Dakota, Are You in Love With Me Too?

Pulling into the parking lot at Lake Havasu, I smiled to myself then I glanced over at Dakota who had fallen asleep the second that I got out onto the freeway back in Tempe. Wearing another white sundress like she wore at the Restaurant, this one was more flirty and she was clearly only using it as something to wear over her swimming suit. Her hair was pulled back effortlessly and her sleeping eyes were hidden behind her Prada sunglasses.

Reaching over, I gently shook her awake, “Dakota, we’re here.”

She took in a sharp breath before lifting her head. While yawning silently, she looked around at our surroundings before fear washed over her face, “You brought to Lake Havasu?” She questioned softly.

I frowned, “Yeah, my Dad has boat … I figured we could spend the day out on the lake.” I eyed her, “Dakota are you ok?”

Her fear filled faces suddenly turned back to its normal pissed off yet cute look, “I’m fine,” She assured then she got out of the car, “Let’s get this over with, O’Callaghan.”

I sat there for a moment, taken aback by that look of fear she showed for a brief minute or two. Finally getting my body to move, I got out of my car popping the trunk open before locking the doors. I looked over the top of the car to Dakota, “Do you need your purse?” I questioned her.

She looked at me then back into my car, “No, but can you push it under the seat for me please? I already shut my door.”

I nodded then leaned back in, gently pushing the designer handbag under the front seat before shutting my door and walking to the back of the car. Lifting the trunk open, I grabbed the small ice chest that I packed with ice and beverages, both alcoholic and nonalcoholic. We’ll be here all day, once we’re anchored somewhere out on the lake I want to have a beer or two.

With my free hand, I grabbed two plastic grocery bags holding snacks for the day, along with some sunscreen that my Mother demanded that I take because she didn’t want to hear me bitch about a sunburn later on tonight when I get home.

“Dakota, could you grab the towels for me please?”

She came to the back of the car and looked into my trunk eyeing the beach towels that I brought from my house. She looked like she had something smart to say about the towels but decided to bite her tongue and reached in, grabbing the towels. “Want me to shut the trunk?” She mumbled softly.

I nodded, “Please,”

She shut the trunk then she hugged the towels to her chest as she looked at the docks where my Father’s boat is, “C’mon, it’ll be fun.” I assured her then I started to walk away.

Slowly, Dakota followed me silently. I couldn’t read her just yet, but by the way she seems hesitant about this entire trip, I know something is wrong. Carelessly walking down the stairs to the docks, I sighed softly but said nothing. Once I was on the dock, I started making my way to my Father’s boat but stopped almost instantly when I didn’t hear Dakota’s footsteps behind me anymore.

Turning around, I saw Dakota standing on the last step of the stairs just staring out at the water. Cocking my head to the side a bit, I slowly walked back over to her, “What’s wrong?” I questioned before I looked in the direction she was looking in, “Did you see something?” I added.

“Um here,” She pushed the towels towards me, “I have to use the restroom really fast,”

I held onto the towels the best I could then I watched the pretty blonde run up the stairs. I made a face, “I’ll put the stuff on the boat and meet you at the store right there,” I called out.

“Yeah!” She said simply then she was out of my view. I made a face before I turned towards the direction the boat was in. Once I was at the boat, I quickly put everything out of sight so no one would steal it then I made sure I had my wallet before I made my way up to the store.

When I got there, Dakota was sitting on a bench by the entrance, “I didn’t pack anything for lunch, so I thought we could go in here and get a couple deli sandwiches,” I informed her but she didn’t look like she was listening to me at all, “Dakota?”

Suddenly she turned her face towards me, “Huh?” She frowned then she nodded, “Yeah, Deli sandwiches is fine.”

“Are you alright?” I questioned.

“Fine,” She assured me but the lack of cursing in her vocabulary and the lack of that demanding tone in her voice told me otherwise.

“Do you want to come in and get the sandwiches with me or do you just want me to get one for you?”

“I think I’m going to stay here,” She mumbled.

“Ok, what do you want?”

“Turkey on sourdough, little mayo, extra mustard,” She answered softly, “And one piece of lettuce”

I smiled, “Cheese?”

“Cheddar,”

“Alright,” I said softly, “I’ll be back in a minute,”

“Mhm,” She mumbled but said nothing more.

