Read Online The Light of the Blue Pearl by K.C. HAWKE - Free Book Online Page B

without my
boring stories about nothing to get you through?” he said, smiling
back at her.
    “When do you head home?” she asked.
    “I’m here until Tuesday,” he replied. “Not
too long, but a lot longer than one day. If I were you I’d give
your friend a right smacking for not letting you stay longer,” he
said, only marginally kidding. “I’m going to miss having you
around, it really was great to meet you, Ethne,” he said in a more
serious tone not befitting a young man on a vacation with his
friends.
    “That’s very sweet, Ian, I will miss you
too,” she said, not really sure where the words had come from. Many
surprises had happened on this trip, the least of all being the
snorkeling and discovery of more notes. “It was nice crossing paths
with you; you made a difficult part of my trip a much more
enjoyable one, so thank you,” she said to him, feeling suddenly
unsure about the feelings she was having.
    This was so far outside her comfort zone she
almost felt like a ventriloquist with someone else feeding her the
lines. And yet at the same time, they flowed naturally, she didn’t
have the same anxiety with him that she felt at home; but she was
sure that was only because there was no way this could go anywhere.
There was no threat of getting too close with Ian.
    They were sitting side by side in the sand,
their arms touching, he was looking at her and before she could
object he took her hand in his.
    She would have objected, but honestly, she
didn’t want to.
    Instead she closed her hand around his and
laid her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that for a couple
of hours, talking a little bit about their lives back home, she
ultimately letting him tell her more about his life than sharing
much of hers, but nonetheless sharing more with him than she ever
had with anyone else.
    When they were both getting too tired to
even make conversation he suggested they should probably get back
before they fell asleep on the beach and she missed her flight.
    Half joking, but half actually wanting that
to happen, he stood up and helped her to her feet. When she stood
up she looked up into his eyes, their faces only inches from each
other.
    He brushed his hand along her cheek and
tucked her hair behind her ear before slowly bringing his lips to
hers and kissing her, softly, unsure of how she would react. When
she kissed him back he pulled her closer to him and kissed her
deeply, passionately.
    After a minute or so he stopped the kiss,
stepping back just slightly and apologized to her.
    “That’s alright, Ian,” she said, surprised
but appreciative. She smiled. “I wanted to kiss you too.”
    She came out of her blissful daze for a
second and in a small panic asked what time it was.
    “It’s just after 10:00,” he answered. “Don’t
worry there is still plenty of time for you to get some much needed
rest before you brave the air once more,” he said, not quite
mockingly.
    “Oh good,” she said, breathing a sigh of
relief.
    When they reached her door she pulled out
her key and unlocked the door not having a clue how the returning
of his bag was going to go.
    Ian had been nothing but a gentlemen this
entire time though and this was no different. He leaned down and
picked up his bag not leaving the frame of the door.
    “Do you mind if I see you off tomorrow?” he
asked.
    “Of course not,” she replied, surprisingly
feeling disappointment that the night with him was almost over.
    She was holding the door open for him as he
put his backpack over his shoulder and turned to her before
leaving.
    “Well, goodnight, Ethne,” he said, looking
intently into her eyes.
    “Goodnight, Ian,” she said softly back to
him before taking his face in her hands and kissing his lips one
more time before closing the door.
    Back in her room, alone again with the
sounds of the ocean, her mind was in a daze from everything that
had happened that day.
    For a girl that nothing ever happened to,
today was definitely