Teach Me (5 page)

             
I was on my way to pick up Ali for our last night together. I had a surprise for her that took me a week to plan, and I was nervous because it all depended on Sean pulling through for me. I never thought crazy Trudy’s house would become familiar to me, but it has. I knocked on the door, and Ali opened it quickly like she had been waiting for me. Her smile lights up my world.

“Hi,” she says with a blush. Gosh, I love that blush.

             
“Hi,” I say back and pull her close, and I don’t want to let her go, but I can hear some noise deep in the house.

             
“Is that Ryan?” Trudy yells from somewhere. Ali leans back and smiles at me.

             
“Of course it is, Aunt Trudy.” I can tell she is holding her patience. There is some bumping and clatter; then she appears. Trudy has paint on her face, and her graying hair is in a bun on her head.

             
“Ryan,” she coos. I let Ali go and hug the crazy aunt. “Well, come in,” she says. Allison shrugs, and I step inside.

             
“Aunt Trudy, we talked about this,” Ali says with her eyes pleading. I smile, I do love this girl.

             
“Ali, be a doll and go find my glasses,” Trudy says. “They’re in my room.” I can tell Ali wants to say something but decides against it and disappears. Trudy turns slowly toward me.

             
“I am assuming you have something you want to say to me, beautiful Trudy?” I ask quietly, attempting to butter her up. Her answer is a mischievous smile.

             
“I like you, Ryan, and I know how Ali feels about you,” she starts. “I just want to say my piece,
then
be on your way.” I nod. “She has been through a lot of pain, and I can’t bare it if she is hurt again.”

             
“Trudy, I would never—” She holds up her hand.

             
“I know, Ryan, I know. It is just it is your last night together, and I know that there might seem some pressure to . . .” She looked down, then back to me. “You know, seal the deal or something.”
Oh
my gosh
. I could literally die right now.
Instead I just nod politely. “Just, be careful, okay?”

             
“Trudy.” I clear my throat. “I love your niece and respect her, and just so you know, there are no plans to . . .” I can’t even say the words.

             
“I can’t find your glasses anywhere,” Allison said as she came back into the room—thank God. She looked between the two of us, probably sensing the awkwardness. “You ready?” she asks, locking her beautiful brown eyes on to mine.

             
I reached for her hand. “Yes, I am.” I glanced at Trudy, hoping she doesn’t misinterpret that, but she just nodded as we left. Once in the truck, Ali turned toward me.

             
“Would you like to share with me what that was all about?”

             
I smiled, embarrassed. “Your aunt wanted to know if we were planning on, you know—how did she say it?—
‘seal the deal’
tonight.” Ali put her head in her hands and groaned.

             
“I am so embarrassed and so sorry,” she said through her fingers. I pulled the truck to the curb once we were around the corner. She didn’t
look up, and I could see the red in her face. I touched her hand, and she flinched away. That was a first.

             
“Look at me please,” I pleaded.

             
“I can’t.” Her voice is shaking. I pull her hands away from her face, and her eyes are tightly closed. I pull her across the seat and hold her close. I could smell the coconut scent that just seemed to be part of her. I kiss her neck and rub small circles on her back, trying to coax her into relaxing.

             
“You can talk to me,” I encourage. Ali sits up and gains composure.

             
“Later,” she said quickly. I watch her and decide she wasn’t ready to talk now, but I would make her open up to me later. We drove in silence toward the beach and the surprise I’ve planned for tonight. I keep glancing at Ali from the corner of my eye. She keeps biting her finger and looking out the window; she looks upset. I want to know what is going on in that big brain of hers, but she closed up like a clam. I want her to be able to talk to me, to trust me with her feelings.

             
Tonight I am taking Allison to the place where this all began for me. She may not realize that day we first saw each other, but I saw her before she noticed me.

This small part of the beach changed my life, and the girl holding my hand changed my heart.
My heart that completely belongs to her.
Where my emotions turned from amazement to love.
I need Ali to know what she
means to me, what impact she has had on my life. To have her know that I’m never going to stop loving her no matter how much distance it put between us.

             
The sun was just starting its nightly descent into darkness. Her hand is in mine, and I can’t help but notice how it just fits there. Ali keeps looking at the big orange sun, and I can tell she is deep in thought. Maybe now I can get her to open up to me.

“Hey,” I finally say as I bump my shoulder into hers, breaking her silence. Not brilliant, but it was the first thing that popped into my head and made it out of my mouth.

             
“Hmm,” was her response, which made
me
laugh. It was like she had forgotten I was there.

             
“Where did I lose you?” I stopped walking and turned her toward me, holding her shoulders in my hands.

             
“We are racing the sun,” she mused. I arched an eyebrow, trying to follow her train of thought.
“Like in the end of
Dracula
.
They raced the sun too, but it was so they could kill the count.”

             
“Okay,” I said slowly. Ali blushed and looked down.

“One romantic walk on the beach—check. One incredibly perfect guy—double
check
. One moronic girl who doesn’t know when to keep her
mouth shut—overabundant amount of checks.” I shook my head and kissed her nose.

             
“And that part of the book reminds you of us now?” I forced a smile, still trying to understand where she was coming from.

“No.” She shook her head. “I feel silly for saying that—all of that. No, just how that was the only book I finished while I was here, and at the end, the sun closed that story . . .” Her voice trailed, and her gaze averted back to the sun.

