It's a Love Thing (37 page)

My throat burned from swallowing salt
water and I couldn’t see anything. I had no idea which way was up.
I tried calming myself, concentrating on where the surface would
be, but before I could even open my eyes something brushed against
my arm and suddenly I was being pulled above the
surface.

Rubbing salt water out of my eyes, I
finally saw that Xeno had me in his arms and was holding me above
the surface. His blonde hair was plastered to his face and he was
looking worriedly at me to see if I was hurt.

“
Thanks for that,” I
managed to say. His arms were warm around me despite the chill of
the water and I could feel his chest, but not his heartbeat.
However, I blamed that on the fact that my hands, and most of my
body, was still shaking.

“
You’re alright, then?” He
actually sounded incredibly worried and it took me a few times to
assure him that I was okay before he would release me. It was quiet
for a moment as we both tried to figure out what to say to
alleviate the awkwardness. As for me, my heart was beating like
crazy and I had the sudden urge to touch his chest again to see if
he was feeling the same way. Finally, Xeno cleared his throat,
breaking the silence.

“
So, any other beaches I
need to see?” We got out of the water and dried off before hopping
back in my car. We drove with the windows down just so I could feel
the sunlight beaming down on me. It was late afternoon by the time
we got to Dayson beach and the water was clear of surfers, probably
because it was the time of day when sharks like to feed. But I
wasn’t there for the water. This beach was the best place to watch
the sun go down.

I picked a spot on the beach away from
everyone else and sat beside Xeno as the sky began to turn various
shades of pink. A cool breeze blew in from the water and raised
goose bumps on my arms. Without a word Xeno put an arm around my
shoulder. It was all I could do not to completely stiffen when his
skin made contact with mine. He put his arm around me! Looking
over, I saw that he was still staring at the sun, which was just
about to dip over the horizon. I turned my head and stared in awe
at the beautiful swirl of colors. The edge of the evening sky had
turned deep blue and purple as the area around the sun went from
light pink to bright orange until it disappeared.

Xeno and I stayed out until the sky
was completely dark and everyone else had abandoned the beach. I
didn’t ever want to leave. The sound of the ocean, the feel of
Xeno’s arm around me, and the smell of the beach made it the most
perfect moment ever. I kept telling myself that it wasn’t real.
This didn’t happen to real people. This was something you read
about in a fairytale, or something that happens to girls that look
less like me and more like supermodels. But it was happening, so I
decided that the best thing I could do was to just sit there and
enjoy it.

7
minutes
.

There are hushed voices coming from
the other side of the hospital door. I know they are talking about
Xeno, maybe about me, too. They know who is coming and what they
are keeping in hospital room 129, at least they think they do. I
thought I did. Now I don’t know anything for sure.

Xeno is still wearing his dress shirt
and pants. My dress is ripped and covered in dirt. I lost my shoes
somewhere back in the yard, but I don’t care. I could be naked,
heck, I could be wearing a leotard, and he still won’t get the
chance to see it. He won’t be awake to say any final goodbyes or to
try to explain anything to me before my father gets here. All I
will have of him are my memories. That might be good enough though,
seeing as all I had of him before were the made up stories about
his life he gave me.

The first time I ever actually learned
something about Xeno was about a week after our trip to the beach.
That night I had driven him home in silence and he said thank you
before leaving, but no other conversation was held. In truth I had
hoped to hear something along the lines of, “Oh yeah, remember how
I put my arm around you on the beach earlier? Yeah, that’s because
I’m hopelessly in love with you.” No such luck. I wondered what
exactly his feelings towards me were and whether I - read too much
into things.

A week later I heard a knock on my
door and there stood Xeno, leaning casually against the doorframe
wearing a brilliant smile. I glanced at my sweatpants and old
t-shirt, but he didn’t seem to notice.

“
Hey,” he said in his deep
voice.

“
Um, hi,” I got
out.

“
Do you want to take a walk
with me?” My mind raced, my heart pounded, but my mouth as always
was ready to spit out the first thing I thought.

“
Yes! I mean, yeah, sure.
Just give me a second.” He nodded and I closed the door. Once in my
room I flopped down on my bed and grabbed my phone. It was all I
could do to keep my hands from shaking long enough to text Sophie.
I’d already told her about Xeno, but I didn’t mention me liking him
yet mostly because . . . well I didn’t know if I did. I mean he was
super cute and really nice, but I didn’t feel like I really knew
the guy. Regardless, I informed her of the surprise visit and
quickly threw on some more acceptable clothes before running back
downstairs.

Outside I was happy to find that he
was still standing there in the doorway, waiting. I felt rather
smart for going with just shorts and a t-shirt instead of nicer
clothes because the sun was already heating up the summer
morning.

“
So where are we walking?”
I asked as we crossed my lawn.

“
I’m thinking the park,” he
responded. In the silence as we walked I found myself listening to
the birds bring in the morning with their loud chirps. We didn’t
pass many people, probably because it was pretty early in the
morning, but I enjoyed the emptiness of the subdivision.

“
So, Emily,” Xeno spoke up
casually. “Tell me about yourself.”

“
Like what?”

“
I don’t know. Like, what
are your parents like?” I contemplated for a moment and realized
that there really wasn’t much I could say about my parents. My mom
died when I was six and my dad, well there was never anything I was
allowed to say about my dad.

“
My dad works for the
government,” I began. “He crunches numbers for the army, nothing
too exciting.” Xeno nodded interestedly, but there was something in
his eyes that made me feel like he didn’t believe me.

“
What about your mom?” A
few seconds of silence followed.

“
She’s dead.” Xeno’s face
went pale and his eyes widened.