Walking into the small store, I walked to the deli counter and sighed as I waited.

“Junior!” I heard an old man call out from the back as he came to the ordering counter.

A smile tugged on my lips, “Hey Roger,” I greeted the old man who owns the store, that I’ve known since I was a kid. Lake Havasu has been such a huge part of my life and my family spends so much time out here we might as well be locals.

He came up to the counter, “Shouldn’t you be in school?” He questioned.

“Nah, I’m in band, no more school for me.”

He rolled his eyes, “Kids,” he muttered, “What are you doing out here this fine day?”

“I’m actually on a date,” I informed him.

He raised his eyebrows, “Oh?” He looked around his store, eyeing the few other customers, “Where is she?”

“Outside,”

“It’s good that you’re moving on,” He said, not daring to speak Peyton’s name.

“Yeah, Dakota is great.”

He smiled happily then he sighed, “The usual?”

“Yeah, and I need another sandwich as well … turkey on sourdough, little mayo, extra mustard, cheddar cheese and one piece of lettuce.”

He laughed at Dakota’s order, “Picky eater you got there, eh?”

“I don’t really know yet but I’m thinking that she is.” I laughed gently.

Roger smiled as he made the sandwiches and made small talk with me, asking my about my family and if they were going to make another weekend trip out here before everyone’s life gets too hectic once again. Once the sandwiches were done and wrapped, he placed them in front of me and smiled, “On the house for my favorite customer,” He smiled.

“Are you sure?” I asked, “I have money,”

“Yes I’m sure,” He laughed then he pushed the sandwiches to me more, “Don’t be a stranger anymore, I missed you a lot this summer.”

“You’ll be seeing more of me,” I assured him then I grabbed the food, “Thank you,” I said with a kind smile.

“You’re Welcome, go have fun and be safe!” He ordered.

“I will,” I laughed then I left the store.

Outside I saw that Dakota hadn’t moved an inch since I went inside. Eyeing her a bit, I forced a smile, “Ready?”

She slowly looked up at me then stood to her feet, nodding silently. Walking back down to the docks, Dakota didn’t stop at the last stair this time she just cautiously stepped onto the dock before walking next to me closely as if she was afraid of something.

Back at my Dad’s boat, I got onto it and put the sandwiches down before turning to Dakota and holding my hands out to her to help her onto the boat. Carefully she took my hands in hers then came onto the boat. Once she was on, she was quick to sit down, “Don’t these things have seat belts?” She questioned.

“No,” I answered with a smirk but my smirk faded when I saw that she wasn’t kidding about the seat belts. I put the sandwiches in a plastic bag before putting them in the ice chest so they wouldn’t go bad before we decided to eat them. Starting up the boat, Dakota shot a glance my way, “Cant we just stay here?” She asked.

“At the dock?” I frowned.

She nodded, “Yeah,”

“Uh,” I made a thinking face, “If you want to I guess we can, I sorta had planned on going out onto the lake though. Dakota is something wrong?” I asked, “You seem … scared.”

“I’m not scared,” She snapped.

I untied the boat then I went back to the wheel, “Then you wont care if we go out onto the lake,” I insisted as I slowly started to drive away from the dock.

“No!” She screamed loudly then she looked at the dock before she looked at me. She became silent once more and slouched in her seat as I continued to drive away from the dock.

As I drove to the certain spot of the lake that I wanted to be at, I decided to take it slow and not speed around because Dakota looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Her hands were clutching the seat she was sitting on and her body was tense. Her eyes were still hidden behind her sunglasses but I bet that they’re wide with fear.

Once I had found a spot that was somewhat secluded on the busy lake, I cut the engine then I walked over to Dakota, sitting next to her, “What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I want to go,” She whispered.

“Why, tell me and we’ll go.” I assured her.

“I’m scared of water, any kind of river, lake … creek,”

“You live in LA, aren’t you scared of the ocean?”

She shook her head, “I’m not scared of the beach if that’s what you’re getting at, and there’s something about the ocean that hold fear for everyone. The ocean is a powerful thing, everyone should fear it to some extent.”

I frowned at her, “So, you’re just scared of large bodies of fresh water?” I asked.

She shrugged, “I want to go now,”

“Why are you scared?” I asked ignoring her demand.