             
“Hey, Ali,” I say, shaking her slender shoulders in my hands. “When this sun sets, it’s not our end. Okay?” I nodded, hoping she understood. “
Dracula
is fictional, and we are real people.” I kiss her quickly.

             
“Part of me feels like this isn’t real,” she says sheepishly. “That tomorrow I will wake up and all of this would have been a dream.”

             
“It would’ve been a good dream then.” I pull her to my chest and hold her there, wanting this moment to never end.

             
She sighs and kisses my shoulder. “The best dream I’ve ever had,” Ali says into my shirt. We just stand there, holding each other as we watch the sun simmer as it dipped into the Pacific Ocean. I want to tell her how much she means to me. How I never thought I could meet someone like her.
Someone who can make me a better person and see the world in a whole new way.

             
“I have a surprise for you,” I whisper into her ear. I take her hand and start to lead her to the tree line.

             
“What is it?” Curiosity and excitement are leaking in her question.

             
I keep leading her forward. “A surprise,” I answer, stopping and turning her so she can’t see what is set up. “This is where I first saw you,” I tell her, “where it all changed for me.” She nods, looking around, and I can see that she is holding on to her emotions as best she can. I can see Sean; he has pulled through for me, and he gives me a thumbs-up. “Close your eyes.” Ali tilts her head to look at me suspiciously but does what I have asked of her. I wrap an arm around her slim waist and put my hand over her eyes.

             
“What is going on here?” She grabs my arm at her midsection and pulls me closer. It is almost dark now, and I can see the hard work Sean did pulling this off for me. I put my lips on Ali’s neck.

             
“A surprise,” I answer with a kiss. She turns her face, and I kiss her perfect lips. I can get lost in these kisses, and I almost do. I open my eyes and find that my stage is set. Sean is just waiting, and I motion him with my eyes to leave. After a minute of silent battle, he gets the hint. I wait until I know he is out of sight. I even watch as he gets in his car and pulls out of the dark parking area. We are now totally alone. I lead Ali to a blanket that has been set up.

             
“Ready?” I ask. She nods, placing her hands, which is still covering her eyes, on mine. I uncover her eyes and take a small step back. “Open them.”

             
I am standing behind Ali, so I don’t know what she is thinking. Spread out in front of us is a candlelit picnic. I’m not just talking about little tea light candles in those silver tins. I had Sean set up and light about fifty white pillar candles in the sand. In the center of it is a dark blanket with a picnic basket toward the edge. I want Ali to say something—anything. The silence is killing me. I reach out to touch her shoulder as she turns around.

             
“Cooper,” she whispers, tears brimming at her dark lashes, “how did you do all of this?” Her voice is filled with wonder.

             
I moved closer and bent to whisper into her ear.
“Magic.”
Ali giggles, and a tear slides down her cheek. I pull her into me, kissing her with all my emotion. I can feel her damp cheeks as the tears keep coming. I pull back to look into her eyes, finding them filled with tears, but I don’t know if they’re happy or sad.

             
“What is it?” I cup her face in my hands, and she closes her eyes. “Allison, please,” I plead. Finally, she locks her gaze with mine.

             
“I love you,” she says slowly. I nod and keep quiet, hoping she’ll say more. “I don’t want to be away from you, and tomorrow I will be.” I know exactly how she is feeling, but I feel like I should be the strong and optimistic one for her.

             
“We still have tonight,” I answer, quietly wishing that tonight would freeze us here. For a while, neither one of us speaks; no words can make this any easier. I watch the candles twinkle around us, like stars in the sky, and I am lucky enough to hold an angel in my arms. Ali mumbles something about being cold, so we sit on the blanket, and I cover her with the extra one I packed and pull her close.

             
“This is so beautiful,” Ali says dreamily.

             
“I packed some food, if you’re hungry,” I mention. Ali leans back to look at me.

             
“You know me, always ready to eat.” She smiles.

             
This girl rocks my world. I love that she isn’t afraid of eating or speaking her mind. Most girls are so illusive that you never know exactly where they stand. Ali has always been straightforward and herself. Maybe I should tell her about my family.
The money and trust funds waiting for me.
Maybe that is why it is so easy to be with her—she doesn’t know that side of me. I am almost certain she wouldn’t care.

             
We pick at the food I had Sean set up for us tonight—cheese and crackers, fruits and a few vegetables, and chocolate-covered strawberries. I was thinking about a bottle of champagne but decided on good
ol
’ apple cider since we both don’t like drinking. They weren’t large portions of food, but man, it filled me up. Or it could have been my nerves filling up my stomach. I lay back on the blanket and watched Ali sip the cider from
her red plastic cup. I touched the small of her back, feeling the heat from her skin, and let my fingers explore the skin under the edge of her shirt. It is so soft and warm as my fingers traced her spine.

             
Ali turned to look at me, her eyes liquid. “That feels so good.” Her eyes are closed, and she is almost purring at my touch.

             
“Do you want to talk to me about earlier?” I probe. I felt Ali’s muscles tense under my hand.

             
“Nope,” she answers quickly. I sat up and pulled her close. Leave it to Trudy to put doubts in our heads. I hadn’t planned on taking it to that level with Ali—yet. I mean, yeah, I’ve thought about it—I am just a man.