“Devon,” Christina stopped Devon, “Where are we going?”
“Chill out babe.” Was all Devon said. He grabbed her bare shoulder and continued walking. They came upon the beach and stopped. It was near dawn and the sun had started to set a little. Devon stepped onto the beach leading Christina to a specific place. They reached to a secluded area behind the rocks. Faint music played in the background, all of Christina’s favorite songs.
“Devon,” Christina started, feeling very surprised and touched.
“No,” Devon held a finger to her lips. He held onto her hand and sat down on the cloth. Christina laid her head on his chest.
“Why Devon?” She asked, gazing into his eyes.
“No reason,” he said simply, his eyes sparkling. Christina gazed up at him feeling incredibly safe and warm. Despite how good and sweet Devon was treating her, her mind was on Nick the whole time. She sighed sadly and stared out at the vast ocean ahead of her.
* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *
“Hey And! I’m gonna go kay? It’s getting late,” Nick said , grabbing his overcoat hung on a chair near the front door.
“Kay!” Andrew answered, holding the door open for Nick.
“Thanks.”
“No prob man. Chris’ll come to her senses,” Andrew gave a sympathetic smile, it suddenly changed to an awkward grin, “By the way, how much older than Chris are you anyway?”
“Um, I think 6 and a half years. Why?”
“Nothing. So, bye Nick. Oh yeah, one more thing, I think they said something about going to the beach.”
“Bye, and thanks,” Nick waved to Andrew as he stepped down the porch thinking of Chris. Without even realizing it, he began walking towards a certain destination. Before he knew it, he was on the beach. The sun was half set now. It hung just above the waters. Streaks of pink, orange and yellow hung all over the sky as Nick looked up. The waves seemed extra calm today and the sound of waves could be just heard. Gulls flew all around the sky, circling above Nick. Noticing a trail of fair-sized stones, he decided to follow it, trying to figure out who left the obvious trail. He reached to a clearing behind the large rocks. He looked up, to find Christina and Devon leaned in close together, in a getting ready to kiss position. Nick didn’t know if it was his imagination, but he thought he saw Devon grin slyly and look at Nick out of the corner of his eye. Furiously, Nick stomped over and pulled Devon off Christina.
“What the fuck?” cried out Devon angrily.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Nick replied just as angrily, getting ready to fight.
“Just go away! Christina doesn’t love you, she told me,” Devon yelled back in anger, his eyes glaring at Nick. Shocked, Nick walked away, his eyes burning the golden sand.
“Wait!” Christina called out to him desperately. “You jerk!” She yelled to Devon, she hit him a few times before running off to catch up with Nick.
“So she never loved me at all,” Nick thought angrily and sadly as he made his way back to his hotel. Tears were well ready to spill out his clear blue eyes any minute. A flashback of Devon’s words cut him like a knife ‘she doesn’t love you, she doesn’t love you…’ Was it true? Did nothing matter at all to Christina? Well I hope she’s happy, Nick thought bitterly.
“Nick!” Christina called out again. Her throat almost hurt. The more she was calling Nick, the faster he seemed to get away. I promise myself that I’ll never date a jerk like Devon again! she promised herself solemnly, tears streaming down her face. Was she going to lose Nick forever? Why am I so stupid? I had a good grip on him until I let him slip away, she thought, feeling extremely sorry for herself. Better to have loved and lost than to never have loved before? Humph, yeah right, she thought bitterly. “Nick!” She called again until she tripped over a rock that was halfway hidden under the sand. She held onto her ankle and let out a yelp of pain. She looked over to Nick’s direction to see if she had caught his attention. Nick paused, he turned around slowly. Seeing Christina’s bleeding ankle, he took quick, long strides towards her.
“How did this happen?” Nick asked, concerned. He held onto her hand gently.
“I guess I tripped over that rock. Thank God I did though,” Christina gave him her most genuine smile. Looking deep into Nick’s eyes, she saw hurt and anger all stored up inside. Sadness was written all over his face. Nick looked up, only to catch Christina’s gaze on him. She looked shyly away. Nick knew that this was a good sign, but still, he couldn’t get his mind off what Devon said.
“So…” Nick started, his voice shaking, “Was it true?”
“What?” Christina asked.
“What Devon said.”
“Oh, Devon! That asshole. No, it wasn’t true… I’ve – I’ve always loved you,” Christina looked up shyly at Nick’s eyes. He looked away, wondering whether to believe her or not. “Please believe me Nick.”
Nick hesitated before answering, “I believe you.”