30. The Man 💪

A.B. advised me to wear my swimsuit under my clothes. After his meeting, we were planning to go to the beach.

It was about a ten minute walk from the small beach house to the shops and restaurants. For a Monday, there were more people out than I expected. At one restaurant, there was music blasting and people dancing and eating.

"That's Noon to Midnight, and that's there hours every day," A.B. informed me.

"Is the food good?" I asked him.

"It's okay. People go there to hangout, mostly."

Next to it was a surfboard store that also had some skates and skateboards for sell. There were yellow smiley faces on just about everything.

"You can rent surfboards and skates from there from 1 to 4 hours or you can buy them. The owners are really cool - a grandfather, a father, and his two sons."

"Smiley?" I read the name of the store.

"That's their last name," A.B. informed me.

The next store was a clothing store. From the window, I saw a lot of beachwear. Looked like souvenirs were sold there, too. I'll definitely have to go back to get something for my parents.

A.B. said, "This store and the grocery store are my favorites. The grocery store is more so in the neighborhood, not near the beach, but it's big. This store is My Happy Store." A.B. smiled at me.

"What about it makes you happy?" I inquired.

He pointed at the sign above the store that read: My Happy Store.

I playfully rolled my eyes. "Are all these stores and restaurants so literal?"

A.B. said, "You'll get it when we're on the beach at around 4:30 p.m."

We continued to walk and passed by a small gated play ground. There where a few parents and children there. The kid in me was eyeing the seesaw and swings. I haven't got on those in years.

A.B. continued to guide me on the short tour. "At night, the adults go to the playground. I've seen people in their 60s jump off the swings like they had no bones to break."

This place is sounding more and more unbelievable. Finally, we made it to the coffee shop. And what was it called? Just guess... Mmm-hmm. Internet & Coffee. The logo was a coffee mug with the WiFi symbol above it.

A.B. opened the door for me, and the smell of coffee hit my nose pleasantly. I walked inside to see several people sitting in front of their laptops. I quickly turned to A.B. "I think you forgot something."

He took his phone out of his pocket. "This is all I need."

I shrugged as we got in line.

"Do you drink coffee?" A.B. asked me.

"I'm not really a big coffee drinker, but I'll drink it with cream and sugar. Heavy on the cream."

A.B. pointed at the menu that hung from the ceiling. "Then, you might like iced coffee. They have different flavors, and you can combine them, too."

"I do like iced coffee. I'll get that. What are you getting?" I looked at him.

A.B. put his hands in his pockets. "I might get a tea or lemonade with fruit in it."

I don't know what facial expression I made, but A.B.'s eyes were in between apologetic and surprise. "What?" I asked him.

"You looked disappointed. Do you not like fruit in lemonade?"

"Sir, I'm a foodie. You just made me want what you're getting, but I still want the iced coffee."

A.B. placed his hand on my shoulder. "Jamie, you can get both. It's my treat."

I smiled brightly. "Gracias."

After getting our three drinks, A.B. carried them to an empty table in the far corner of the coffee shop. It was the only spot that didn't have a window. A.B. placed the drinks on the table. "Here's a caramel iced coffee for you, a strawberry lemonade with strawberries for me, and a sweet tea with strawberries for you."

I went straight for the iced coffee. After the first sip, my eyes were wide open. "This is so good," I told him. "Tell me why you only stayed here for one week? With iced coffee like this, I could live here."

A.B. took a sip of his drink. "I see it as more of a vacation spot."

"What if you were with someone else?"

He replied, "I would have to be with someone who doesn't mind how slow paced it is here."

"I don't mind it." Jamie, slow down! You're getting into unknown territory. Careful!

A.B. looked at me and smiled.

Oh, no! He knows. He knows. I quickly broke our eye contact to stare at my iced coffee. "Is your meeting about to start?"

"In a few minutes." He took another sip of his drink before looking at his phone. "More like in two minutes." He began tapping on his phone. "It's not going to be long. Twenty minutes at most."

"Take your time. I have two drinks." I held up two fingers.

