Page 107 of I Wanna Text You Up

I haphazardly pull on sweats and a hoodie then slide my feet into flip-flops, snagging my toiletries bag on the way out the door and across thehall.

I pop into the bathroom and run a brush through my hair before tossing it up into a messy bun. Then I brush my teeth and wipe the sleep out of my eyes before meeting an impatient Caleb out in thehallway.

“Ready?”

“I suppose, though you owe me coffeeandbreakfast after this,” I tell him as I grab blankets from the linen closet he’s standingbeside.

“Is anything open thisearly?”

“Oh yes. You think you’re the only one who wants to watch the sunrise?”

I lead us outside and across thestreet.

The road is quiet, most people still in bed at this hour as we walk about half a mile in silence until we reach the nearest beach accesspoint.

We amble our way down the well-worn pathway and Caleb reaches out, grabbing my hand as we walk onto the beachtogether.

“It’s chilly outhere.”

“Yeah, I should have warned you,” I say. “Good thing I grabbed an extra blanket though. We can sit on one and wrap up in theother.”

“You’re too good tome.”

Caleb stares out at the ocean in awe as we approach the shoreline. His ball cap is resting backward on his head, eyes still a little puffy from sleep. He threw on a plain black t-shirt and jeans, and was smart enough to wear sandals so the sand doesn’t drown hisshoes.

I watch as he takes a whiff of the fresh sea air, his nostrils flaring and eyes fallingshut.

“Mmm, salt and fish,” he says on theexhalation.

I pull at his arm, dragging him farther down the beach. “Oh, hush it. It’s not thatbad.”

“Nah, it’s not. I actually kind of likeit.”

“I see the ocean is already working its magic onyou.”

“Something like that,” he mutters, now looking over atme.

“Stop being cheesy,” I say with a grin. “Pick a spot for us to sit. We don’t have muchlonger.”

Caleb leads us to a spot several feet from the lapping waves before stopping and grabbing the blankets from my hands. He spreads out the smaller of the two and then sits, patting the space between hislegs.

“Come on, let’s be all romantic andshit.”

“You can’t say things like ‘and shit’ and expect to still come off as romantic,” I chide as I cozy into the spot between hislegs.

“It got you down here, didn’tit?”

“The promise of a warm blanket got me down here. Nice trythough.”

Caleb wraps his arms around me as I settle into his embrace, his lips finding my neck in no time. He nuzzles against me and I sigh, resting back into himmore.

The sun begins its ascension over the horizon, setting the purple haze of the clouds on fire with orange and yellow rays of light. The sight is beautiful, and I’m reminded how no sunrise is ever like the last, the colors always playing off one anotherdifferently.

I’ve sat on this very beach watching the sun come up so many times, but somehow, sitting here with Caleb for the first time, it feels different. The colors of the sky are a little brighter, the air crisper, the waves more bold andbeautiful.

It feels new and fresh, just like howwefeel, and it was worth waking up for, that’s forcertain.

“This was a good idea,” I sayaloud.

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