Rhythm Read Online Free PDF Page B

for your surprises. Besides, I want
to keep ‘em coming.” I wink. I wink? For real? I attempt to
compose myself, but hearing him chuckle with what I did, I let
loose. I chuckle with him.
    “We’re here.” He turns off the ignition, gets
down, crosses the truck, opens my door, and assists me in getting
out of his truck.
    “Seriously, Grant. I can do it on my
own.”
    “I know, but let me serve you even with
simple gestures such as this.” His smile never wavers while saying
those sweet words. Can it get better than this? I don’t know if I
can take his sweetness. You know, I might die of diabetes.
    “Okay, thank you.” I smile at him.
    “You are most welcome, my thank you
girl.”
    It took me a moment to realize where we are.
“Grant?”
    “Yes, my love?”
    “Where are we? Yes, I know where we are, but
. . . why did you bring me here? I thought . . .”
    “You thought what?” There is concern in his
voice, which I don’t intend to put there. Nice, Rhythm. What
happened to his thank you girl?
    “Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it here. In
fact, I love it!” I take a moment to let this surprise sink in.
“The view took my breath away, and I’m having a hard time to grasp
everything that I see. It’s just our first week, but it seems it’s
our tenth year. You never fail to amaze me, Grant.” The tears are
threatening to fall, but I manage to convince them to behave
themselves.
    “You have me worried there for a bit, Rip.”
His smile is back. “I didn’t know you have a thing for cliffs.”
    “For one, I have a thing for simple things
like nature. I appreciate man-made awesome things like Eiffel
Tower, but nature . . . it’s . . . breath-taking.” I am in a
dreamlike state as I indulge myself with this 1st weeksary surprise
Grant prepared for me.
    A cliff is a surefire in bringing out the
exuberance in me. I have an obsession with it for as long as I can
remember. Ironically, it makes me feel safe. Instead of feeling
afraid that I might fall, I feel euphoric about the possibility of
falling, but that’s not to say I am suicidal. I just like the
sensation of what falling gives me. You know, the feeling
that your heart is like being ripped out and you can’t think about
anything but to scream at the top of your lungs just to remind
yourself that you’re still breathing, that you’re still alive. What
I like best is the part where I can’t think of anything
else—problems, past, pain—but falling . Cliffs remind me to
be carefree but not to the point of being careless.
    “What’s for two?”
    “What do you mean?”
    “You said, “For one.” Now, what’s the second
thing you have in mind?”
    “Oh. I have a thing for dates that aren’t
pretentious, like eat in a fancy restaurant where you won’t be able
to really eat. So, this is the best place for our first
week. Thank you, Grant.”
    “I’ve been counting, you know.”
    “Counting what?” I ask, intrigued.
    “The times you say your two favorite
words—thank and you.”
    “Well, how many of them have I said?”
    “Mmm . . . honestly?”
    “Yes, honestly.”
    He sniggers. “I lost count. You say them too
much.”
    “Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”
    “Good. Of course, it’s good,” he says while
lost in his thought.
    “Penny for your thoughts?”
    “When did you start becoming so
thankful?”
    “I honestly do not know I am that thankful
until you told me. Maybe I wasn’t that thankful, until you.”
    “Really? What made you say that?”
    “Because, Lola never mentioned it to me. And
if you haven’t noticed it yet, if I’m not with you, I’m with her
and vice versa. Get the picture? You’re the only two people I spend
my time with.”
    “Yeah, about that . . .” he stalls. “Where’s
your family?”
    We’ve known each other for a year, but the getting-to-know-you part is just beginning. Sure, I know
some things about him and vice versa, but we haven’t crossed the
line talking about family stuff.