Page 38 of Tailwhip
Pulling away from Anthony’s tight hold on me, I finally look at him and say, “Hi!”
I am greeted with his crooked smile and another hug. Grabbing my hand, we head to his car. He puts my luggage in the trunk, and once I walk to the passenger side to get in, I see the bouquet of flowers! Anthony speaks before I can say anything, “I know you won’t be able to keep them, but I just wanted to bring you some!”
Leaning over the center of the car, I give him a kiss and tell him, “Thank you!”
As we are driving, I ask, “So, what are the plans? Anything for tonight?”
“Not tonight. We have to get up early tomorrow for what’s planned, so probably an early night!”
I’m a little puzzled at what we could possibly be doing that is going to require us to get up early. “How early are we talking here? I am kind of grumpy in the mornings!”
Giving me a little grin, he says, “Don’t worry, breakfast and coffee will be involved first. I am grumpy, too, without caffeine and food!”
After driving for almost 45 minutes, we pull up to someone’s house, or at least that’s what it seems. The house is small and right on the water’s edge. “Whose house is this?”
“This house belongs to Nash’s family; they rent it out. Luckily, they held it for me for these next few days while we are here.” Walking inside, we are greeted by nothing but windows all along the back, with an amazing view of the water and Mount Rainier!
Anthony turns to me, and asks, “Do you want to change, and we can sit out by the firepit for a while?”
Anthony knows me too well. “Yes, I would love to! I will be right back.”
After changing and coming back downstairs, we head to the deck, where the fire is already started. “This house is beautiful; I would love a house like this! Right on the water. I can just imagine waking up and drinking coffee on this deck!”
“It is a very nice house; I have stayed here on a few occasions, when I have been out here for competitions. Nash’s family is great. Also, they want to meet you and are doing a cookout in a few days. The whole team is still here!” I’m excited to know the whole team is still here and I get to see everyone.
“Nash’s family wants to meet me?”
Kissing my temple, he says, “They treat me like a second son, since Nash is their only kid. They are good people. I know they will love you!” I don’t know how much longer we sit by the fire, because I end up falling asleep. Anthony wakes me up, so we can go to bed.
It is 6 damn AM! I can’t even remember the last time I woke up this early. I’m not much of a morning person, and Anthony just laughs at how sluggish I am compared to him, as he's able to wake up early and fully function within the first 15 minutes. “I promise getting up this early is worth it once we get to where we need to go.”
Sighing loudly, I say, “It better be worth it. I really don’t even know the last time I was up this early. Not even when your team came over for breakfast!”
We pull up to a harbor full of boats and a few different places to eat. We walk into a small little café for breakfast. The smell of coffee immediately fills the senses. We order a giant pecan cinnamon roll to start with and then our breakfast meals. I am stuffed by the time we leave. We walk along the pier for a little, so we don’t feel so uncomfortable after everything we just ate. Walking along the few little shops, Anthony receives a phone call, and all I catch is, “We will be right down!”
Turning to me with a big goofy smile on his face, he asks, “Are you ready to go?”
A little confused, I nervously tell him, “Yes!”
We walk down on the dock and stop right next to a decent size boat that is named, Alley-Oop! I stop dead in my tracks. Anthony looks over at me. “What’s the matter? We have to get on the boat for your surprise.”
I shake my head at him. “I can’t get on there. I haven’t been on a boat in a long time because I get motion sickness.” Anthony looks so deflated when I tell him this. He turns and jumps on the boat anyway and disappears. Then, he comes back to where I am standing with an older gentleman walking behind him. “Ashlynn, this is Captain Dave! Nash’s grandpa.”
I say hello to Captain Dave, as Anthony introduced him. “So, Anthony says you get motion sickness on boats? That’s okay, I have techniques that will help control it and some medicines.”
Anthony grabs my hand and I hesitantly follow him onto the boat.
Before we head out into the water, Captain Dave is busy with a few things while he's on the phone with someone else. As I sit down and allow myself to get used to the movement of the water, I notice the subtle motion of the boat, which starts turning my stomach a bit. Closing my eyes and trying to ignore it, I hear a loud thump followed by Nash’s voice! Opening my eyes, I see Nash. He says, “Hope you all don’t mind; I will be along for the ride this morning!”
Coming over to where I am sitting, Nash has his arms wide open and pulls me to my feet for a hug!
“Long time no see, Ashlynn.”
Smiling at him, I say, “Nash, how are you doing? Thank you for letting us stay at your family’s house and using your grandpa for whatever we are doing this morning!”
“The old man enjoys what he is taking you all out to do!”
Right at that moment, his grandpa yells from where he is, “When we are on this boat, it is Captain Dave!” Both Anthony and Nash laugh at his grandpa or Captain Dave!