Chapter 54 - Makai - Dinner

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Makai

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I had been lounging with my head against the window when Ocean wrapped just his little finger around my pinky. Just our two little fingers were entwined, holding each other. And still, just that alone made my heart race, and my soul want to sing with joy. Ocean, whether he had fully admitted or not, had just accepted me. I knew that if I just kept going in the same direction that I was, I would eventually make him mine. Fully mine. I would have him in my heart, in my arms, and in my bed. I would be able to have him to love in every way possible. Then, I wouldn't have to think of ways to end up near him; he would want to be around me.

And the way that Ocean naturally wanted to lay his head against my shoulder so that we could sleep on the ride home from the meet, it was enough to make me scream for joy! You know, if I wasn't pretending to be asleep. As it was, I just slowly adjusted myself before Ocean could rest himself against me and made a more comfortable place for him to lay down. I couldn't have the guy that I liked resting uncomfortably while we slept together.

After quite some time, I felt the bus come to a stop. I knew that I had actually been asleep since my head had been tilted down and to the side as it laid on top of Ocean's. It didn't feel uncomfortable to me at all. Actually, I really enjoyed waking up with the smell of him in my nose. The smell that perfectly matched the way that he tasted. It was like sipping a tropical drink while sitting next to a bonfire at the beach. It was so expressive and perfectly summed up Ocean.

That flavor of his had spread across my tongue every time that I had kissed him. It was growing stronger and stronger each time and every time that I tasted him. I think that soon enough, I was going to be addicted to the taste of his lips. And it has only been a few times now that I have kissed him.

I lifted my head and opened my sleep fogged eyes. I saw that Ocean was just waking up as well, conscious of the fact that he was laying against me. No one on the bus was even looking in our direction. I wonder if they just didn't care, or if they thought we needed our sleep after all the heats we had swam today? Either way it didn't matter to me, I had enjoyed my ride home next to Ocean.

I made sure not to say a word to him though. I just grabbed my stuff that was stored under our seat. Ocean's stuff, though, was halfway up the bus where he had put it when he sat with Ryan earlier this morning. Ben's things were next to mine now, where I wished Ocean's stuff would have been. I saw now that Ben was the only one aware that Ocean and I had been asleep during the ride back to our school. He didn't say anything, and he just looked away innocently until Ocean moved so he could get the stuff that he needed.

Once we were all off the bus, our weekend bags in hand, we scattered for our respective modes of transport. Most of the guys on the bus were heading for the cars that they had left in the parking lot over the weekend, like I had done. I noticed though, that Ocean's car wasn't there. He hadn't driven himself on Friday. Why was that?

The guys who hadn't driven themselves had obviously called their parents and notified them of their imminent arrival so that they could come and pick them up. I noticed though, that Ocean seemed to be a little lost. I don't think his parents were here for him since he had been asleep and therefore hadn't called them.

"I can give you a ride home." I offered him as I watched him try to think about what to do.

"N..n..n..no that's f..f..f..fine. I..I w..will call m..m..my parents." He stuttered so adorably. I knew now that he only did that when he was nervous around me. It made me smile.

"Fine, I will wait. I don't want to leave you stranded."

I watched and listened as Ocean pulled his phone out and tried to ignore me. I could see every line of him lit up like a beacon by the streetlamp that was next to the parking lot. It lent an unearthly glow to him that just made me want to watch him even more.

"Hey, we just got back, where are you?" The calm in his voice was strained, but would his parents notice it? "What?" The uneasy calm turned to shock now. "Why are you there?" Disbelief was settling in. "Hahh. That would take you hours. I could walk home long before then. It's fine. Stay with Aunt Linda, she needs you right now anyway. I will be fine. I will see you guys tomorrow." There was another pause before a small smirk appeared on his face. "Yeah, yeah, I love you guys too. See you tomorrow."

As he put his phone away I couldn't help but think about how fortunate this was for me. I didn't know what was wrong with his aunt, or why she had needed Ocean's parents so desperately, but I was glad for her nonetheless. This gave me the chance to be alone with Ocean some more. He needed a ride home after all.

"Come on." I said as I walked toward him. "Let's go."

"N..no, i..it's fine. I..I..I can walk." He looked scared now. "Y..you can g..g..go without m..me."

"Now Ocean, you don't think I am going to leave you stranded out here all alone, do you? Yes, I know you can handle yourself and all that. That isn't the issue. But you're tired, hell I'm tired. I know you're hungry because I am hungry. So come on, let's get going; we will grab some dinner, and I will take you home." I grabbed him by the elbow to stop him from backing away from me now. "Come on." I pulled him along after me.

"Y..you like t..to grab a h..hold of m..me d..d..d..don't you?" He glared at me.

"I could grab you somewhere else." I turned back to grin at him suggestively. "Or would you rather I kept my hand where it is?" The shell shocked look on his face was priceless and so adorable.

"Y..y..you w..w..wouldn't." He didn't look like he believed that at all.

"Not if you don't want me to." I gave him as innocent of a look as I could. "But you are very tempting. Now, let's go get some dinner, Ocean. I can only control myself for so long. If you make me wait here any more, I am likely to eat you, and I don't know if you would enjoy that as much as I would." I winked at him, the suggestive notes in my voice letting him know that I was not at all joking. Hmm, he wasn't running away screaming so that was a good sign.

"I..I..I'm not hungry." His denial happened all of three hundredths of a second before his stomach growled loudly.

"Yeah, and I bet you prefer the desert to a lovely beach scene as well." I laughed, taking him by the hand and pulling him hard so that he had no choice, but to follow me to my car. "Now come on, let's go get some food."

I wanted to take him to a nice restaurant. I didn't want this to seem like a date to him, but to me that's exactly what it was going to be. But, then again, I had seen the last two dinners we shared as dates as well whether or not he had. They were something very special for me. They had been filled with his smiles and laughter and made me so happy.

This time though, Ocean seemed so nervous. I wanted to test the waters with him here, I wanted to do something interesting to see how he was going to react. It would be nice to see if I could find out what Ocean thought about me, even just a little, during this dinner. I hope he didn't hate me for what I was planning to do. I really was doing it so that I could see how much he cared about me. I just wanted to move our relationship along a little. Just give it a push in the right direction.

Once I had dragged Ocean to my car, and we were buckled in, it was time to take him out for a nice filling meal. Perhaps something that would leave me too full to try anything with him when we were done eating. I didn't want to scare him off before I truly hooked him.