying getting some nice closeups of you in that wetsuit," he smirks when I slap his chest and gives me a brief peck on the lips.
"Ready to do this Jessie?" Kirk asks me.
"Definitely!"
My arms feel like spaghetti, my abdominal muscles are trembling with every step I take, and I couldn't be happier. It took me a while to paddle fast enough to catch the bigger waves, but once I caught my first one I was hooked and kept Kirk out there for another two hours. Now as he's packing up to go, my body is screaming at me from the exertion.
"Well you certainly made my job easy today," Kirk says to me.
"I really appreciate it. This was so much fun, I can't wait to get back out there, maybe in a couple of days after my muscles have had some time to recover."
"Oh, you know what? I've actually got something for that." He dips his head into the truck and rifles around in a bag until he comes out with a small jar with some orange goop inside. "Massage that into your muscles and you'll feel good as new."
I take the jar from him and thank him again. I head back to my towel and gather my things while Dean and Kirk have a short conversation. When I'm all ready to head back to the cottage, Dean is just waving Kirk off as he pulls away.
"So you had a good time today?" Dean asks me, slinging his camera bag over his shoulder.
"It was great. Thank you so much for setting it all up. I feel bad that you spent the whole day on the sidelines though." We walk side by side away from the beach and across the street.
"Trust me, it was worth it. If it's okay with you, I'd like to put a couple of the shots I got today in my portfolio."
"Uh…I don't know about that. I'd have to see them first."
"Tell you what. When we get home, I'll show you all of the pictures I want to include and you can have final say."
"Fine, it's a deal." My stomach growls as we turn onto our block.
"You must be starving, I know I am. Why don't we clean up and head out for an early dinner?"
"Sounds good to me."
Dean is in the shower so I take the opportunity to dry my hair. I can barely hold up the blow dryer, my arms are so sore. After three minutes of pain, I give up and decide to braid it instead. This proves to be just as painful and I yank the tangled mess apart with a groan of frustration as Dean comes out of the bathroom with a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips, and no shirt. I stare at his reflection in the mirror and try to ignore the tightening low in my belly.
"What's wrong?" he asks and I forget what he's talking about for a minute then blink a few times and answer him.
"I can't exactly get my arms to function long enough to tame this damn rat's nest on my head." I stare into the mirror in frustration.
Dean walks up behind me and glides his hands up my arms, coming to rest on my shoulders. "Want me to help?" He threads his fingers through my hair and it feels so good my eyes actually flutter closed for a second.
"What do you know about hair?" I tease him.
"Enough. I used to sit and watch my mom get ready for parties and events and stuff, I can manage the basics. Trust me?" I nod and he takes my bottle of product from the dresser and sprays a mist over my hair a few times then shakes and twists it into a waterfall of spirals. I'm impressed.
"Guess I was wrong. Thanks," I smile at him over my shoulder.
"Don't mention it." He bends to kiss my bare shoulder.
"What are the chances that I'll get you to do me one more favor before we leave?" I ask, batting my lashes at him in my best attempt at a girly favor-face.
"How could I say no to that face?" he chuckles.
"Okay, well, I managed to rub this muscle relaxing gel that Kirk gave me on my stomach, but my arms and shoulders are another story. Do you mind?" I hold out the little pot of gel to him.
"Do I mind getting my hands on you? Not a bit." He says jokingly as he opens the jar.
The cooling gel instantly makes my sore muscles sigh with relief. Dean works it into my arms and shoulders gently. I don't know what is in this stuff, but whatever it is, Kirk should sell it by the gallon.
"Thank you so much. I'm feeling better already." Standing up, I slide into my shoes. I take a step back and spin around quickly asking, "So what do you think? Acceptable?"
"Far from it. You look gorgeous."
I smile and grab my brown leather bag from the bed as he buttons a light blue shirt over his chest. I decided to keep it simple with a long gray-green skirt, a white sleeveless crop top and Kelsey's brown strappy sandals to match my bag.
"Thank you. Where are we going anyway?" I ask as I swipe some peach lipgloss onto my lips then toss it into my bag.
"While you were in the shower earlier I made us a reservation at this beachfront restaurant up in Pacific Grove. It's about twenty minutes from here but the reviews were really good and the location is definitely worth the drive. I'm bringing my camera along, just in case."
"Well what are we waiting for then? Lead the way."