Blighted Soul

He refused to let go of my hand the whole night; both while we were driving and while we ate our dinner. As we walked back to the car afterwards, I was surprised when he said that there was one more place he wanted to take me. I sat in silence as he drove, his hand still gripping mine, occasionally rubbing small circles into the back of my hand.

“We’re getting close,” he said with a grin, “Close your eyes.”

“Mmhm,” I hummed, closing my eyes contentedly. A few minutes later we came to a halt.

“I guess you may as well open your eyes. You’ll smell it before you see it, anyways.” He said. I opened my eyes and looked out the window.

“We’re at the beach,” I said quietly, a smile playing on my face. He leaned across the small space and pecked my cheek.

“We are,” he said with a grin. He got out of the car and came around to open my door for me. As soon as I was out, he laced his fingers through mine.

“I take it we’re not swimming,” I said as we began walking towards the sand. My eyes were pinned to the roiling black waves. I’d never been to the beach at night.

“If you really want to we can,” he said lightly.

“Swimming when I can’t even see my feet? No thank you,” I said with a laugh.

He also laughed. “Agreed. But I’d tough it out for you. While simultaneously pissing myself…”

“Gross!” I giggled. “I’d be next to you…And here I was thinking that you were manly.” I playfully hit his shoulder. We came to a stop on a hill where there was several weeds poking up through the sand. We had a perfect view of the waves lapping at the shore.

We took our seats. Caleb sat cross-legged while I pulled my knees up to my chest. We were close; only an inch separated us. I could feel the warmth radiating from his body and it was more comforting than I could ever put into words.

“Caleb, I really want to thank you,” I said timidly.

He looked at me, head tilted to the side slightly. “For?”

“For being there for me. I know this is going to sound terrible, but… I think you’re the real reason why I actually tried to get better. Sure, I was also doing it for my family, but you…you mean a lot to me. A lot.”

His hand slid across the sand and found mine. “I’ve only known you for a few months, Evan, but I’m pretty sure you mean the world to me. I’m in love with you.”

Our faces were moving inexorably closer. My heart was swelling in a way it hadn’t in over a year. By the time I found the right words, my lips were brushing his. “I’m in love with you, too,” I whispered.

Finally our lips met and it was like I’d never been kissed before. All those drunken kisses that I’d shared with random guys meant nothing, because Caleb meant everything.

In the end, we ended up laying in the sand for the rest of the night and watching the stars.