Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (37 page)

     
"No, but
the ocean did." I stared out the window, ignoring Ethan's puzzled
expression. "It's been surprisingly sunny these past few days."

     
He's going
to find out, Doll. What do you think is going to happen when he does?

     
I don't know.

     
Don't you?

     
I really don't.

     
The gun in
your bag says you do.

     
…
That wasn't funny.

    
 
No, it wasn't. Are you going to be
honest with yourself?

     
I'm not ready
to think yet.

     
…Then enjoy
this little trip while you can.

     
Grabbing my
phone, I went to go sit down and look up directions.
Don't think. Just
breathe. You're only a little crazy. It's okay.

     
Ethan fixed his
chair and took a seat. After a second of consideration, he began crunching on
the leftover bacon.

     
"Where the
hell do people get their clothes from around here?" I scowled at the small
screen. The only places I could find in the area were a furniture shop, a
bakery, and a restaurant.

     
"It's a
quiet town, Kitten. People here have to go out of their way to do the kind of
shopping you do. Besides, where we're headed you won't need any clothes."

     
I lifted my
scowling face towards him. "We'll have to see the water together, which
will require some coverage. Anyway, I feel gross. It's bad enough I slept in
these, but I also wore them through five bus rides."

     
"We'll see
if there are any places on the way over."

     
Twenty minutes
later, I checked out of the Inn and stood watching as the Porsche pulled up in
front of me. Ethan opened the back door and ushered me in first.

     
"Hello,
Douglas." I smiled shyly at the man in the driver's seat.

     
"Miss
Myers," he nodded back with a friendly grin.

By
car, it took no more than ten minutes to reach the beach house.
Yeah - a
house, not a room.
Apparently there were a number of them available in the
area, all scattered along the seaside. Ethan had somehow managed to secure one
of the more secluded ones that sat on the actual shoreline with a deck that
faced the ocean. Just under a minute of walking through some tall grass and
sand, and I could be swimming.

     
I stuffed what
was left of the waffles, bacon, glaze, whipped cream, and orange juice into the
fridge. Ethan had told me to leave it all behind since we would be making
another trip to the convenience store, but I told him it would be a waste.

     
"Where is
Douglas going to stay?" I asked.

     
"Anywhere
but here. When we get back from lunch, Douglas is free to do as he
pleases."

     
After we
finished looking around, we quickly began preparing for our stay. Luckily,
there was another store located just two minutes away, so we were done in no
time. Purchasing groceries with Ethan was interesting to say the least. Coops
had accused us of starting out like a pair of old married folks, but never had
I felt quite as…domestic as I did now. I didn't even go shopping for food with
my roommate.

     
Not
surprisingly, Ethan always kept a few spare sets of extra clothing in the trunk
of the car in case of any sudden business emergencies, so he was set in that
department. While I wasn't completely against wearing only his shirt for most
of the weekend, I definitely wasn't okay with wearing that alone when spending
time with the ocean.

     
Since we still
had plenty of time to waste until lunch, I wanted to do a little bit of
exploring. Neither Ethan nor I had ever been in this particular region before.
I made sure to leave my gun and pepper spray back at the house before we began
the drive further up north into the reservation. There were a few houses and
buildings along the way, but the area was still mostly overrun by green trees.
When we finally came across a small group of local shops, I went a tad bit
crazy with excitement, glad that I'd brought more cash than was necessary.
Expensive taxi rides may not have been worth it, but gorgeous accessories and
clothes were.

     
As nervous as I
was when it came to browsing smaller shops, I felt even more uneasy having
Ethan hover around me, watching my every move. I told him he could wander off
and do his own thing, but he just frowned and shook his head. When I pulled out
my wallet at the register to sort through my money, Ethan was already handing
over a credit card to the woman at the counter.

     
A sudden wave
of anger that I wasn't used to washed over me. I knew this kind of thing
might've been nothing to him, but I did
not
want him paying for
this
type of shit. Beach houses were one thing, this was another. But the last thing
I wanted was to make a scene, so I simply stared at him, hoping he could feel
my inner rage.

     
He could.

     
I almost
thought I would pop a vein when the man had the nerve to stare back, eyes both
hard and determined. It was a silent war and neither of us were willing to back
down.

     
When the woman
handed him back his card, we both turned to her and smiled. "Thank
you," I said to her as I reached for the bag. With an amused grin, she
told us to have a lovely day.

     
I waited until
we were a few feet away from the shop to confront him. Halting in my steps, I
told him straight out, "You can't do that."

     
"I
can't
?"
he questioned thickly with an arched brow. Clearly, he didn't like being told
what he could and couldn't do.

     
"No,
you
can't
. You can buy me ice cream. You can pay for expensive meals. You can
get me a gift every once in a blue moon if you feel the need to. But you can't
just do what you just did."

     
"Why the
hell not?"

     
"Because
it's
my
job to pay for these kinds of things, not yours," I
explained as I waved the bag around. "It's bad enough you had to go
through the trouble of renting a place because I ran off. And not just any
place, but a
house
- with an ocean view!"

