The First Drop Of Rain

Chapter Thirty Five

Gaia's POV

I was so incredibly excited for the date, and when I heard the doorbell, my excitement only grew. I hadn't really been on a date since the summer began, which was truly strange for me. I had broken up with my boyfriend around the time that Arabella had gotten into her car accident, both of us mourning the end of a relationship during the same time made it significantly easier.

I bounded into the loft and peered over the banister to the stained glass windows on either side of the door, I could just barely make out the figure that was Paul, standing nervously by the door. "Coming!" I called, grabbing my purse from my coat hook inside my door and rushing downstairs, taking the steps two at a time. Paul had refused to tell me what we were doing on the date, which made my well known control issues go haywire, but something about letting go of the reins for just this one night made me at ease. It was like a test, if Paul screwed it up that would be that, but if he passed we might have the foundation for something beautiful.

I stopped for a moment, took a steadying breath, and then opened the door with a huge smile. "Hi!" I said as I reached for my purse and keys that sat on the door side table.

"Ready?" He asked with a nervous smile, both his hands shoved deep in his pockets.

"Any chance you're going to tell me where we are going?" I stepped through the door, shutting and locking it behind me.

"Nope!" He laughed, loosening up slightly. "Watching you try to figure it out is half the fun."

"Oh you monster!" I joked back, earning a light chuckle before we both stepped off the porch and walked to the truck. Paul drove an old diesel, but you couldn't pay me enough money to learn something about a car to tell you more than it was a dodge, it was blue, and it had a bench seat. It looked as if I were to Google search "old dodge trucks," it would be one of the search results as a stock image. Luckily for me, I had had another final growth spurt and now stood at 5'10, requiring no assistance to climb into his truck.

None of the interactions between Paul and I felt awkward, everything was smooth, it melded time to its own will. We went on a little hike up a trail I had never known existed, then found a beautiful outcropping of rock that rested against the ocean. We laid down, my head resting against his chest, and we just watched the sunset while casually eating the picnic basket Paul had packed and hauled up the mountain. Any silence that fell between us felt natural and comfortable. We talked about everything, our lives, our dreams, our families. Things with Paul just felt right. On our way back I had him in a fit of laughter, I was recounting the unfortunate tales of Arabella and I's initial adventures when we had met one another in the fourth grade. He especially loved that those escapades eventually lead to Ari having Leah for a babysitter. "Oh my god, you guys were the ones that got Jake in all that trouble that year!?" He was holding his ribs at that point, barely able to breathe from laughter. "Oh the twins were gonna kill him! Their mom had to break up so many fights!"

"How were we supposed to know they'd be the first to walk through that door!?" I said back both defensively and playfully.

"Oh man, knowing the whole story now just makes that so much funnier." He shook his head, amused by it all.

"Well I'm so glad you are so amused by it all." I spun around to walk backwards as I spoke to him, then without missing a beat, Paul leapt forward and caught me in his arms just as I lost my footing and stepped on a small ditch off the side of the trail. I crashed into his chest, his warmth burning through me. I froze, my breath catching in my chest as I looked over his shoulder to the trees beyond. "Thank you." I whispered as Paul backed up to steady me on trail once more.