AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We zoomed up north past the Santa Monica Pier and kept going.
It was a beautiful southern California day with a light, cool breeze off the water—nothing but sunshine and the smell of the ocean.
“How much farther?” I asked.
He pulled ahead of me, turned, and started skating backwards. “To the end.”
“Where is that?”
He smiled. “You’ll see.”
I pointed ahead. “Bicycles.”
He flipped to skating forward in time to dodge the two-wheeled menaces. Some of the kids either didn’t appreciate the rules of the road, or merely didn’t have good control, but we routinely had to dodge them.
We were almost to Malibu when the path ended at a parking lot up against the hills of the Pacific Palisades.
As we returned, we passed numerous bikini babes of the kind you saw all over TV—girls skating the path in barely there swimsuits. Yet every time I checked, Dennis’s eyes were either on me or looking out for the next hazard on the path. This was the kind of attention I could get used to.
We made a pit stop at the Santa Monica Pier, and I almost asked if we could go on one of the rides, but I chickened out. Dennis was calling the shots, and I was along for the ride.
He bought us waters and handed me one.
After several good slugs, I put the cap back on my bottle. “Why did we have to go so far?”
“I’ll tell you when we get back to the house.” He had me lead and insisted on skating behind me.
I preferred it when he chose whether to dodge left or right, meeting others on the pathway. “Why can’t you go first?”
“I could, but I like the view from back here better.”
I laughed. I knew he didn’t mean the ocean or the beach.
We skated on, and two more attempts to get him to answer my question were for naught.
Back at the rental shop, we returned the roller blades and retrieved our shoes.
I sidled up next to him as we walked back. “Are you going to tell me now?”
“I said when we get back to the house. You have to learn patience, girl.”
Today everything was a lesson. “Denny, you’re being annoying.”
“I’m being consistent, Angel.”
I didn’t have a comeback to that, so I put my arm around him. This had been fun, and not something I would have thought of.
His arm came over my shoulder, pulled me tight, and he adjusted his stride to match mine.
I glanced toward him.
He smiled back.
All I saw beyond him was the expanse of the ocean—no buildings, no people, just the two of us, sunshine, and warm sand. Being with him had lightened my mood to match the brightness and warmth of the day.
* * *
Dennis
