Page 109 of Wild Thing
We should stay here forever.
“I love it as it is," I said as I finished scoping out the place. "Some things should remain untouched.”
Brax took a step towards me and held my face in his hands. He leaned in and kissed me gently. The sound of the rolling waves in the background mimicked the movements of our tongues.
I gave in to how good it felt.
Brax ended the kiss. "Stop worrying."
I looked at him and wondered how he was so calm.
"I can't help it. I feel like I'm becoming a bad person, and I–"
Brax placed a finger over my lips, shooshing me. "You're not a bad person, Dylan. This situation…"
"Affair."
"Okay," Brax ran his hands down my arms. "This affair, is temporary."
"We need to talk about what's going to happen."
"We will. Soon."
Before I could ask him why now wasn't a good time, he pulled the car keys out of his pocket and walked towards the front door.
"I’m going to race down to the store and get us some snacks,” he said as he opened the creaky, wooden door. “Make yourself at home.”
I gave him a soft smile and watched the door close. I felt like he was avoiding having the conversation we needed to have.
Once the engine faded in the distance, I casually walked around the cottage. It was quaint and reminded me of the places we’d dream about living in.
I dropped myself onto the armchair in the lounge room, closed my eyes and listened to the crashing waves, wondering why he had brought me here.
He wouldn’t have brought me here if he wasn’t serious about being together, would he? What would be the point otherwise?
After a few moments, I opened my eyes and noticed something I hadn’t caught earlier.
A framed picture hanging on the wall.
It was a pencil sketch of a beach shack with two people hugging in front of the verandah, their faces obscured by their dark hair, blowing in the wind. My mind went fuzzy as I realized what I was looking at.
It was us.
I knew it was, because I drew it.
I'd sketched this for him years ago.
He'd kept it.
My heart swelled and damn near burst.
Thirty-One
BRAX
With the passenger seat covered in fancy cheese, crackers, quince paste and a bottle of wine, I swung the car back onto the gravel and sand lined driveway, and thought about when I brought Ally here for the first time.
“What is this shit shack?” she hissed as we pulled in the driveway.
