Meant to Be (15 page)

I felt terrible. “Sam, you should have
something. I wouldn’t have been so selfish with your time.”

“Get out of here. Shawn and I knew it was
important that I spend time with you, once I realized that we
shared all these crazy traits. Yeah, it has been tough, but in the
long run, it’s more important that we figure out all this insanity.
Besides, I like hanging out with you,” she said, reaching over to
give me a quick hug. Her warmth wasn’t as strong as Mark’s, but it
instantly began to sooth me.

We all piled into Mark’s charcoal
Navigator.

“Nice car man,” Shawn said, running his hand
over the smooth leather.

“Yeah it’s nice,” Mark said in an offhand
manner, using a tone I didn’t recognize. “Sorry, my dad used it as
bribery for missing my graduation. He didn’t even buy it; he had
his assistant do it. I feel like a sellout every time I drive it,
like I approve of his absentee parenting.” Mark cut off his tirade
as he pulled into a spectacular driveway.

Shawn let out a long whistle. “Wow dude, your
dad must be loaded. This house is unbelievable.”

It was every bit as beautiful as the houses I
had admired on our drive to the beach the previous week.

“Thanks, I talked my dad into buying a house
on the beach when we first moved here. I do admit, I did use the
absentee father card on that one.”

The house was breathtaking; it looked like it
belonged on some swanky T.V show. The side that faced the road
looked like it was constructed of driftwood you would find on the
beach. The front doors were made from the richest oak I had ever
seen. Each held a beautiful stain glass window that resembled the
crashing waves of the ocean. Conch shells and miniature tiki lamps
lined the sidewalk. The driveway was made up of thousands of
crushed shells that crunched pleasantly underfoot. The lawn was
lush with palm trees placed strategically around to give a person
the feeling that they were on their own private little island.

Mark opened the front door and we all stopped
in awe. The inside was even more breathtaking than the outside. The
side of the house that faced the ocean was made up of glass panels
from floor to ceiling that were only broken up by a set of
oversized French doors leading to the patio outside. The plush
carpet in the living room swallowed up our bare feet as we made our
way toward the patio.

I walked over to the patio doors and opened
them up. Inhaling the fragrant ocean air, I looked at the deck in
wonder. Jeez, his dad must be loaded; I thought echoing Shawn’s
sentiments. The patio held one of the infinity swimming pools that
I had only seen in movies. It seemed as if it was stretching out
into the horizon. Lounge chairs were scattered abundantly across
the patio and a wood patio table big enough for a party of twelve
sat in the far corner next to the outdoor bar. The whole look was
completed by a magnificent freestanding waterfall.

“Wow, is your dad a movie star or something?”
Sam asked.

Mark laughed. “No, just a businessman.”

Mark came over and stood by me. “This is
beautiful,” I told him.

“I know; I love it here. When we decided to
move, my dad left the house hunting up to me and I fell in love
with this one the moment I laid eyes on it. My dad travels so much,
it feels like mine.”

“Your dad must be good at his job to be able
to afford this,” I commented.

“He owns his own company, he’s a
troubleshooter. He goes in and helps companies that are having
problems get back on their feet. He’s earned quite a reputation and
is in high demand. The only problem is that he’s always out of
town, working. I used to get upset about it, but then it just
became normal.”

Mark took my hand as we walked down the
wooden steps that led to the beach.

“What a crazy day,” I said as we removed our
shoes.

“You’re right about that. How are your
emotions handling all of this?”

I was touched by his concern. “Their okay, I
had a few iffy moments when Shawn was talking about all the UFO
stuff, but I was able to pull myself together.”

“Let me know if they become a problem, I want
to help if I can.”

I gnawed on my thumbnail as we walked toward
the water edge. It would be tough to confide in him on that. I had
spent my life trying to hide that aspect about myself.

The cool water lapped at our feet as we
watched the sun begin to set on the horizon.