About a minute later, A.B. leaned his phone against his drink.

"I'm going to the restroom," I whispered.

"It's by the entrance doors." A.B. guided me.

"Okay. Be right back." I stood up and stretched.

"Mr. Bravos!" I heard a man say.

"Mr. Douglas! You have to forgive me. I don't have my headsets. I'm inside a coffee shop."

I started to walk away.

"No problem. This won't be long at all, because Mr. Rivers couldn't make it. However, he is interested..."

I continued walking to the restroom, scratching my brow. I opened the Women's restroom door, and there was a line. There were only three stalls, and four or five women ahead of me. That's when I remembered I didn't bring my phone with me. When I finally got out the restroom, all I could think about were my drinks. I just knew the ice had melted. I got to the table and surprisingly the ice was still chilling.

A.B. was no longer talking, but he was on his phone.

"How did the meeting go?" I sat down and picked up my ice coffee.

"It was better than expected. Short and to the point. Looks like I'll be buying my first property without my old business partner." He sounded excited.

"That's good news, A.B.!" I took a sip of my iced coffee.

"It's not final, but the contract is in the works."

I asked, "Is the property around here? Can we see it?"

A.B. replied, "It's in East Grove. Construction hasn't even started. Judging by how much iced coffee you have left to drink, we can go back to the beach house to put your tea in the refrigerator."

"Ooh! Let's go, because I left my phone there, too."

We walked back to the beach house so I could put my sweet tea in the refrigerator. I immediately grabbed my phone which was on the coffee table on the charger. I checked to see that my mom had called and text me.

Mom: Hey baby. You don't have to call me back. I was just checking to see if y'all made it safely. Jace text me. Y'all have fun at the beach and bring me back a souvenir.

I replied back to my mom that I would get her a souvenir.

"So, we can go to the beach on this side or back to the shopping area." A.B. walked over to me.

I took my phone off the charger and put my phone in my pocket. "Hmm... Well, since there's a beach in the backyard, we might as well use it."

A.B. chuckled, "Cool!"

"Let's do this!" I said with all the base I could produce in my voice.

In my matching, blue and white halter top and shorts swimsuit, I ran on the sand and hopped right in the ocean. "Ahh!" I screamed when the water hit my legs. Next, a wave came and hit my stomach. I quickly turned around, trying to run away.

"Is it cold?" A.B. asked me when I reached him.

"Freezing." I shivered.

"It's best to just get your whole body wet at one time," he told me.

I arched my brow. "No, sir."

"C'mon!" A.B. walked towards the ocean.

Not even a second later, I followed him.

When he reached the water, he kept going. Eventually, his legs were submerged. Then, he dove in like a professional swimmer.

My eyes were amazed at what I was seeing. How was he doing that without a life jacket? The ocean does not compare to a swimming pool.

"Jamie!" He called my name. "It feels good, right?"

I stood still like a statue. It was then when I realized that the water was above my knees. "You gotta come get me!"

A.B. swam back until he was able to walk out the water. He smiled at me.

A cool breeze swept over me.

"Jamie, you're shaking like it's snowing out here. Atleast let the water get to your chest."

"Only if you teach me to swim in the ocean like you just did."

A.B. held his hand out to me. "It will take more than a couple hours, but you might be a fast learner."

"I am a fast learner." I took his hand confidently.

We held hands. The further we walked in the water, the higher it got. I saw a wave approaching and immediately wrapped my arms around A.B. as if he were a shield from the approaching wave.

I heard him laugh. "It's not a big wave. Watch."

I slowly turned my head to see the wave transform into a ripple. I looked at A.B. in disbelief.

"See? That wasn't so bad."

I released A.B. "Anyway! Teach me how to swim in the ocean."

"First thing you need to learn is holding your breathe."

"Oh, I'm a pro at that." I used my finger and thumb to pinch my nose. I took a deep breath and put my face in the water. After ten seconds, I popped back up and quickly wiped my eyes.

"That was good. The next thing you need to learn is trust. When it comes to water, you can't be too careful. You ever play the game where you face your back to a friend, and you have to trust that they'll catch you?" A.B. asked me.

