Stirring from a dreamless sleep, I managed to roughly make out what my phone was telling me. Three missed calls from Nova and one from Alex. Sitting up in bed, I stretched, trying to wake myself up to call them both back. The events of yesterday played in my mind as I took a shower and got dressed. Alex and I had held hands for the first time, and I knew what that meant. I knew we wouldn't have just held hands if it didn't mean anything. "Oh my gosh! Stop it, Elsie! Get it together. You just met the guy!"
Grabbing my phone off it's charger, I click the voicemail and wait. Nova's voice rang in my ear as her message came through, "Hey, sis, I was just calling to ask how last night went with Alex and to let you know that I have an Ultrasound on Friday. I'm hoping we can get some pictures of the little one! Anyways, call me back! I need details!"
I shook my head as the next message came through, "Hey Elsie," Alex's voice rang through the speaker as I dropped my phone. It clattered to the ground with a sharp thud. Scrambling to pick it up, I barely hear the rest of the message before it shuts down. Great, now I have no idea what he said.
Immediately calling him back, I wait for him to answer, unsure of what to say. "Hey, what's up?"
"I got your voicemail, but I dropped my phone, and I couldn't hear the rest of what you said. What did you want to tell me?"
"Oh, just that I had a great time last night. And I was kind of wondering if you were busy. I thought you might like a day at the beach."
"Actually, I was going to go to a hardware store to pick out a porch swing, do you want to come with me?"
"Sure, I'll drive since I have the truck."
"Okay, I'm heading over there." I said before hanging up, grabbing my purse and picking the front door.
Alex was already outside by the time I made it out, and he waved, it was a normal everyday wave, but I was more thrilled that he would want to come with me to pick out a porch swing. Normal people don't do that, do they? But maybe it was different in the south.
As I got in the passenger seat of his truck, I noticed that the floor was clean, as if it was never used. "Do you usually use your truck?" And then I regretted asking that, how stupid could I be?
"No, only on special occasions." He said, "Did you sleep well?"
"Oh, and yeah, I did."
"Good." He replied as he put the truck in reverse, and we took another trip to Savannah for the second day in a row. So this was a special occasion.
When we pulled up to the parking lot of the hardware store, I didn't expect Alex to open the door for me, nor did I expect him to offer me to go first as his hand grazed my back. I didn't expect this small exchange to happen, and I didn't know how to react. Maybe he was guiding me to the door and accidentally touched my back. Putting the interaction to the back of my mind, I walked with Alex into the store and towards the garden center. On the far wall sit different swings, some with wood painted white, some brown. Turning to Alex, I ask him for his opinion. "I like the brown one." He said, pointing to my left. The vision was blue and went well with the dark wood. A few throw pillows would look perfect with it! "That's the one!" I said, leaving to grab a flatbed cart so that it will be easier to get it in the truck.
"Oh, how lovely." An elderly woman said as she passed with her husband, "How long have you two been together?"
"I- well, we're not-" I said, finder her question caught me off guard. "We aren't together."
She raised a silver eyebrow at us both, "Are you kids sure? I can tell you two were meant to be together. Back when I was your age, we go on dances and meet a nice guy, and then we're married."
"Well, I mean, I don't think we're quite there yet." Alex said, clearly as caught off guard as I was.
"Well, you best get a ring on her finger before another snatches her up." The woman said, patting Alex lightly on the shoulder before her husband led her away from us.
"Well, that was interesting." I said a nervous laugh escaped my lips as an employee came towards us.
"Can I help you with anything?"
"Yes," I said, "We would like this porch swing, and we may need help getting it in our truck."
"Alright, that's fine." He said, moving to grab the box when Alex went around the side to help him load it. After the swing was packed, we thanked the employee and left the parking lot.
"Hey, Alex?" I asked after we got on the highway.
"Yeah?" He replied.
"What's your greatest fear?" I watched as he turned to look at me and then back at the road," Well, I'm afraid of heights, and losing my family to a tragedy." I nodded my head, deep in thought, "I'm afraid that I won't end up with a guy who will love me for who I am rather than what I look like. And I'm also afraid something might happen to my family like how it happened to my parents." I paused, "But I guess we won't be going on a rollercoaster any time soon."
