Page 41 of Center Sneak

“This breakfast was better than I thought it would be,” Calvin admits.

“Yeah. This whole place is great. This was an amazing find.”

“Yeah, and it was just around the corner,” he jokes, referencing the name of the establishment.

“I overheard a front desk clerk mention that it was just around the corner from the ocean, so that makes much more sense than just us,” I say with a light laugh.

“Oh, yeah.” He pauses. “Not sure how we missed that.”

“We were stressed?” I say, but it comes out more as a question.

“Nah, I rarely am.” Calvin stretches out his arms, sitting back casually in his chair.

That’s probably an accurate statement. I rarely see Calvin stressed or frazzled, especially now.

“Even playing football?”

“I don’t know if stressed is the right word. Sometimes a game can be intense, but I don’t allow myself to be necessarily stressed over it. If we lose, we lose. Don’t get me wrong, I love it when we win, but we can’t win them all.”

“True.” Maybe I need to have more of a Calvin Fischer state of mind. I’ve been working on my mindset, especially as of late, but I have a feeling Cal could teach me a few things.

“I was talking to Annie recently,” I say to Calvin, referencing my brother’s, well, something, “and she mentioned that October is her favorite month to visit Cape Cod.”

“Interesting.” His mouth tips up into a grin.

“Yeah.” My stomach churns, but I move forward with my thoughts, regardless. “I mean, maybe we should investigate?”

“Yeah,” he easily agrees.

“Great.” I pause. “Especially since the beach is just around the corner. We can quickly make it back when we are needed.”

“I agree,” he says with a panty-melting smile.

“Okay,” I say, bouncing my knee. I’m both nervous and excited all at once. For the beach, of course. It has nothing to do with this giant man next to me. I swear.

* * *

The waves crash against the shore, the bright sun illuminating the sky. There’s a chill in the air with temperatures in the low sixties. It’s no longer beach weather, but it doesn’t stop the random pedestrian or us from meandering the beach and that one brave person surfing in the distance.

We wander down the sea wall steps onto the rocky soil. Calvin removes both shoes as soon as our feet hit the sand.

I take a few steps, my sneakers sinking into the sand. I move one foot up, grabbing my shoe with my hand and flinging it off. I do the same with my other, clasping both shoes in my other hand.

“Left or right?” Calvin says, finger pointing back and forth.

“You pick.”

Calvin steers us to the right, but at a turtle’s speed, strolling along the coast.

“It’s so beautiful here,” I say, letting my thoughts roll out.

“Yes,” Calvin agrees, but his eyes are locked on mine.

A blush rises in my cheeks, and I pivot my head, breaking eye contact.

I quickly regret the action, though.

What if I didn’t break the moment? What would have happened if my eyes had remained on him? Would he have leaned in? Would I want that?