Straddling the Edge (17 page)

Moments later, I hear the shower running and no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to fall back asleep. I sit up and glance around the room spotting the hotel guide on the night stand. I reach over and thumb through the pages. We never got to make our plan of attack last night so maybe I can get a head start. When I find exactly what I’m looking for, I call down to the front desk to get help with making reservations. By the time the bathroom door opens and Dean comes out with only a towel wrapped around his damn
swoonworthy waist, I have a plan in the works to surprise him. But first, I have to put my tongue back in my mouth and stop drooling like a bulldog.

“Dean, I will never get tired of ogling you in a towel just after you’ve showered. It has to rank pretty high on my list of favorite things to do.” Sometimes, I can’t believe how forthcoming I am with him. Sentences like that have never really flown freely from my mouth. But then again, I’ve never known a guy so devastatingly handsome either.

He steps closer to the bed and drops his towel. “Ogle all you want, sweetheart. I’m all yours.”

I take in the glorious sight of him, and then lean to the side to look around
his hot damp body. “My pleasure, but I’m not so sure I want to share you with the rest of Catalina.”

He glances back over his shoulder and sees that the curtains are still wide open and people are walking around in the courtyard beyond our private deck. He quickly bends down, grabs for his towel, and wraps it around his waist again, covering his most worthy of ogling parts.

“Much better,” I tell him, with a laugh as I get to my feet.

He shakes his head with a slight chuckle. “Maybe I should draw the drapes so I can get you out of these clothes and do some browsing of my own.”

“Honey, I’d love for you to do more than browse but we have plans and we’re already behind schedule, so I’m just going to take a quick shower and we can be on our way.”

“Plans? We haven’t made any plans yet.”

“
We
have not, but
I
have.” I press my lips to his bare chest, inhaling the scent of a clean fresh man. I step around him and head into the bathroom. Just as I’m about to close the door, I glance back at him. He’s standing there with his hands on his hips, a confused look spread across his face, and I shout, “Surprise!”

After having a few pastries from the continental breakfast bar at the hotel, Dean and I set out for a long day of sightseeing and activities that are sure to be fun. One in particular should make for a memorable evening. That is, if I can summon the balls to go through with it. I was feeling fairly daring this morning when I set the whole thing up. Now … not so much.

“So what’s first on your day of surprises,
Summer?” Dean tosses his arm around my shoulder and hauls me close to him for a kiss to the side of my head. I love those sweet kisses as much as I love the ones that hit my mouth.

“Submarine ride.” I tell him as we reach the dock. “I’m not really one to go diving with the sea animals. Kind of scares the shit out of me so I thought we could enjoy the marine life from within the safe confines of a boat
in what they call a semi-submersible watercraft.”

“I was hoping we would do that tour. I’ve been on many websites the last couple of weeks trying to figure out what you might like to do.”

“Well, I’m one for one. Let’s see how the rest of my surprises turn out.”

The sub ride is pretty fascinating. Schools of fish swarm the boat as food is projected into the water. Dean and I
ooo and aww at some of the more tropical looking fish. The water is a bit murky but even through the haze the ocean vegetation looks beautiful swaying back and forth with the tide.

“How are you feeling?” Dean asks, with a hand placed on my thigh.

“I’m good. It’s much warmer in here than being on the deck.”

“That’s for sure.” On the way over to the island, there was a short time when I thought I was going to be sick. Dean was ready with a package of Dramamine and a bottle of Sprite. He had thought of everything. Not knowing how I’d do on a boat ride and that I wouldn’t know to be prepared, he’d made sure to have everything I might need. Like something to keep me warm and some meds just in case my stomach got upset.

We’re shushed by an older woman next to us and we take that as our cue to enjoy the rest of the tour in silence. The guide shows us through the kelp forest and explains a few details about the native fish. It’s fun watching the little ones aboard. Their expressions are priceless as the fish swim right up to the large porthole windows for a better look. This kind of reminds me of the old submarine ride at Disneyland, the one that was replaced by Nemo.

When we’re above sea level again, Dean takes my hand as we make our way back to town for our next adventure.

“So what did you think?” I ask.

“It was fun,” he says, with a shrug.

“Not as exciting as I thought it would be either.” I smile, knowing that the brochures looked at lot more fascinating.

“Hey, it was something to do …
once.”

“Yeah, once.” We walk in silence for a bit before I speak again. “It’d be nice to be young again. Did you see how thrilled those little kids were
? It was like Christmas morning to them.”

Dean nods. “They were definitely fun to watch.”

“Are you hungry yet?” I ask him, tapping on his belly with my free hand.

“Starved. After skipping dinner last night and that little
muffin this morning, I could eat half the island.”

I glance up at him with a raised brow. “Well, I don’t know about half the island
, but I do have some tasty treats planned.”

We walk for a few minutes to the starting point of our next tour. “A food tasting tour?” Dean questions.

“Yup. Kind of like a wine tour, but instead of wine, we’re tasting food. What do you think?” I ask, a smile spread across my lips.

He smiles right back. “Sounds perfect. Better than wine tasting, that’s for sure. Our next trip is going to be to San Diego.”

“Why is that?”

“Brewery tour. Since you like to partake in a good brew like me, you’ll be the perfect date for a tour. We could invite the Fullers and
Gelsons too. I bet Shelly would love it.” He ruffles my hair, loosening my ponytail.

“Hey, stop messing up the do.” I reach back and pull my hair tighter into the band. “You’re lucky I’m not the type of girl that spends hours styling her hair or I’d have to smack your hand away every time you do that.”

