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They’d hit California proper about 2:30 that afternoon, and for the last two hours Rachel had felt more comfortable and relaxed than she had in almost five years. It was ridiculous, she knew; if it hadn’t been for the sign she would never have been able to tell they’d passed from southern Oregon into NorCal, but still… it made a difference. It felt like freedom. At last, at long fucking last, they’d made it. They were out.
At Rachel’s insistence (not that Chloe had really argued), they were taking the 101 down at least as far as San Francisco. It was slower, but the drive was incredibly beautiful, the weather was fucking perfect, and she had barely taken her eyes off of the view through the passenger-side window since they stopped for lunch. The way the highway played peekaboo with the ocean, the smell of the salt air she caught through the rolled-down window, the endless waves rolling off to the horizon… Breathtaking. Just breathtaking.
She could have seen all of that in Oregon, of course. It’s not like Arcadia Bay didn’t have beautiful views out across the ocean. She’d been up to the lighthouse more than once with Chloe or with the high school kids for a party. The salt air had been there too, but it had felt… heavier. Cloying. Saturated with the weight of Arcadia Bay itself. But now, the weight was gone, and she could just take it in.
The sun was starting to drop down toward that distant blue-grey horizon now, glittering golden flecks spilling across the wave crests. It would be dark before they reached San Francisco, probably, and they’d have to find a motel somewhere. Preferably on the far side of the Bay Area; anything in town would cut way more into their meager cash than she’d like. She was going to drive tomorrow, she was going to make Chloe let her drive tomorrow, but for now, she was willing to let her girlfriend be possessive of her semi-stolen and totally-loved POS pickup. Because Rachel wanted to look out at the ocean.
At the other end of the bench seat, Chloe was smoking, but to Rachel’s surprise, it was only her second of the day. Normally Chloe smoked like a chimney when she was nervous, so the slow pace either meant something was off or… she felt it too. This wasn’t something to be nervous about. This was something to celebrate. The chains had fallen away.
“You’re gonna have to teach me to surf,” Chloe said out of nowhere, and Rachel turned to look at her for the first time in a while. Not that she didn’t love to look at Chloe too. In fact, for a long time, Chloe was the only thing that felt like freedom at all. The only moments when the weight was any lighter were when she and Chloe were together. But she’d had plenty of time to see Chloe before and would have plenty more, but this? This homecoming? One time event.
“Are you seriously telling me you’ve lived on the West Coast for your entire life and never learned to surf?” Rachel asked, putting up an eyebrow. “Chloe Price, you have achieved something I would never have thought possible. You’ve disappointed me.”
“Ouch,” laughed Chloe. “When did you get to be so fucking judgmental?”
“Day I was born, my love. Just normally I’m not tragically required to lay my judging eyes upon you.”
“Of course I never learned to surf. The bay has no breakers and the water’s cold as fuck. Besides, there’s always, like, a million fucking fishing trawlers out there. I try not to skate through rush hour traffic too.”
“Well,” Rachel announced, “you are absolutely correct then. I categorically refuse to date someone who cannot surf. The only reason we’re not breaking up this very instant is because I am formally taking you as my apprentice. Lessons will begin as soon as they are feasible and progress will be marked accordingly.”
“You’re planning to grade me?” snorted Chloe. “That’s always turned out well for everyone else.”
“You misunderstand,” said Rachel, suppressing her grin. “Certain benchmarks of competence must be reached in order to regain access to certain areas of my person.”
That got Chloe’s attention. “You did not just say that.”
“Watch the road,” said Rachel firmly. “And yes, I’m afraid so. These rules are strict but fair.”
“Oh, no no no no,” said Chloe, her eyes flashing. “I didn’t agree to any such apprenticeship. And two can play at that game. If I can’t touch you, then you won’t be allowed to touch me either.”
Rachel stopped trying to hide her smile, leaning closer and pressing herself up against Chloe’s side. “But Chloe… you like it when I touch you, remember?”
