“Wow,” I breathed out, just looking at the view outside the window as the sun came up, “It’s pretty.”

Jane came up next to me, a piece of buttered toast in her hands, nodding.

“Definitely different from the norm.”

I smirked, turning to her, knowing the answer before I even asked.

“But not better?”

She scoffed, “Nope. I prefer forests.”

That she did.

And I… honestly, I wasn’t sure what I preferred. As much as it would be amazing to wake up to a view like this every day, at some point, I knew the beauty would eventually be lost on me. I’d want to go home, to my family and friends.

I was definitely a homebody.

That said, I could totally appreciate this while we were here. Feeling the sand in my toes, the water at my ankles. The salty breeze.

Yeah.

This was like a perfect getaway spot. I could almost forget that we had to meet with Minnie tomorrow for lunch. Or brunch. Whenever she showed up.

But we would have to meet her.

And then the view would be clouded out by whatever needed to be discussed. Whether it was Myrus or the important news Minnie had to say… it would be harder to relax and enjoy the sights and sounds of the beach and ocean.

And my goodness, the ocean, sparkling like that in the sunshine, the waves rolling across the sand…

I was two seconds away from running out of the house and giving an intimate personal hello to it, not caring if I drenched my clothes in the process.

Then again… Jane would have something to say about that kind of action. Lots of somethings. So, I held back. Reigned it all back in. I could do it another time, out of her line of sight.

Eh.

It probably wasn’t going to happen at all if I banked on that though.

“You told Minnie we’re here, right?”

And, pulling me out of my thoughts, turning away from the spectacular view, was Jane.

I nodded.

After a shower and lugging my bags up to my room, aka the only room left, I had sent her a message. We’d talked back and forth a bit, but she hadn’t been able to tell me a specific time, just that she’d be there tomorrow. How? I had no clue. Was there a spell for that? Was she on a boat? A plane? I didn’t know, and I didn’t ask.

But, in light of that, and as I relayed her messages to Jane, unspecific and summed up, I shared my idea for the day.

And Jane, with a wide grin as she finished off her toast, was all in.

...

Donning sandals and clothes made specifically for warm weather and beaches, Jane and I headed to the pier nearby. By the time we’d left the house, the sun was shining high in the sky and the sand was hot to the touch. We stopped at a few food trucks for snacks and walked side by side down the planks above the water.

If the view had been something from our little house, it was definitely grander at the edge of the pier. I could almost pretend I was on a boat above and surrounded by the water. There was extra chatter from all of the people out and about along the beach, but there were also the distinct sounds of the ocean, of water crashing against itself. When I focused in on it, closing my eyes and feeling the heat of the sun on my head, everything was perfect.

And then some annoying person decided to lean against the railing nearby with his friends, laughing like lunatics, snapping me out of my serene nature. As much as it was jarring, I couldn’t fault them for enjoying this place. It was… pretty cool. And not in a literal way. It was literally quite the opposite.

Jane, seeing my flicker of annoyance, laughed lightly and tugged on my arm, dragging me back where we came from.

“I’m hungry again.”

“Jane! We literally just ate.”

“Psh.” She rolled her eyes. “That was ten minutes ago. I’ve digested it already.”

I laughed hard, leaning onto her shoulder as she joined in.

We ate, trying some of the local food, only for Jane to ask what the recipe was. She practically fawned over it, gushing that Lee was going to love the food. I rolled my eyes all in good nature and fun as she put the recipe into her phone.

I was happy for her. She’d ended up with her best friend… well, best guy friend. I was her best ‘sister’ friend. And they were always thinking of each other. It was nice to see. And hard… at the same time. Because I wanted something like that too. Deep down, I knew I was just ready and waiting, but I didn’t purposefully put myself out there. I didn’t make any moves or meet many new people.

I didn’t know what I was waiting for, but it felt like I just couldn’t stop.

Arm in arm again, Jane groaning that she’d ate too much to do anything too labor intensive, like exercise, I suggested we take just a slow leisurely walk near the water, so we did. We walked the whole length of the beach, enjoying the smell of the salty water and the breeze that was just enough to keep us pleasantly warm without overdoing it and sweating through our clothes.

And then we unanimously decided to look for seashells, our feet in the damp sand, water occasionally tickling our ankles.

“Hey, look at this one!”

Jane held one up for me to see, with swirls of white and brown.

“Nice!”

“Now, should I keep it for myself or give it as a gift?” She narrowed her eyes at it, thinking hard.

I burst out laughing.

“Oh, come on! If you give it to Lee, it’s still kinda yours, isn’t it? You two already live together.”

She turned to me, thoughtful. Grinning, she nodded. “You’re totally right! Ha! Loopholes!”

Once we’d collected five or six, we put them in a pouch and kicked around in the water, laughing.

This really was a perfect day.