Page 110 of Better Than Gelato
I shrug my shoulders. “I’m not tired.”
Which is silly because I am really and truly exhausted. But I’ve decided to dig in, so that’s what I’m doing.
“Didn’t you say we have something planned for tomorrow morning?” Jake asks.
“Yep.”
“So shouldn’t we get some rest?”
I can tell that he thinks he’s being reasonable, and I’m being unreasonable. And that makes me unreasonably irritated.
“You can if you want to,” I say. “I’ll see you in the common room at nine.”
I head out the door into the warm summer air. Jake follows me.
“You can’t go out by yourself,” Jake says.
“Of course I can.”
I head in the direction of the beach. It’s not far, I can hear the waves crashing.
“It’s not safe,” Jake says and reaches out a hand as though to take my arm, but at the last second changes his mind.
“Jake, I’m perfectly fine on my own,” I say. “If you’re feeling tired, go to bed. If you'd like to join me on the beach that’s fine too. But come for my company, not as my chaperone.”
Jake pauses and then softly takes my hand. “I always love your company,” he says. He looks at his watch. “Even at one in the morning.”
Most of my irritation melts away as we walk down to the beach. The area is not well lit, and I feel the cool water slide over my flip flops before I see it. I look out to the sea but can’t make out the horizon.
“Look at the stars,” Jake whispers.
I look up and suck in my breath. The sky is sparkling like a thousand diamonds spilled across black velvet. The moon is a tiny sliver, as though embarrassed to show up and get upstaged. We lay on our backs on the dry sand and gaze up at the sky.
“This is incredible,” Jake says.
“It really is.”
“So, what's the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?” he asks.
The question catches me off guard. Laying on a beach in Santorini under a blanket of stars, home is far from my mind.
I shrug my shoulders, realize he can’t see, and say. “Not sure.”
“I’m going to get a bacon cheeseburger and chocolate milkshake from Shake Shack,” Jake says. “I haven’t had a shake in ages.”
“Hmm.”
“They’re phenomenal. I’ll take you there. Maybe you could come for Thanksgiving.”
Suddenly my eyes fill with tears, and I don’t even know why. I lay on my back and let them slide down my cheeks into my ears. Jake rambles on about all the things he’s excited to do back home and how fun it’ll be to show me everything. I stare up at the stars and cling to this moment in this little Greek village and refuse to think about leaving.
“What do you think?” Jake asks.
I have no idea what he’s talking about. I clear my throat, which still feels tight with tears and then answer. “Sorry, I missed that last part.”
“It doesn’t matter. I think you’re just tired. Should we head back to the hostel?”
“Sure,” I say. And we leave the stars to watch over the beach without us.