“
I’m sorry. I didn’t
mean—”

“
It’s okay,” I assured him.
People always reacted like that when I told them about my mom. In
truth, I don’t remember much of her except for a few faded
memories. Shaking my head, I hastily tried to change the
subject.

“
What about you? What’s
your family like?” Xeno thought about it for a moment before
responding.

“
My dad is an engineer. He
used to work for this big company in Arkansas, but then he got
transferred up here. My mom was really upset and she almost decided
to stay back at home, but eventually he convinced her. Things have
been really tense between them since. She blames him from uprooting
us from all our family and friends.”

“
And how do you feel about
the whole thing?” He stopped talking. From the look on his face, I
could tell that nobody had ever asked his opinion on the matter.
His parents probably dragged him along without even consulting him
first.

“
It’s okay. It’s gotten a
lot better since meeting you.” I looked away so he wouldn’t see me
blush. Memories of sitting on the beach with his arm around me came
back and I began to wonder if Xeno actually might like
me.

Once we got to the park we found a
bench and sat and talked for hours. We talked about my school, his
old school, friends, music, and everything else I could possibly
think of. For the most part I dominated the conversation, but Xeno
just seemed so interested in everything I had to say. I could tell
that he was really listening. Before we knew it, it was almost one
in the afternoon.

“
I should probably get back
before my dad starts to miss me,” I pointed out sadly. I had been
having the most wonderful time with him, but my dad probably wanted
to know where I’d been for the entire morning.

“
Ok. I’ll walk you home.
But first. . .” He took my hand in his and I could feel a shock go
up my arm. What was he doing? “Do you want to go to a movie or
something tomorrow?” My whole body froze. My mind raced.

“
Are you asking me out?” I
stammered. He nodded and smiled. For a moment I thought my heart
would literally leap out of my chest.

“
Y-Yes,” I got out, trying
to contain my enthusiasm. My smile lingered as he walked me home,
and when we said goodbye, and when my dad was questioning me as to
where I was. The whole time I kept thinking about Xeno and how that
day was the beginning of something wonderful.

At least that’s what I
thought.

6 minutes.

A nurse walks by and looks through the
small window at me. Her glare is a mix of confusion and horror and
I pretend not to notice her. Even if she doesn’t know what Xeno is,
my appearance is probably enough to cause alarm. Looking over at my
reflection in the outside window, I see mascara streaked down my
face and my hair in complete disarray.

Not that it matters now. It probably
never mattered on any of the dates I went on with Xeno. He must
have been thinking of nothing but his objective, meaning my looks
weren’t even taken into account. Unfortunately I didn’t realize
that at the time, so I ran myself ragged trying to impress him
anyway.

The idea of my first date with Xeno
had me panicking like you wouldn’t believe. The night we were
supposed to go out I’d been sitting in my room messing with my
hair, while talking to Sophie on speaker phone, for almost two
hours. She babbled on about all the different ways I could curl it
or put it up, even though I just decided to pull it half back.
However, she did approve my outfit. Just a simple white skirt and a
midnight blue top with a V-neck collar that, according to her,
“showed off my curves.” Not that I had very many.

Looking in the mirror, panic swept
through me. I’d seen Sophie when she got dressed up for a date, and
she always looked gorgeous. All I could see in the mirror was my
normal face, nothing special about it.

“
I can’t do this,” I said,
forgetting the phone was open on my desk.

“
You’ll be fine,” Sophie
assured me. “I mean, from what you told me this Xeno guy seems
really amazing.” That I could agree on, which was why I was
freaking out so much. Guys like Xeno didn’t go out with girls like
me.

The sound of the doorbell ringing
downstairs nearly gave me a heart attack and I said a hasty goodbye
to Sophie. After one last check in the mirror, I headed downstairs.
My dad was working late, so I was all alone in the house. At least
he wouldn’t be there to embarrass me in front of Xeno. I mean, I
love my dad but sometimes he can be a tad
overprotective.

Opening the door, I found Xeno
standing there in a light blue flannel shirt and jeans, his blonde
hair looking a bit more styled than usual. For a moment he just
stood there and looked at me until finally he cleared his
throat.

“
Oh, sorry. Um . . . you
look really nice.” I smiled, feeling the blood rush to my
cheeks.

“
You do, too,” I replied.
Out in the driveway I saw a faded blue truck parked beside my car
and assumed it was his. He opened the door of the truck for me
before hopping in the driver’s seat himself and starting the
engine.

“
So where are we going?” I
asked. He just smirked.

“
You’ll see.” We drove all
the way into town, the whole time listening to the radio with the
occasional bit of conversation. Finally, he pulled up to a rather
upscale restaurant at the far end of the city.

“
Are we eating here?” I
asked as he opened my door for me. I had never been there, but knew
it was a fancy, not to mention expensive, place for a first
date.

“
I planned on it,” he said
with a laugh. “As long as you don’t have a problem with
it.”

“
Isn’t it
expensive?”

He laughed and took my hand. “You let
me worry about that.”

I had been on dates before, but this
was nothing like anything I’d experienced. Xeno and I talked all
through dinner and it felt a lot like that morning at the park,
except with a lot more flirting. He took every possibility to
compliment my appearance and he managed to make me blush every
single time. At one point I caught several of the waitresses giving
him looks and it made me feel almost protective of him.

By the time we left, the glances of
the waitresses turned to glares as Xeno took me by the arm and led
me out. There was a fleeting urge inside me to turn around and
smirk at the others, but I felt like that would just be obnoxious
of me. Xeno drove me home with one hand on the steering wheel and
one hand holding my own. When we pulled into the driveway, he let
me out and we stood there for a moment before he suddenly leaned
down and kissed me.