“When I was little, eight years old, my family came here just for the day. My parents were talking to someone they knew and had run into, my older brothers were chasing each other around and me and my twin sister were playing by the water. We decided to go in and we were walking out, neither one of us knew how to swim, my family was never big on water, we’re more of indoor people than outdoor, but we were walking out then suddenly there was a huge drop off, it went from like three feet of water to at least six …” She frowned, “It happened so fast, we were both screaming and crying for help.”

I made a sad face, if I had known this I wouldn’t have brought her here.

“My Dad pulled me out while my Mom grabbed my sister … they barely saved me but they couldn’t save Delilah, they tried though.” She whispered, “I haven’t been back since, until now.”

“Oh god,” I whispered softly, “Dakota I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

“How could you?” She whispered and it was then I saw a few tears slip down her cheeks from behind her sunglasses. I reached over and wiped them away gently, “We’re going back,” I assured her as I got up and started towards the wheel.

“No,” She protested, “You had this day all planned out,” She mumbled.

“Well, I don’t want you to be freaked out all day … I don’t mind going back. There are other things to do here,”

“Like what?”

“We can find a nice spot on the shore and just hang out.” I insisted, “We don’t have to be out here on the boat,”

She just looked at me but said nothing.

“We’ll go back,” I said as I started the boat once more, “It’s not the end of the world, we can have just as much fun on the shore,”

Dakota nodded her head, “I’m sorry I ruined everything.”

“I’m sorry I took you out there,” I replied, “What a dumbass move on my part,” I said simply then things fell quiet between us.

Not another thing was said between us until we were settled on shore, sitting on two beach towels and looking out over the water.

“You look bored,” Dakota mumbled.

“No,” I lied shaking my head.

“You are,” She said simply.

“I’m fine,” I assured her then I turned my attention to her rather than the water, “I really am sorry,”

“It’s ok,” She shrugged, “You didn’t know.”

“So you have two older brothers?” I asked.

She smiled, “Yeah, they both live in California, my oldest brother lives in LA … well Malibu, he lives in my Dad’s beach house. And my other brother lives down in San Diego. Kyle, my oldest brother just graduated from UCLA and my other brother Nathaniel is a senior at SDSU.” She made a face, “I did my freshman year at SDSU but decided to drop out to just party and hang out with friends because my freshman year was a complete waste of money.” She blushed, “Good times though,”

“So you live in San Diego?”

“I have an apartment there,” She smiled, “I love it there more than I do LA, when I’m in LA I stay at my Mom’s. And during summers I’m here in Tempe, crashing at my friends place. I don’t really like my Dad’s new Wife; she’s sorta bossy and tries to act like she’s my Mother.” She rolled her eyes, “She’s a bitch.”

“So how old are your brothers?” I asked, slightly scared of them now.

“Twenty three and twenty one,” She answered, “I just turned nineteen,” She made a face, “July 31st.” She sighed.

“I turned nineteen on August 5th,” I smirked.

She smiled, “I’m five days older,”

I laughed softly then nodded.

“Do you have any siblings?”

“A little brother,” I answered, “He’s a pain in my ass,” I smiled, “We fight a lot because we’re so different yet I’d do anything for him.”

Dakota laughed a little, “Just one brother?”

“Yep,” I stared out over the water, “but I have a cousin, Delaney, she’s basically my sister and she’s my best friend.”

She smiled then we both fell quiet then I stood up and tugged my shirt off, “Wanna come in the water with me?” I asked softly.

Dakota looked up at me, “I don’t know,” She whispered.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, plus I come here all the time, there is no sudden drop off here, promise.” I tossed my shirt onto the towel before taking my flip flops off, “C’mon, I won’t let you go. Trust me,”

She slowly stood up and took her dress off, “I still can’t swim,” She whispered.

“I’ll teach you,” I smiled, “You’ll be fine, I promise.”

She fixed her bottoms before adjusting her top. Eyeing me skeptically she reached for my outstretched hand, “Don’t kill me,” She demanded as she yanked her hand out of my reach.

I grabbed her hand, “I wont,” I laced my fingers with her then went to the water. Stepping in without hesitation, I turned around so my back was to the lake and I was facing Dakota. I smiled as I took her other hand in mine, “Are you sure you want to wear your glasses, you may lose them.”

