I wait for her out in the back of the Seaside Inn. I borrowed Jimmy’s car for today. A bike definitely wouldn’t work. I pop the cap of a soda and guzzle it in the midday sun.
I keep glancing at the door, not even sure if she’ll walk out of it. I texted her with the time but maybe she’s more pissed off than I realize. Why am I nervous? I shouldn’t care what a girl thinks.
Then the door opens and she seems to float outside. Her shorts leave her legs exposed. God, they’re gorgeous. I take in the rest of her. For some reason, I see past her hot body, past my desire. I see her. The joy behind her smile. My insides dance at the sight. A giddy feeling rises up and I feel like a fucking schoolboy. Crushing on the new girl.
I smile. “About time.” I tap my wrist, joking. “Way to keep a boy waiting.”
“Sorry. You know. Restaurant stuff.” She walks past me to the passenger side.
My warmth at seeing her freezes over with her crisp words. She is upset at how I left the other night. I don’t blame her. I’ll have to win her over and I’m up for the challenge. I climb in and start toward a lesser-known beach a few towns south.
As we drive further away, she’s searching the landmarks, trying to figure out what I have planned.
“Don’t even try.” She’ll never guess.
She gives me a cold sideways glance. “No clue what you’re talking about. Just taking in the new scenery.”
Bullshit. She’s so curious it’s spilling out her ears. “Where do you think we’re going?”
“I don’t know, Chad. You tell me.”
“You’ll have to wait and see.” I can’t help but ask myself the same question, where are we headed? We made a deal to help each other out, but as each day passes and we spend more time together, our relationship, whatever we are, gets more complicated. And the lies pile up.
I decide to ignore her real question. I have a feeling she didn’t really want it answered anyway. “I’ll just say it’s not your typical date.”
“You going to show me all the creative places I could have sex?” She hints back to my truth or dare question.
“Well, we could make a change of plans if that’s what you want.” She’s got to stop staying stuff like that or my willpower and self-control when it comes to her won’t last. I promised myself to show her she was different, that she wasn’t just the new girl of the month. That means hands off.
“No. Really. I was joking.” Her look could freeze water on a hot summer day before she turns toward the window, away from me.
I guess I screwed up more than I thought. The whole experience I have planned for her won’t work if she’s mad. If this was any other girl, I’d get pissed. I’d curse and ask what the hell her problem is, but the normal rage that pushes me to be a dick isn’t there. Katie has that effect on me. That should scare the hell out of me and send me running, but she always draws me back.
It also makes me want to be different. For her. To shatter the reputation I’ve made for myself and do something totally crazy. I pull over to the side of the road between towns. There’s nothing around except marshes and scattered beach houses.
“What are you doing?” she asks, tensing.
I skid to a stop in the dirt. Clouds of it rise around us then drift away with the breeze. “I know you’re mad.”
“Yes, I am.”
“I shouldn’t have taken off the other night so fast without at least offering you some kind of explanation.”
Her eyes capture mine, and for the first time, her face softens. “Was I too boring for you?”
I’m shocked. For the first time, I see past her desire to break free and be more exciting. She thinks she’s boring. She thinks guys won’t like her this way. Maybe she’s tired of losing guys to other girls.
I take her hand and can’t believe the words spilling out my mouth. “You’re the most exciting thing to happen in my life. The last thing you are is boring. If guys haven’t seen that in the past, then they just weren’t meant for you and they definitely weren’t good enough for you.”
A light pink fills her cheeks and she can’t hold my gaze. “Oh.”
I let go of her hand and get back on the road. Did I just infer that I was the right guy for her? That I was meant for her? Instead of the normal panicked fear I feel when a relationship gets serious I feel light and free. This girl has no idea what she does to me.
We ride the rest of the way in silence until I pull into a dirt parking lot with nothing but the ocean in front of us and a few high-rise condos to the right. “You ready?”