Mark cupped my shoulders as I slowly turned
my face toward him. “There’s something I have wanted to do all
week, but I wanted to wait for the perfect moment,” he said in a
low voice as he stared into my eyes.

My heart began to beat heavily, and I lost
myself in his warm brown eyes as his face began the decent toward
mine. At the last possible moment, my eyes fluttered close. I was
caught off guard at the rightness of it all. It was like walking in
a meadow filled with flowers or sitting in front of a fireplace on
a cold winter day. The warmth of the kiss took my breath away. I
felt like I had finally come home. Mark tightened his arms around
me, drawing me even closer.

The feelings that welled up in me were so
tender, I felt like I could weep.

I was reminded of a conversation I had with
my mom when I was thirteen. I had been observing the ease that my
parents had around each other for weeks. They always seemed to know
what the other needed. Often, I would observe them acting like they
had just fallen in love. I asked my mom why that was. She told me
that the love she felt for my dad at that moment was different than
the love she had felt for him in the beginning. It was stronger and
much more intense. “He’s not only the man I love, but also my best
friend. I love your dad more today than I ever have. Our love has
evolved into something else because of the way we respect and
listen to each other’s needs,” she had said.

That was how I felt in Mark’s arms. This kiss
may be our first, but it felt like I had kissed him a thousand
times before.

I now knew my place in the world. It was by
his side. We may have just met, but we had known each other our
entire lives.

When we drew apart he said, “Wow.”

I knew exactly what he was talking about; it
had been a “Wow” kind of kiss.

“Let’s try that one more time,” he said,
pulling me close again.

This time, I had my eyes closed before our
lips met. The air around us seemed to sing. I lost myself in the
kiss. My heart was racing and my skin tingled on every surface of
my body.

“That was amazing,” Mark said when our lips
parted.

I would have spoken, but my head was still
spinning.

“We better join the others,” he said,
grabbing my hand as we walked back toward the staircase.

I put my shoes back on, feeling dizzy in a
drunken haze. If I knew kissing him was going to be that mind
blowing, I would have forced myself on him the first day. He was
right to wait though; the moment couldn’t have been more perfect. I
knew I would never forget our first kiss, the way his lips had
felt, the way my heart had raced, and the way the cool ocean water
lapped at our feet.

We stopped on the top step when we saw Shawn
and Sam sharing the same kind of intense kiss that we ourselves had
just experienced.

“Should I get the hose?” Mark asked with a
laugh.

They sprang apart, both looking dazed as Mark
and I laughed.

Walking into the living room, we all settled
on the oversized pillows that were littered around on the plush
cream colored carpet.

Mark used a remote to turn the Bose stereo
on, and soon music was playing from the many speakers around the
room.

He turned on his laptop and booted up the
internet.

We started our search by simply Googling,
‘Santa Cruz.’ The sites that popped up were typical. Town history,
chamber of commerce, and other sites that would help you find more
information on the inner workings of a city.

Mark clicked out of that page, and changed
the search.

“Strange occurrences in Santa Cruz,” I read
over his shoulder.

Mark shrugged his shoulders. “I figure we
have to start somewhere.”

From this inquiry, all kinds of weird sites
popped up, as the internet tried to match up the request.

Mark used the mouse to scroll down the page
as we all looked for something to jump out at us.

Some of the things that popped up boarded on
downright kooky. The beach was popular with leftover die hard
hippies and their laid back attitudes and open use of drugs, which
had caused some problems in the early eighties. Besides that, the
most frequent item that popped up were the countless shark attacks
over the years.

After a while, I stood up to ease my sore
backside from sitting on the floor so long. Walking around the
living room, I studied the formal shots of Mark as he progressed
through childhood. Even as an adolescent, he had been handsome. I
stopped in front of his high school graduation picture and smiled
at his boyish grin as he held up his diploma.

“He looks so young in that picture,” Sam
commented as she picked up the picture.

