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She bet a lot of them didn’t think twice though knowing what kind of dangers were out there in the world.
Mostly, she wondered about her own decision. What impact would integrating Lucas have on Elena’s life?
She had to hope it was for the best.
She spotted Lucas a while later strolling towards her in his washed out jeans and shirt. She noticed how women who passed by him paused to stare. Lucas just had that energy about him, and with his sinewy muscles and that sparkle in his chocolate brown eyes, women no doubt swooned over him.
She was one of those women once.
If she were being honest with herself, she was still very much attracted to him, but she couldn’t let that have any bearing on what she was about to tell him. She had to do the right thing for Elena now.
Whether or not they would ever have anything again didn’t matter as long as Elena had her father.
“Hey,” Lucas said as he finally reached her.
“Hey,” she responded as she gazed at him taking in the angles of his face, and the way it was brought out by the slight copper in his hair.
“Ready to go? My car is just around the corner,” he jabbed a finger in the direction of the car.
“Let’s go.”
They walked quietly to the car, the air charged with the weight of all the things they wanted to say, but couldn’t.
***
Lorena looked around as Lucas pulled up to a quiet spot on the beach an hour later. The car ride over had been awkward first with Lucas trying to draw her out of her shell, and Lorena terrified of letting down her wall.
She would respond in monosyllables at first until finally he brought up one particular memory of her trying to cook and nearly burning the house down that had her laughing till tears ran down her face.
After that, they simply fell into old habits.
They got out of the car and took off their shoes as they let their toes sink into the sand.
“I love how the sand feels between my toes,” she whispered quietly.
Lucas smiled as he dug his feet in. “I remember you saying that. I love how it smells here. It’s hard to remember that smell when you live in the city, but once you’re here, it just permeates the senses.”
Lorena gave him a small smile as she shoved her hands in her pockets and began to wriggle her toes. She sighed as she felt some of the tension drain away as she walked towards the water.
She took in a huge gulp of salty air and let it fill her lungs completely before she released it. “The rest of the world just melts away out here,”
“It does,” Lucas agreed from behind her as she felt rather than saw him stand next to her. He dipped his toes into the water. “The water is warm,”
Lorena gave him a wry smile. “Nice try. I’m not falling for that trick.”
“What trick?”
“You flinched when you dipped your toes just now. You want to tell me that was a reflex?”
Lucas gave her a sheepish smile. “Won’t know unless you try.”
“Why would I”- she was interrupted when a splash of water drenched her. She sputtered as she stared at Lucas who looked as delighted as a kid during Christmas.
The water was warm, but that didn’t mean she was going to let it slide. She gave him an innocent smile before she splashed him right back.
He spit the water out of his mouth as he stared at her through hooded eyes.
“Oh, it’s on.”
