"Here we are!" Jason announced, stationing his SUV into the vacant parking lot.
A gust of ocean breeze greeted me as I climbed out of the passenger seat. The gentle wind pushed several strands of my hair into my face, obscuring my vision. Reaching into my backpack, I grabbed an elastic hairband and secured my long hair in a low bun.
Jason stood by my side, holding a blanket, a beach towel, a bright red plastic bucket, and a yellow shovel. The plastic glistened under the street lights, the beach toys looking comically small in his hands.
"I used to build the sandcastles with these," he explained when he noticed my questioning glance.
The sight of Jason, so tall and handsome under the mingled glow of the moon and the streetlights, holding those childish toys elicited a smile from my lips.
The toys reminded me of the little blue trunk stored underneath my bed in my flat in London. It held the few playthings that I had preserved from my childhood. I thought back to the Jasmine doll that was stowed away inside the old chest. A neighbour had gifted the doll to me on my seventh birthday. I remembered stroking Jasmine's long, lustrous hair and feeling jealous. Secretly, I had soaked her mane in dishwashing liquid until it resembled my tangled, frizzy hair.
"Leena?" Jason called, ducking his head to examine me closely. "Shall we?"
"Yeah, sorry," I murmured, chiding myself for getting carried away.
Jason and I stepped towards the beach shore, the wind whistling in our ears and the waves growing louder.
"This is one of the quieter beaches here, even during the day," Jason explained as we neared a strip of damp sand. "But it's the best at night."
He spread the beach towel over the sand, gesturing for me to sit next to him. I kicked off my sandals and sat down, cross-legged. Underneath the towel, the seashore felt warm, still holding in the heat from the morning sun.
For the first time since we had arrived, I lifted my eyes to the ocean. A gasp escaped my lips at the sight. The frothy waves were so close, crashing onto the shore and retreating, only to come back again. A strip of water glistened an eerie silver under the high, bright moon. It almost seemed like a pathway, leading from the shore to the horizon.
"It's quite something, isn't it?" Jason asked.
"It is," I whispered, my voice barely audible over the waves and the sea breeze, combining to form a hypnotic rhythm.
Suddenly, I was hit by an unpleasant memory from high school.
My school had arranged a two-day excursion to a beach resort. Friendless and bullied, I was the only one from my class to not go. When I logged into my Facebook account a few days later, I was crushed to find my newsfeed littered with pictures of Chris from the trip. One particular picture filled me with so much anger that I had deleted my account in a fit of rage.
The picture was of Chris and one of the girls that especially enjoyed tormenting me. Standing by the ocean, he had his arm around her, both of them smiling from ear to ear. It looked so much like the picture of him and me taken by his mother on her birthday. We were standing in front of the disastrous cake that we had baked for her, arms wrapped tight around each other, faces lit up with laughter.
My heart weighed a ton, the vastness of the ocean making me feel small and alone. The breeze seemed to change course, coming straight at me instead of blowing around me gently. The previously calm waves now resembled daunting memories, and my mind was the sand, powerless to stop them from crashing on me.
I am sitting here, an ocean away from them. Yet, I can't get away from the hate. I can't forget the suffocating loneliness.
Why did I think that this trip would fix everything?
What did I think I would find in Los Angeles?
"Leena?" Jason's deep voice jolted me back to the moment.
I turned to face him, almost having forgotten that he was right beside me. "Hmm?"
He scooted closer until our knees touched. That little bit of contact sent a sliver of warmth trickling down my spine.
"May I hold your hand?" he asked, offering me his open palm.
His request caused my face to open up with a huge smile. I placed my palm against his.
"Yes, you may," I said, unable to suppress a giggle.
He shifted our hands until they rested on our touching knees. Our fingers intertwined simultaneously, the warmth of his skin leaking into mine. And just like that, the breeze mellowed down and the tides no longer seemed menacing.
I stole a glance at Jason's face, watching him as he watched the ocean.
He turned to me and smiled, his soft lips and animated eyes melting away every negative thought that plagued me. His touch and presence anchored me, allowing me to enjoy the moment instead of drifting away.
"Want to build that sandcastle?" Jason asked, gesturing to the plastic bucket and shovel.
I rose to my feet, letting go of his hand grudgingly. We dropped our shoes and my backpack on the towel to hold it in place.
Jason and I headed closer to the water to collect small bucketfuls of the wet, cool sand. He handed me the shovel, and I accepted the ridiculously inefficient thing with a laugh. It took forever to fill the bucket, but I didn't mind; we had the whole night to ourselves.
Returning to our spot, we inverted the bucket to create the towers of the castle. When I went to fill the bucket for the third time, I got so preoccupied with getting the shovel to hold the sand that I forgot to step out of the wave's path.