He laughed as we pulled into my driveway, "No, I don't think so."
The rest of the afternoon was spent putting the swing together and talking. After we were finished putting the swing up, I went inside to grab us each a glass of sweet tea. As we sat together on my new porch swing, I felt a strange sense of contentment as if this is where I was meant to be. I was meant to be sitting here, sipping sweet tea with Alex Walsh. I couldn't explain how I knew it was true. Maybe I was just saying that, but I usually wouldn't have a gut feeling about such an idea.
I inhaled deeply, looking over at Alex as he took a sip of the sweet tea that I made, Hey Alex?"
"Yes?" He asked, looking back at me, "I just wanted to say, Um, that even though it may be too soon, I would like to see if a relationship with you will work out. I'm still unsure whether or not it will work out, but I'm willing to try. I understand if I'm going to fast, and I understand if you just want to be friends-" I felt his hand on my face, his thumb rubbed my cheek as I looked him in the eyes.
"Elsie, I thought you were the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes on." He paused, unsure if he should continue or not, "And you are an amazing, intelligent, kind, and thoughtful young woman. I didn't know if you ever wanted to date me or if you felt the same way. But when we held hands last night, I was certain and now even more so. But, I wanted to be sure, and I didn't want to rush you. And I feel at home when I'm around you, I've never felt anything like this before. So I didn't want to assume anything and I" I placed my hand on his shoulder, a tear fell down my cheek, I was thrilled. He knew exactly how I felt. Leaning I, I placed a quick kiss on his cheek.
"You have no idea what your words mean to me. I know exactly how you feel. We have a lifetime to figure out how fast or slow we would like our relationship to unfold. Every relationship is different, just like every person is different. I want to take you up on your offer from this morning, let's go to the beach."
He grinned as we went our separate ways to get changed into our swimwear. Alex and I walked together towards the beach. It was deserted for the most part as the waves weren't relatively high.
Immediately, we took off at the edge of the beach; water ran over our toes as we spoke. I felt at peace walking next to Alex, a feeling I haven't had with anyone except for family. Our hands intertwined as we walked back and forth along the surf. I knew that I was beginning to fall for him, and that was terrifying and exciting at once.
"Hey, Elsie?" Alex said, turning towards me.
"Yeah?" I asked, I noticed the mischievous glint in his eyes and then, he lifted me in his arms, and started to run towards the water. I screamed and laughed, unsure of how to react as I didn't expect this to happen, let alone with a guy like Alex. "What are you doing!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms around his neck as we went deeper into the water. I looked up at him as he grinned, "I thought you needed some saltwater." He said before dropping me into the cold Atlantic below. Is he serious, this means war!
Surfacing, I spray him directly in the face and duck back underwater. Finding my way behind him, I pounce, wrapping my arms and legs securely around him. "Victory is mine!" I scream, feeling proud. And then, without warning, a wave crashes into us, knocking me off of him and onto the sandy seafloor.
"You are insane, do you know that?" Alex said after I had resurfaced for a second time, and then his eyes traveled down to my lips, and his eyes widened, "Elsie, you're bleeding!"
"I am?" touching my face to find the blood. I noticed that my chin had Ben cut from the seafloor. "I'll be alright; it's just a scratch. I'll be healed up in a few days anyway."
"Maybe we shouldn't be so rough with each other." Alex commented, grabbing my arms to steady me as another wave crashed into us.
"People get injured all the time, and besides, we were having fun," I said, smiling at him. "Weren't you having fun?"
"Yes, I think I will always have fun when I'm with you." I couldn't stop the blush from rising, and after a few hours of playing in the ocean, we decided it would be best to head back. We rinsed ourselves at the outside shower just outside of my house, and Alex went to change into his regular clothes from earlier today. By the time I was dressed and getting ready to sit back on my porch swing, he was already on my front porch grinning from ear-to-ear.
"Do you want to come inside?" I asked, motioning towards my house.
"Sure." He replied, following me into the house and onto the couch. "Today was amazing."
I didn't realize just how tired I was until I found myself laying my head against his shoulder as my music began to pour through the speakers of the stereo. I felt a strange sense of contentment as I drifted off to sleep next to Alex. And as I drifted off, I wondered if Alex and I were truly meant to be.