I giggled at the memories that flashed in my mind. "Yes! I played with Monica growing up, but she stopped catching me as we got older."

"Do you trust me?" A.B. held out his hands.

I took a deep breath before I turned my back to him. "Please don't let me fall," I whispered before I closed my eyes. I counted in my head. Five. Four. Three. Two... One and a half. One and a quarter. One and a dime. One and a penny. Okay! I fell backwards. For a slight second, I felt like I was about to go under the water. When I opened my eyes, A.B. was standing to my right. I felt his hands holding me up. "I'm so glad I didn't wear my wig." I joked.

A.B. loudly laughed, "Jamie, you're hilarious! Okay. Now, I want you to float. Spread your arms and legs out a little bit or enough to where you are able to float. Keep your head and feet up."

"Okay." I closed my eyes as I tilted my head back. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes. "Am I floating?"

"You tell me." A.B. stood a few inches away from me.

I panicked and began to go under. With A.B.'s help, I didn't drown. I smiled, "Was I floating?"

"You were floating. You are a fast learner."

I batted my lashes. "I know."

We continued to "swim" of whatever I thought I was doing. When we had enough of the water, we were back on the sand and had a sand castle competition. Without the right tools, it was hard to do. A.B. was using seashells. When I was near finished with my sand castle that looked more like mini igloos, I took a step back to see what more I could add to it. Since Mr. Bravos was using shells, I went to find a few to add as decorations to my castle. I turned my back for no more than a minute to hear A.B. shout. I looked back to see my sand castle was ruined. The wave that crashed it was going back into the ocean.

"Noooooo!" I ran back to my sand castle or what was left of it. "Why is the ocean so rude?"

A.B. walked over to me and gave me a hug. "You won. You finished before I did."

I looked at A.B.'s Mindcraft-looking sand castle. Then, I looked at him. "You don't have to be nice. You clearly have the better sand castle."

"Jamie, look at the sand."

My brows merged as I glanced at A.B. I looked down at the sand. It brought a strange satisfying smile to my face. "Is that...? It's yellow." I was in disbelief.

"In the late afternoon, the sand starts to look yellow. It stays that way until sundown."

"I get it now. It's literally Yellow Sand Beach. That's why those stores have those literal names."

"Exactly."

A.B. and I stood in our side hug as we watched the ocean. I didn't want to move, because it was comforting.

"Ready to head back home?" He asked me.

"No... but I guess it's that time."

A.B. asked, "Do you want to eat here or get back on the road and find a restaurant to go to?"

"We can eat here. Also, I need to go to My Happy Store to get my parents a souvenir."

We left the beach and went back inside the house to clean up. After a shower, I put on my black tank top and denim shorts. A.B. took a shower next. By the time he was dressed, my hair was mostly dry. I was glad I brought a hat.

We walked to the shops, dressed like a couple on vacation - fine and fabulous. But that's only in my dreams. I found my parents some cute souvenirs. Then, A.B. and I went to a restaurant called Beach Burgers. The burgers were huge like at Mondo Burger from the movie "Good Burger." I was glad that A.B. ordered just one.

A.B. asked, "Are you ready to go back to California?"

I pouted, "No."

"Really?"

I began, "I know I was only there for two weeks, but everything seems to be going so slow. The main reason I came back was because my manager had to fly out to some meetings. I mean, I'm glad I did come back, because I got to spend time with my family... and you."

Sometimes, I felt like I said too much or the wrong thing at the wrong time. Oddly, I felt I needed to say more. "A.B., I wish we could stay here longer."

He agreed without hesitation.

I added, "I really like hanging out with you."

"I really like you, too. Like hanging out with you." He cleared his throat.

The waiter arrived with our one huge burger, seasoned curly fries and drinks. A.B. prayed over the food, and in his prayer he asked God to take care of me when I get back to California. When he finished, I looked at him and smiled. I could hear the song playing in my head already.

A.B. is definitely my man. I mean, the man.