"Ah!" I shrieked when the frigid water lapped at my heels, soaking the hem of my jeans.
"Careful, the water is very cold," Jason warned belatedly with a laugh.
"Thanks for the tip," I retorted, shuddering from the cold.
I lost track of time as we collected the sand and shaped our sandcastle. Four pillars flanked the main structure which had little windows carved into it. Using the shovel, we shaped the walls to resemble those of a real castle.
"Impressive," Jason and I said in unison, standing back to admire our handiwork.
"There are just two things left," I noted, gathering some more sand quickly.
Crouching near the castle's entrance, I laid out the damp sand to form a bridge similar to the kind that stood over crocodile-infested waters in fairytales. I couldn't emulate a bridge perfectly, and the structure ended up resembling a corridor.
"What is that?" Jason asked.
"A bridge, of course," I answered, feigning assurance.
He snorted with laughed. "Sorry, but that's the worst bridge I've ever seen."
"Hey!" I protested, smacking his arm. "The bridge will stay."
"Whatever you say," he teased, bowing deeply.
I laughed and shook my head. "Help me grab some seashells."
I followed Jason towards the water, both of us dangerously close to the approaching waves. Standing directly behind him, I turned around to examine the castle in an attempt to count the number of seashells I would need.
I twisted back around to Jason. "We need six of th-gah!"
The next few moments seemed to unfold in slow-motion.
Unaware that Jason was bending to pick something up, I turned too quickly and bumped straight into him, my torso colliding with his back. Horrified, I watched as Jason lost balance and began to fall. I lurched forward to catch him, losing my own footing on the slippery shore in the process.
The next thing I knew, the both of us went sprawling. Jason fell face-first, my body colliding into his back as we tumbled into the path of an oncoming wave of ice-cold seawater.
A string of colourful expletives escaped from our lips when the wave hit us, freezing us to the bone. By the time we managed to untangle ourselves and scramble away from the waves, our clothes were completely soaked.
"S-s-sorry, Jas-s-son," I stuttered, coughing as the salt water burned my mouth and throat.
"G-get up," he said, grabbing both my arms and dragging me to my feet. "The b-b-blanket."
Weighed down by the sand and sea spray clinging to our clothes, we hobbled towards the towel, shivering like leaves caught in an unruly wind.
"Oh, g-g-god," I whispered as the once pleasant breeze clung to our skin, worsening the cold.
Finally, Jason and I collapsed onto the beach towel. He grabbed the blanket with shaky hands and draped it around our bodies. I inched closer, my head nestled against his neck. Droplets of water dripped from our hair and on our shirts. I bundled my hands together and rested them against his chest, desperate for some warmth. But Jason had fallen face first into the water, rendering his skin almost as cold as the ocean itself.
Tightening his arms around me, he whispered, "Are y-y-you okay?"
"N-n-not really," I answered, my teeth chattering.
We spent the next few minutes huddled together in silence, our sandcastle long forgotten. The blanket protected our shivering bodies from the cool breeze that continued to swirl around us.
When I was finally able to speak again, I said, "I'm sorry I fell on you."
Jason's chest reverberated with shaky laughter. "What happened?"
Still nestled against him, I tilted my head to look up at his face. "I accidentally knocked you down when I turned. I tried to catch you, but I just ended up falling on you. Again, I'm so sorry."
"It's okay," he chuckled, the light stubble on his face brushing against my forehead. "I'm glad I brought the blanket."
"Me too," I said, echoing his laugh.
As the numbing cold retreated, I became acutely aware of Jason's hands wrapped around my hips. The scent of salt lingered on his skin, the damp fabric of his blue shirt clinging to his chest.
"I'm glad we came here," he said suddenly, tipping his head to get a better look at me.
"Me too," I whispered, meeting his differently coloured eyes. "Thank you."
I leaned forward and kissed Jason's cheek unthinkingly, his cool skin tasting salty to my lips.
"Okay," he said, his eyes widening considerably. "Now I'm really glad we came here."
I burst into laughter, pushing my palms against his chest playfully.
Winding my arms around Jason's waist, I settled back against him, my head resting on his chest. I smiled when his lips pressed a kiss to the top of my head.
I wanted to remain there forever, listening to his constant heartbeat as the night slowly surrendered to daybreak. The colours in the sky shifted, morphing into different shades of blue, purple, and orange.
As Jason and I watched the incredible, unending canvas above our heads, I discovered the answer to one of the questions that had troubled me earlier.
What did I think I would find in Los Angeles?
Los Angeles had led me to someone that I couldn't have found anywhere else in the world.
I came here to find Jason Hunter.