Here Comes The Sun

Chapter Seven

I woke up before the sun to get a run in on the beach. Colin and Seth hadn't stayed too long into the night. Seth was leaving town today to visit his sister who lived out of state and needed to be up early to catch his plane.
I had no complaints about him leaving, he hadn't given me any more helpful information after the mention of Lucas and during the game his constant commentary was making me lose my mind. Is it really that hard to not talk over the announcers?
I went to the beach Mac had recommended to run on, the sand was even and packed so my feet wouldn't fall in, the houses were more scattered from one another and there weren't any hotels or condos built nearby. I hadn't seen a soul for miles until when the sun was peeking up over the water.
The sky was filled with brilant oranges and pinks and the light of the sun was causing rays to shine into the clouds. It was gorgeous and one of the main reasons I woke so early to run.
I had seen some beautiful sunrises in Oklahoma but there was something about watching it reach out across the ocean.
Up ahead I finally spotted a person, a distant figure in the ocean, they were past all the waves in the part that was calm. I could see they were just enjoying watching the sun rise too. The way their body was so still and the sun seemed to move around them was so picturesque that I couldn't help but take a picture of it.
My mom liked me sending her things like this, told me it made her feel like she was here enjoying the warm salty air. I tried to tell her she would actually hate it with how bad the humidity was, it could only be eighty degrees out but feel in the hundreds.
I started walking again, watching as the surfer stopped watching the sunrise and went back to start catching the waves. It wasn't till I was in front of where they were catching one that I noticed it was actually Maisie.
I had watched videos online of her surfing and tried to understand the commentary as they rated and judged her skill but most every word they said sounded like a foreign language. All I knew was watching her surf was like watching a dance, she moved like she was a part of the ocean, as if they were the same mind.
I got sucked down a wormhole after one video and ended up watching a dozen or so. Her performance in the first ever surfing olympics in Japan was extraordinary. She had won gold, I then watched some of her teammates play too. Watched the joy on their faces as they celebrated together for each of their wins.
Watching her though, in her element when she didn't have to make any big moves to gain points, she didn't have to go so intense to beat others, she could just be her and enjoy the waves was different. She fell off or maybe jumped at one point and came out of the water like a fucking sea Goddess.
Her hair flinging back over her head, the water droplets flying around her, the only thing that would have made it better was if she were close enough I could see her face, I just knew she had a smile going that would make my day.
I took a seat in the sand, near her bag and just watched. It wasn't until maybe ten minutes later she noticed me and came to shore. Jogging through the water with her baby blue boards in hand.

There it was, that smile.

"Hey! What are you doing out here so early?" She asked, dropping her board to the left of me and grabbing her metal bottle. She chugged down maybe half of it while I watched the way her neck moved. I was becoming a fucking creep,
"Out for a run when I saw you and had to watch." She sets the bottle down and smiles at me. Seeing her smile is one thing, seeing her smile because of me is a whole other ball park.
"Did you enjoy the show?" Her cheeks were flushed from the exertion and her eyes were so bright.
My favorite color had always been green but after seeing her eyes, how could blue not come in first?
"You were extraordinary." The red on her face deepend at my words.
"Thanks, I like to get a session in every morning, it makes me feel ready for the rest of my day. Plus watching the sunrise is my favorite thing.  California had some really pretty sunsets but nothing beats watching the sun come to me." She plopped down across from me, I watched her gaze shift to my chest.
This was the moment I became aware I was shirtless, I had taken it off a couple miles in and was glad of it now. She was full on staring, not even trying to hide the fact. I felt like a douchebag but could help but flex and grin to myself when she bit her lower lip.
"Yeah, these sure beat the ones back home." I respond but don't know if she even hears me.
"What is it like not having anywhere to really swim?" She asked after a moment, her gaze reaching my eyes again.
"Well it's all I've known so it wasn't that weird. We took family trips to the beach every year or so and I loved it but living next to one is so different. Even as much as it'll break my moms heart, I can't go back."
"There is something about the ocean that draws you in. I can't even stand being away from it. Whenever I take trips to inland states I get twitchy and feel weird. Just the fact I could drive a couple minutes and not find the ocean there makes me uncomfortable."
"Are you sure you aren't actually a mermaid?" I asked. I loved the water but it seemed that Maisie needed it, it was a fundamental part of who she was.
"I wish. When I was little I saw this movie where this kid found out he was a mermaid at thirteen and I was completely convinced it would happen to me. I sobbed for a week after my birthday when no gills ever showed up, my parents had no clue what to do with me."
The laughter that bubbled out of me was loud and different, though every way I reacted to her was different.
"There could still be a chance." She grins at me and I want to take another picture of her, I want to capture the way the light brings a golden glow to her tanned skin, how her blue eyes almost seem alive with happiness.
It feels like I have no other purpose then to make her happy, the constant worry on my chest that I'll react to something badly falls away and nothing else but her and that beautful fucking smile matters.