Shelter Read Online Free PDF Page B

We walked out onto the beach, and I was awestruck by the intense beauty of the ocean in the moonlight. My eyes widened, and my jaw went slack.
    “It’s incredible, isn’t it?” he asked, noticing my expression.
    “That doesn’t begin to describe it,” I whispered, barely able to speak.
    The moon was huge and nearly filled the sky beyond the horizon. Its reflection shone over the black sea, sending sparkling moonlight over the waves like millions of glittering diamonds. The air smelled crisp and salty, and I could detect a slight seafood-like scent. It was intoxicating.
    Kai spread out a blanket when we neared the surf. He sat down, and he beckoned me to do the same. The blanket was small, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to be sitting so close to a human, afraid of what I might do. My mother and my brother rarely even saw me sitting so close to them. Still, I didn’t want to seem rude. I sat beside him, pulling my knees up in front of my and wrapping my arms around them – a kind of protective mechanism, I guess.
    Kai stretched his legs out, letting his feet rest in the sand. A breeze picked up, and I noticed Kai’s long hair fluttering around his face out of the corner of my eye. I was starting to become a little annoyed with myself. I had to admit, I was a little attracted to him.
    Okay, in truth I was intensely attracted to him. Not only was he beautiful, but there was something so captivating about his personality. He wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met, though admittedly I’d actually met very few people. Were all humans so interesting? No. Van and Zach certainly weren’t.
    “Do you come here often?” I asked him.
    “Only at night,” he answered.
    “Why only at night?” I quizzed him curiously.
    “It’s the only time you can see the moon on the water like this,” he replied. “Plus, I don’t like the crowds that are here in the daytime. At night, there are usually very few people around.”
    That made sense. I hated crowds, too. This seemed much more peaceful than a whole beach full of screaming kids and sun-tanning folks. It was nice. I was sad that I had never been before.
    “I like it,” I whispered.
    “What?” Kai asked.
    “This place,” I answered. “It’s amazing.”
    “Yeah,” Kai agreed.
    It must have been at least twenty minutes before either of us spoke again. We just sat and listened to the roar of the waves crashing against the shore, watching the moonlight sparkle on the surf, and feeling the ocean breeze through our hair. I finally became comfortable enough to stretch out my legs, and I loved the way the sand felt between my toes.
    Suddenly, my tummy growled. That was a terribly inopportune time for it to happen, because I was really enjoying the moment. The sound of my stomach grumbling in hunger was not only disturbing – it was a little embarrassing.
    “Are you hungry?” he asked.
    “I am,” I admitted, hanging my head in shame. I couldn’t tell him what it was I really wanted to eat.
    “Me, too,” he said. “Why don’t we head back to my place and grab something to eat?”
    I frowned. I didn’t like the thought of leaving this wondrous place and going back to that noisy party.
    “We don’t have to go inside,” he said. “I have snacks in the shed.”
    “Oh, thank goodness,” I breathed a sigh of relief.
    We were both pretty quiet on the way back to Kai’s house. On the way, I began to wonder about the story regarding my father’s death. It hadn’t even occurred to me all night that my mother had just told me hours earlier that my father had died at Kai’s house. Suddenly, it was all I could think of.
    “What’s wrong?” Kai asked, apparently picking up on my change in mood.
    “Nothing,” I lied.
    I turned my head to look out the car window. I watched buildings flash by as we drove – a welcome distraction from my curiosity. Kai must have sensed my discomfort, so he switched on the stereo. He had an MP3 player hooked up, and while we were stopped at