He laughs. “I’m sorry. I love the way your hair is pulled back, whether it’s like it is right now, with little ringlets of curls falling down your back or in two braids coming down the front of your shoulders on each side of your chest. They’re so cute and I just always want to reach out and touch them.” He reaches up and is about to connect with my pony again, but this time I catch his hand and kiss the inside of his palm.

“You go right ahead and touch me. Anytime you want.”

Someone clears his throat and I turn around to see a gentleman with a silly smirk on his face. “Newlyweds?” he asks. “I can tell.”

“Nope, not yet. But we’re definitely enjoying the honeymoon phase early,” Dean tells him. I can feel my face getting warmer and red by the second.

“Reservations for the food tour?”

“Yes,” I tell him, grateful to change the subject. I give him my name and we wait for a few more people to arrive before beginning.

It’s a short tour, only taking a couple of hours to make our way into five local restaurants and bakeries. We start at a steakhouse and enjoy small slices of prime rib doused in butter with sautéed mushrooms. We also have a small taste of a red wine. At the next location, we try Avalon’s best Chinese food. The honey shrimp is my favorite of all the samples.

In between stops, our guide, Bill, gives us some background information about each resta
urant. I would’ve expected to wander into an old eatery but the most seasoned locale is only twenty years old. He also gives us some suggestions on where to have dinner this evening. I had already looked into the Descanso Beach Club, which was high on his list. We can see it from our patio back at the hotel and it looks gorgeous, having dinner on the beach with a nice cocktail.

The tour comes to a conclusion a lot sooner than I would’ve
liked. Time really does fly when you’re having fun. At the island’s most beloved sushi place, Dean and I take turns feeding each other with chopsticks. It’s going really well until my fingers slip and he takes a stick to the nose. We sample sake and green tea ice cream. I’d drink the sake again, but the ice cream I can do without.

“I think this is my favorite part,” Dean says, his mouth full with a brownie. This is something we have discovered since we’ve been together. We both certainly have a sweet tooth. Before bed, we always manage to indulge in a few extra calories with a cookie, ice cream, or chocolate candy. We both share a love of Oreos and we’re both dippers. We also love peanut butter cups.

“This has to be the best brownie I have ever tasted. I think we should come back in the morning and get a few more of these suckers before we leave.”

“Definitely,” he mumbles after taking another bite.

Summer

“You have got to be kidding!
” Dean says, scrubbing his hands over his scruffy face. He didn’t shave this morning, so he has a little more stubble than his usual cleanly cut beard.

I chuckle a bit, clearly not sure if I’m serious or not. My plan to take an evening zip-line tour under the stars had me giddy with anticipation this morning. But now that we’re here and I see the frightened expression on Dean’s face, the giddy feeling has turned into a ball of nerves.

“Well, I thought it was a good idea at the time.”

He takes my hands in his. “It sounds great. But I’d have to man up with some elephant-sized balls to be able to do it. I usually like to keep my feet planted safely on the ground.”

“Me too,” I tell him. “We can do something else instead.” But then, I change my mind. “Never mind. Let’s do it. I’m tired of just going with the flow and doing what’s expected. Being with you has been an unexpected surprise that has brought me nothing but happiness. Let’s try this. I bet taking the risk will be worth the unease we’re feeling right now.”

“I’m in if you are.” He smiles, squeezing my hands tighter. “You’re crazy, you know that?”

“I know. Let’s go before I change my mind.”

We get checked in and there is a short ride to the first drop which is 500 feet above sea level. There are five lines total and if I don’t crap in my pants after the first one, I think I should be good for the others. My hands are shaking by the time we reach the first station and it doesn’t help that my
guy is turning ghostly pale too.

After being harnessed and fitted with helmets, our course guide begins with a safety speech and speaks a little bit about what to expect.

“The tour should last about two hours. While this is the night tour, there are lights along the trail which will give you a nice view into the canyons and a great look at the eucalyptus trees as you’re speeding by. Take a look up too and you’ll feel like there are shooting stars flying by, but that’s really you cruising through the sky.”

Our group is small with only a family of four joining us. The kids are only eight and ten, making me feel like a total
wuss.

“So I guess those boys don’t need humongous balls to do this,” I whisper, teasing Dean.

“They’re much manlier than I am, apparently,” he says, a wink taking some of the fear from his eyes and calming me.

“You ready?” our guide, Bret, asks. “Who’s going first?”

“I am.” I raise my hand, surprising myself.

“You sure, sweetheart?” Dean asks.

I stand on my tiptoes and kiss his perfect lips. “Yup. See you in a few.”

I listen as Bret rattles off some directions
as he did with the four others that came before me. By now, I should know the speech but it’s comforting to hear again. “Whenever you’re ready,” he says.

I reach up to grab hold of the handlebars and take a long deep breath and exhale slowly. Here I go. With a little hop, I lift my feet from the platform and propel forward, fl
ying through the air like a bird soaring through the sky. This is so much better than Soarin’ Over California at California Adventure. Other than a chill on my legs, the feeling is fantastic. I reach the other end of the line in no time at all and although I feel great, my body is still shaking as our other guide reaches out to grab me and pull me upright.

“How do you feel?” he asks.

“Overwhelmed. Out of breath. Absolutely thrilled.” I can’t seem to put enough words together to say a complete sentence.

“Zip-lining will do that to you.”

He smiles big, unleashing me from the line, and then we wait for Dean.

Moments later, Dean
barrels toward us, howling like a wolf the whole way down. I don’t think I made a peep. I was too busy holding my breath and holding on for dear life to even consider it.