     
He rolled his
eyes. "You're being ridiculous. It's not that big of a deal. Besides, it's
not like I can't aff-"

     
"I know
you can afford it! That's not the point!" I breathed in, trying to calm
myself. "And it
is
a big deal."
Dammit.
My eyes were
getting blurry.

     
"…Why?" His voice was much softer now.

     
I couldn't
answer without releasing my inner emotional-wreck-of-a-being. I tapped my foot
and looked down, needing to clear my head completely.

     
"Why do
you do that?"

     
"…What?" I grumbled.

     
"Distance
yourself. You look like you're about to cry, and then suddenly it's like your
mind is somewhere else entirely."

     
So he
had
noticed. I closed my eyes, too embarrassed to look at him.
I guess I'm not
as strong as I thought I was.

     
"That's
why Dale came to check on you at the club, isn't it? He understood."

     
I took another
breath and began walking again. "Look…the way I've made it this far is by
cutting myself off from negative feelings. It's not healthy, but it's how I
work. Usually, it's not an issue since it's just me in my bubble most of the
time, but sometimes there are things that set me off. Triggers, sort of. I told
you...I'm an emotional wreck. I have to zone out before I start bawling. I
can't have you see me like that."

     
After
hesitating for a moment, he asked, "Have you ever considered talking to
someone?"

     
"...Like a
professional?"

     
He nodded.

     
"Yes. But,
like I said, it's not usually a problem. And in case you haven't noticed, I
don't really like talking about myself."

     
We walked the
rest of the block in silence before he took my hand. "Tell me."

     
I glanced up at
him, unsure of what he was asking.

     
"About
these triggers," he continued. "I need to know how to avoid them. For
now, at least. Sooner or later, it
will
get to the point where you won't
be able to ignore
those
kinds of feelings. They'll overcome you, there's
no avoiding that. I'll be there when it happens. But for now, tell me what I
can do."

     
I tightened my
grip on his hand and leaned my head against his arm. "Can I find clothes
first?"

     
"Can I pay
for them?"

     
When I shook my
head, he let out a heavy sigh. "Alright."

     
"Thank you
for these, by the way." I held up the bag with all the random pieces of
jewelry he had just purchased and quickly leaned up to kiss his cheek.

     
He instantly
warmed up. "Anytime, Kitten."

     
We were mostly
quiet for the rest of the afternoon. I wasn't nearly as excited as I originally
would have been when I finally found a nice clothing store with all kinds of
cool pieces. Because it wasn't a thrift shop, I didn't bother going through every
single aisle. I grabbed only what I planned to wear, unless I saw something for
super cheap or something that screamed
can't live without it
. I was also
careful not to get anything too similar to what I already owned.

     
It ended up
taking less than thirty minutes, leaving us with nothing else to do but head
over to lunch.

     
"How
serious were you about not eating seafood?" Ethan asked as we got into the
car.

     
"Is that
what you want?"

     
"Not if
you don't."

     
"I'll try
it with you. As long as it's cooked and it doesn't look like it was once a
living creature, I can probably eat it."

     
He gave me a
chaste kiss.

     
I was grateful
when we pulled up to a salmon house and not some kind of creepy octopus bistro.
They did have chicken on the menu, but since there were half a dozen
specialized salmon plates, I decided to go ahead and give one a try. Ethan
ordered a bunch of appetizers just in case I wanted to try something else. It
was all very delicious.

 
    
When we arrived back at the house, it was
almost three. Ethan said he had to have a talk with Douglas for a few minutes,
so I went ahead and took my bags into the bedroom upstairs before hopping into
the shower. I was in there a little longer than necessary, but the water felt
too good to rush.

     
After I stepped
out, I towel-dried my hair and went through my new clothes. I pulled on a pair
of shorts, a white tank top, and an oversized white knit sweater that hung
loose around my shoulders. It was a little too plain for my taste, so I reached
into the bag with the jewelry and took out a silver ankle bracelet that held
dangling moons and stars. It was a perfect fit.

     
When I went
downstairs, I found Ethan standing in front of the massive living room window
looking out towards the shore.

     
"…It's
just us now, Kitten," he said after a moment of silence. When he finally
turned to face me, he noted my semi-damp hair. "I think I'll take a quick
shower, too." After coming to kiss my forehead, he began making his way
upstairs. "Make yourself at home," he called.

     
I felt nervous
being left alone. Until I could go home and have another cry in the shower over
the new fears that now plagued my mind, I would have to do my best to not think
so much. With a heavy sigh, I shuffled over to where Ethan had just been
standing to admire the view. Clouds had partially overtaken the sky, but the
sun still glowed strongly between their moving forms, its rays causing the
ocean to light up and glisten.
Just like in my dreams.
My body was
moving closer towards it before I'd even thought to do so.

     
Once outside, I
walked across the deck and down the steps, making my way through the grass and
onto the sand until finally…there it was, almost close enough to touch.
Millions of tiny bright fragments criss-crossed over the surface of the deep
blue waters, making it seem as though it had been sprinkled with an endless
supply of glitter. It hit me with a wave of nostalgia, and I found myself
wanting to cry.