Page 61 of Tell It To The Waves

She sits there looking out to the deck, before her finger comes to her lip, rubbing on it.

Cocking her head, she looks at me; I give her a smile. “Morning.”

Her sleep-filled voice repeats my words.

In an instant, she’s standing, breasts on full display, and my eyes eat them up, seeing them in the morning light. They’re nothing like they used to be; now they're fuller and rounder, andoh so fucking real. Licking my lip, I have to divert my attention away from her before she bends down, picking up the T-shirt that slept on the floor last night.

She pads to the kitchen, and I hear the cupboards open and close. “Do you want some coffee?”

My body protests as I lean off the sofa, from being in the same position all night. I rub my lower back. “That would be great,” I tell her before standing up, stretching my body. My button-up is laid over the Lazy Boy in the corner, thankfully now dry.

August watches me from the kitchen, her eyes following me to the hallway.

“Bathroom is out of order.” She pauses. “Thanks to your in-laws.”

I stand there gaping at her. “Ex-in-laws,” I huskily reply before heading out to the deck, deciding pissing outside will suffice.

“I have a porta potty on the other side of the cottage,” she calls to me as I’m entering back into the living room.

“I was going to ask how you’ve been living here.”

The spoon hitting the side of the mug is the only sound before she turns and walks to me, coffees in hand. “Baylee and Kai opened their house up to me.” She raises one side of her mouth, handing me my mug.

I take it, sipping the hot liquid. My free hand automatically reaches out, pushing a strand of her wild black hair behind her ear. I watch her face grow a slight crimson before she looks down and steps around me, out to the deck. I follow. But she doesn’t stop, only keeps walking down the stairs and onto the beach, and so do I.

Her footsteps lead the way, and I step into each one of them, making them bigger with my own feet.

She stands at the shore, drinking her coffee and enjoying the morning. Seagulls are out calling to one another as they find their breakfast for the day.

I saddle up right next to her.

She’s the one to break the silence. “I haven’t been in the ocean since that night.”

My head turns toward her, not believing her words. August was in love with the ocean. In it every day. After her mom passed, she stayed out of it a bit, but still enjoyed it. She felt closer to her in the water. “You loved it. Why?” I know why, but I need to hear it from her.

She sips her coffee, dragging the mug from her lips. Lips I was all over last night.Stop, I tell myself.

“Being taken by an undertow will do that to you. That night was already the worst, but adding in almost dying in the same ocean that took my mother made it insanely worse. Being turned upside down, thrown to the ocean floor, and tossed around like a ragdoll changed the way I look at it. I always knew it was its own entity, but that night I truly understood it. And left with a deeper respect for her than I ever did.”

I stand there looking at her and at the ocean, setting my mug down. Holding my hand out to her, I say, “Come.”

Her head jerks toward me. “Absolutely not.” But she lets me take her hand before letting her half-empty mug fall onto the sand.

I slowly lead her through the Swash and her hand squeezes mine with each step we take into the water. The water is cold, but comfortable. Getting to her knees, I look at her. “Are you okay?”

She just nods her head.

“Words, August.” I lift my eyebrow.

I see her swallow hard. “Yeah.” Her lips tremble, but she keeps letting me take her in further, until the water is up to her thighs.

“I can’t go in anymore, Bohdi,” she cries out, squeezing my hand.

“That’s okay. Look how far you came out,” I applaud her. Because that was a huge step she had just taken and trusted me to help her. I could be her anchor, once again, if she’d let me.

She cries, tears leaving wet trails down her cheeks, falling into the ocean, becoming one with it.

Maneuvering myself in front of her, I kiss her cheek before licking the tear that just fell, moving to the other side, cleaning the tearstains from her skin. She stands there shaking, from me or the ocean? I’m not sure, probably both.