Page 13 of Rockstar Retreat

“I’m taking you to the coast. It’s a bit of a drive, but it would be perfect if you’d like some alone time. It’s a great spot, but unless it’s summer, it’s empty most days.”

He looked at me, curious. “It’s not that cold now though.”

I shrugged. “It’s not, but people are too busy to be hanging out on the beach, I guess. I go there all the time, and I’ve only come across other people maybe three times.”

We made it to my car and got in, and I threw my stuff in the back before I turned on the car and started the long drive. I turned on the radio, keeping the volume reasonable but not inviting conversation. He wasn’t in the mood to talk anyway, so it worked out just fine for the both of us.

The silence wasn’t uncomfortable though, quite the opposite. I naturally loved silence, and he seemed lost in his thoughts. He was probably thinking about home and his family, and my heart went out to him.

When we were close enough, I found somewhere to park, then got out of the car with my things and waited for Jerrik to do the same.

“Can I take off my shoes?”

I pursed my lips but nodded. I glanced at his feet and noticed he was wearing boots. It would be annoying if sand got in them.

“You can if you want. Sorry, I should have told you we were coming to the beach.”

“It’s fine.”

He leaned against the car as he pulled off his boots, then socks, and left both in the car. I was wearing flip flops, so I was fine. I locked the door, and we walked the short distance to the beach. I felt a breeze go through my hair and sighed.

“Do you still want to light a candle? I don’t think we can with this breeze.” And after I’d bothered to bring the damn candle and lighter along.

He sent me a small smile. “It’s fine; it doesn’t have to be a candle.” He glanced down with a slight wince, before crouching down. I watched, surprised, as he picked up a clump of sandy mud between his hands. “This will be more than enough for me.”

I arched an eyebrow at him. “Mud, Jerrik? Really.”

He grinned. “Yeah, I’m gonna throw it in the sea. It doesn’t have to make sense, but it’s what I want to do. Is that okay?”

I wrinkled my nose at the thought of touching mud, but I crouched down to get some of my own. I grimaced at the feeling of it getting under my nails, but we headed for the water. I looked to him for direction as we stopped at the edge of the water. He pressed the mud into a ball, reared back and threw it into the water. I was impressed by how far it got. I still had no idea what we were doing, but I set down my bag a little back on the sand where it wasn’t wet and threw the mud in my hands.

The distance it cleared wasn’t even half of his, and I scowled at him as he laughed. I took off my flip flops and walked a little into the water, before crouching down, being careful not to get the edge of my dress wet, and washed my hands in the salty water, removing the mud under my nails. Jerrik did the same before we moved back to the beach and just stood watching the water, the silence between us again comfortable.

“I hope this at least makes you feel better,” I said after a while, turning to look at him.

He hummed, looking off into the horizon, before turning to me with a small smile. “It does,” he said earnestly. “You have no idea just how much.”

“Just by throwing mud into the sea?” I joked.

“It’s more than that. It would take too long to explain, but… you could say that… it liberated me, in its way. Thanks, Sharon, for bringing me here.”

The smile he leveled at me was the most genuine I’d seen from him so far. I couldn’t look away. A minute passed, and the smile fell from his face, but he didn’t look away, either. Instead, he stepped closer to me and raised one of his hands to my cheek.

I knew it was coming, I could have seen it from a mile away, but I couldn’t—and didn’t want to— move as he leaned down to kiss me.