Page 48 of Sunrise

"Wow." Kade stops and starts.

It's a gray rock that has formed a natural bridge with an arch under it. The trail splits here. You can walk under the arch down to the beach or climb to walk over the stone bridge.

"So, choose your path. Under the arch or over it?" I ask.

"We can walk up there?"

"Yep, the views are amazing too," I tell him.

"Up we go!" He smiles, and we take the more difficult path up and around the side to climb up the rocks.

Once we get to the center of the natural bridge, I sit down in the middle and dangle my feet over the edge. Like this, it feels like you are sitting over the ocean even though directly below you is the sandy beach.

"I can't believe you live here. It's the perfect vacation spot, yet you get to be here all year," he says, scanning the water.

A few boats dot the water, mostly for fishing, but there are two sailboats out for the day too.

"Yeah, even when my family would go on a vacation, we'd always compare it to home and think about how much better Hummingbird Island is to Key West; how it's more beautiful than Yellowstone National Park and friendlier than Disney. Normally, we couldn't wait to get home."

"You come up here often?" he asks.

"I did once I hit high school. It's where I'd go to think. When I was debating on breaking up with the guy I was dating junior year, and I was sitting here lost in thought, my dad sat down beside me. I had no idea they knew I came out here, but they did. He sat here, and we just talked. He wasn't my dad; he was my friend, so what was said didn't leave the bridge. I broke up with the guy the next day. I told my dad I did, and that was it. It wasn't spoken about again."

"It's a good spot to shut out the world and think." Nodding, Kade closes his eyes and lies back on the bridge.

With the sun on his face and his hair windblown with a slight curl, I don't think before I reach over and run my hand through it. He opens his eyes to look at me but doesn't move. His breathing picks up like mine does, and we just stare at each other.

After a minute, Kade moves his hand over mine in his hair and pulls it down to his chest, sandwiching my hand between his chest and his hand right over his heart. His heart is racing, like mine is.

Slowly, his other hand pulls me to him, and while I'm the one leaning over him, he is still in complete control as he kisses me. His hand in my hair guides the kiss. It's a light kiss that makes the butterflies take flight and leave me wanting more.

We both know there is no one around to see us kiss. This isn't for show and it isn't for the sake of our fake relationship. This kiss is for us. Neither of us wants to push it any further or put an end to it. When the screech of a seagull flying near us startles me, we pull back, laughing a bit.

I look up at the seagulls circling us to see if we have any food, and determined to keep the daylight, I stand.

"Ready to see the cove?" I ask.

"Yep, I'm already starting to feel like a real local." He smirks.

On the way, I tell him about the cove.

"The path to the cove is on Josh's property, and he doesn't mind his friends, who consist of almost every local, using it. You can only access it from his property. The three houses that back up to it are his, his sister's, and his parents', so you only ever see locals here. Even more so in the summer when we want to get away from the tourists."

I park the car on the street, and we head to the almost hidden path on the side of Josh's house. Once we clear the back of his property, the view opens up to us. The dune grass starts in his backyard and goes all the way to a few feet before the water, leaving a small beach to sit and enjoy.

There is one other couple who I point out to Kade.

"That's Sarah and Ned. She's an elementary school teacher, and he runs the newspaper. If he sees you, he might want an interview," I warn him.

"Ahhh, speaking of which. An online paper wrote up a nice piece on you and the inn and what they knew of our relationship. It's really complimentary, and I emailed them and thanked them for doing such a tasteful piece. They want to do a video interview since we are stuck on the island," Kade says, watching my face.

"I've done interviews for the inn, so if you think we can trust them, then sure. But I want to read the post first so I can correct anything that's wrong. I want the truth out there," I tell him.

"Okay. And if Mr. Newspaper man there wants an interview?" He nods over my shoulder.

"He's harmless, but it would really help his career. I say we do it, but you have the last say on it," I tell him.

He nods. "We will do it."

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