“I better not lose them,” She paused, “I have a spare pair in my purse, these are just my knock offs,” She smiled softly, “You didn’t actually think I would wear my real Prada sunglasses when I didn’t know where we were going?”

I laughed, “I didn’t know,” I smirked then I continued to walk out into the water. Once the water just came up to Dakota’s chest, I let her hands go and wrapped my arms around her securely as I continued to go further out into the lake.

Loudly a laughing little girl swam by us with her brother following after her. Dakota watched them then she turned her attention back to me, wrapping her arms around my neck, “I think we’ve gone far enough,” She said simply.

“Just a little further,” I insisted.

Before I knew it, we were at a point where I wasn’t touching the bottom anymore, but simply treading water as Dakota clung to me for dear life, with not just her arms wrapped around me but her legs wrapped around my hips tightly, I wasn’t even holding onto her, “You’re like a little spider monkey or something,” I laughed.

She frowned at me, “Shut up,”

I smiled, “Wanna let me go?” I asked.

“No, not really.” She answered.

Slowly I swam back to where I could barely touch the bottom just incase I got too tired. Carefully, Dakota unwrapped one arm from my neck so she could push her sunglasses up on top of her head. Staring into my eyes, she wrapped her arm back around my neck.

“You’re losing your bitchiness,” I pointed out softly, “I’m sorta bummed,”

She smiled, “It’ll be back,” She assured, “When we’re on dry land,” Dakota laughed softly then she continued to stare into my eyes, “I feel vulnerable right now,” She whispered to me.

“Isn’t that the point of learning to trust someone? Feeling vulnerable?”

She shrugged, “You’re the first person to ever get me back into the water, you know it?”

“Am I?” I asked.

She nodded, “Yeah, and I barely know you.”

“Well, I’ve already confessed my love for you.” I blushed.

“Was it love at first sight?”

“Yes,” I answered truthfully, “Your blue eyes literally took my breath away; it was definitely love at first sight.”

She grinned but said nothing.

“So, do you think you can take a chance on me?” I mumbled, “A dirty band boy who fell helplessly in love with pretty blue eyed girl with a sailors’ mouth.”

“It’s only been a weekend, are you sure you’re over her?” She mumbled.

“Yeah,” I nodded, “I did what I needed to do to say goodbye. I even put her picture away,” I frowned, “I wont get rid of it, like throw it away but I put it away.”

“I never asked you to throw anything away,” She pointed out, “I just wanted you to get over her, to stop wanting her and me at the same time.”

“I only want you now,” I assured her, “Promise.”

She eyed me then nodded, “I hate Tempe,”

“Once January gets here, I’ll hardly be home … I’ll be on tour.”

“Oh yeah, with your pussy emo band?” She smirked, “You sing like a little girl,”

“Whatever, you know you like my singing.”

“Prove it,”

I frowned, “I cant,”

“Exactly,” She frowned, “Ok, well your singing isn’t all that bad, I just hate your band, I hate your music.”

“That isn’t nice,”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t support you,” She laughed, “I just hate your band,”

“Understandable, not everyone needs to like it.” I paused, “But you do like my singing, don’t you?”

“Sorta,”

“I knew it,” I laughed then I sighed softly, “Be my girlfriend,”

She raised her eyebrows, “Demanding, are we?”

“You do it, why can’t I?”

“Touché,”

I smiled, “So, will you?”

“Yes,” She answered, “But I’m not clingy, I’m not big on cuddling or holding hands,” She frowned a little, “Well, I do like cuddling to an extent … I don’t want to be smothered, and if I see you with another girl I’ll kick her ass before I kick your ass.”

I smiled, “Deal,”

“You got yourself a Girlfriend O’Callaghan.” She whispered then her face became gentle and she looked vulnerable once again, “I’m in love with you too,” She mumbled.

“You have no idea how great that is for me to hear.”

She nodded, “I think I can,” She carefully unwrapped her arms once more then took my face between her hands before she pressed her soft lips against mine, kissing me deeply. I didn’t miss a single beat as I kissed her back, taking in every second like this would be the last time we’d kiss.

I know that we’re together now, but I also know that this relationship is going to be far from easy or normal. Dakota is quick witted and a bitchy little thing, she isn’t afraid to call me out on my shit and isn’t afraid to say her opinions openly. There will be a lot of fights in my future, I can feel it now but it’ll all be worth it if I can continue to call her mine.