Rachel heard Chloe’s breath hitch a little, but she did keep her eyes on the road this time. Rachel pressed a kiss into Chloe’s shoulder, then another into the side of her neck. She was getting dangerously close to just outright climbing into Chloe’s lap, which - though it wouldn’t have been the first time - really wasn’t a good idea when they were doing 60 along a notoriously winding highway.
“I seem to recall,” Chloe replied, her voice just slightly higher than usual, “that you like it when I touch you too.”
Rachel stopped then, and made a show of pouting. “Damn. You’re right. Well… I suppose skateboards did develop from surfing originally. Perhaps a certain amount of credit could transfer.”
“You’re making it hella hard to stay focused on my driving, Rach,” Chloe said, flicking her a glance. “Giving me way too many ideas about places I know you like to be touched.”
Rachel smiled, satisfied, and slid back over to her proper side of the seat. “Good. When we stop for the night, I expect you to put every last one of those ideas into practice, and if you’re thinking about them now, there won’t be any delays. I don’t like to be kept waiting.”
“As if I hadn’t already figured that out,” chuckled Chloe, and Rachel’s smile got wider.
The forest around them was getting thicker, the trees taller, making the ocean views less frequent. Rachel was much more a palm tree girl, but the redwoods were too magnificent for her to be unaffected by them. Still, when she saw an exit marked for an actual beach she asked Chloe to take it, and just a few minutes later, they were pulling up into a small sandy parking lot along a mostly-deserted stretch of coastline.
The mid-March day was warm and sunny, but the sand and the water both were still holding onto their winter chill. It didn’t matter, though. The instant Rachel’s foot hit the beach, something deep in her blood thrummed with relief. Home. She ran pell-mell for the water, crossing sand and rocks alike until the waves were swirling around her ankles. She closed her eyes, threw out her arms, and turned her face toward the sun. “I’m back, bitches!” she shouted, giving the world fair warning, and on some level, she knew it heard.
After a long moment she opened her eyes and turned back toward Chloe. The taller girl was standing at the edge of the sand, right where the tide was peaking, watching her. She had on her usual tank top and jeans, with the dark brown flannel shirt and its rolled-up sleeves, looking every bit the punk she was, but not at all like a creature of the sand and sea, the creature Rachel embodied at that moment. Chloe was watching her with a broad, absolutely adoring smile, but something in her eyes made Rachel realize something she hadn’t really been processing before.
She was coming home. Chloe was leaving hers.
Never mind that Chloe desperately wanted to leave. Never mind that home had, for years, been a place only remarkable for the pain it caused her, the losses she’d suffered there. Rachel strongly suspected that Chloe’s relationship with Arcadia Bay was a lot like her own relationship with her father. No matter how badly they’d been hurt by these things in their lives, they couldn’t help loving them a little despite it.
Rachel was coming home, and in that moment, she made a silent promise to herself and to Chloe both: Chloe would find a home there too. No matter what it took, Rachel would see that happen.
She splashed back over to her beautiful, fearless, indomitable lover, threw her arms around her, and drew her down for a kiss. “I’m going to teach you to surf,” she said, speaking mostly into Chloe’s collarbone as they held each other, “and so much more. I’m going to teach you to love this place the way I do.”
“I don’t need to love it,” Chloe said, stroking her hair. “I love you.”
Rachel shook her head. “No,” she said, “I know you. You won’t be happy until you’ve been cleansed of Arcadia Bay entirely. I’m going to teach you how to forget the lighthouse and just look for the sun.”
Chloe’s arms tightened around her, and for several long minutes, they just stood there, letting the afternoon sun warm them and the sea spray swirl around them. Rachel could feel Chloe’s heart beating against her own and somehow it blended into the sound of the waves too, all three pulsing together.
Finally she pulled back, taking Chloe’s hand. “Come on,” she said, “I want to get as far south as we can tonight before we find that motel and I let you ravish me.” Chloe laughed and let herself be pulled back to the truck. In a few minutes they were back on the highway, following the coastline toward LA and their future.