“He was, barely fifteen. I couldn’t have
imagined facing college that young. I’m intimidated thinking about
it next year and I’m three years older than he was.”

“I’m starved,” Shawn said behind me breaking
into our conversation.

“Me too, there’s a great Mexican restaurant
up the road I always go to. You guys want to give it a try?”

“I’m in,” Sam said, setting the picture back
down.

Mark looked at me. “So am I, I love Mexican
food.”

Chapter 9

Mark took us to a small family owned Mexican
restaurant that was about a mile up the road from his house.

The parking lot was full and Mark circled the
building before he pulled into a tight space between two oversized
SUV’s.

When we walked through the doors, I felt like
we had crossed the border into Mexico. The walls were covered in
authentic woven blankets and the brightly colored Piñatas that ran
along the rafters gave the restaurant just the right amount of
festiveness. A live mariachi band walked around the room
encouraging everyone in the restaurant to join in the singing, it
was a great atmosphere.

Sam was practically humming as she surveyed
the great deco, excitedly pointing out one unique piñata after the
next. Shawn looked down at her obviously enthralled by her
exuberant attitude.

“Hey Mark,” the man behind the counter
greeted us. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll get a table cleared off
for you.”

“That’s fine, Miguel. Thanks.”

“I love this place,” Sam said as Shawn slung
his arm around her shoulders. She pointed to another piñata that
was fashioned like a giant maraca. “I love that one.”

Five minutes later, the hostess guided us to
our table.

“Nice to see you again Mark,” said the pretty
waitress as she passed our table.

“I eat here a lot,” Mark explained as I
raised my eyebrows at him.

The same pretty waitress came back to our
table and set an overflowing basket of warm tortilla chips and
salsa on the table. “What can I get you guys to drink?” she asked
with eyes on Mark alone as she popped her gum in the process.

“Cokes for everyone?” Mark said, looking at
all of us for confirmation.

“Sure honey,” she said in a nauseating sweet
voice.

Sam stifled a laugh, looking at me as the
waitress sashayed away.

Shawn burst out laughing at Sam’s attempt to
mimic her by fluttering her eyes at Mark.

To reassure me, Mark slung his arm around my
shoulders and pulled me close.

“Do you really think I have ever looked at
another girl?” He whispered into my ear.

I shook my head, nervously working on the
already low thumbnail on my right hand. I had never looked at
another guy, and I knew he was the same, but knowing that didn’t
help the small flash of jealousy that shot through me when she
smiled at him like he was some kind of delectable dessert or
something.

Mark gently pulled my hand away from my
nervous gnawing.

“It’s always been you, nobody else,” he
continued.

“I know, I just don’t like other girls to
look at you. I know that seems possessive, but I can’t help it,” I
tried to explain.

“Believe me I know. I’ve experienced it all
week when I’ve watched the guys at school check you out when you
walk by,” he said as I shook my head in denial.

With all the California blonde bombshells
walking through the halls of school, I was pretty sure the male
population of the school was too busy checking them out. The girls
at school weren’t afraid to show off their long tan legs, and
expose enough cleavage to keep the guy’s eyes glued on them.

“They watch you because not only are you
pretty, but you also walk around all aloof, so you pose a challenge
for all the young studs of the school. They can get the other girls
any old time, but you have enough of a mysterious air about you to
snag all of their attention. That’s the only reason Matt’s giving
us a hard time right now, he doesn’t like the fact that you snubbed
him.”

I didn’t agree with him. I personally felt
that Matt was harassing us because that’s what Matt did. He liked
to torment those around him. Mark thought I was pretty because I
had been in his dreams all these years. If not for that, he would
see just how ordinary I was. Not that I ever wanted him to think of
me like that, it was flattering for him to call me beautiful.

The waitress came back to our table to take
our dinner orders. While we were waiting for our food, we discussed
the issue that was the most pressing.

The idea that there could be four more people
out there that may also share our connection was a twist none of us
had ever considered.