Page 38 of Kayak Girl

As the day progressed, I noticed how Becky tried her best to connect with Weston. She told him jokes, asked him questions, and engaged him in conversation. Despite her best efforts, Weston remained distant and somewhat rude. He was being so stand-offish. Poor Becks.

During a break, I found myself alone with Becky, and I couldn’t resist fussing over her. “Are you enjoying yourself? Have you had enough to eat? Do you need anything?” I asked, bombarding her with questions.

Becky laughed and touched my arm. “Elle, I’m an adult now. You don’t have to take care of me anymore. I can handle myself,” she reminded me, her eyes twinkling with affection. “Besides, I can see how happy you are here, and it’s all I could ever want for you.”

I smiled, a mixture of relief and thankfulness flooding my system. “Thank you, Becks. I am happy.”

Later that evening, we all gathered around the fire, roasting marshmallows, and sharing stories about the day with the kids. Becky playfully nudged Weston, trying to include him in the conversation. “So, Weston, what’s your favorite color?”

Weston shifted uncomfortably and replied tersely, “I don’t have a favorite.”

Becky, with undimmed enthusiasm, continued to engage Weston, her warm smile never fading. It was evident that she genuinely cared about becoming his friend. But as much as Becky tried, Weston remained guarded and aloof. If I’m honest, I kind of hoped that she’d be able to get him to loosen up, then maybe he wouldn’t be so against me.

I never thought I’d see my sister’s endless supply of kindness run dry, but Weston pushed her to the limit. By the time I said goodbye to Becky on Friday afternoon, she only had negative things to say about him. Oh well.

I had just gotten showered and was ready to leave. Gray was taking me to dinner and then we were going to watch a movie at his place. I’d put on a small amount of makeup. Nothing close to Brenda’s levels. I wore my favorite flowy blue dress and sat on my bed as I waited for him to fetch me.

Three knocks sounded on the door, and I jumped up to greet him. “Hello gorgeous,” Gray said when I opened the door.

I blushed and popped up on my toes to place a quick kiss on his cheek. I held onto his arm and bounced around. It was bordering on pathetic how excited I was for this date.

“Ready to go?”

“Yes,” I said. I pulled my door shut and locked it.

“This way,” Gray said, directing me towards his Jeep.

Gray took us to a cozy restaurant about thirty minutes from the hostel. He said the restaurant was a favorite with locals because it had great food and tourists were not willing to drive that far. I didn’t complain about the drive because Gray kept his hand on me almost the whole time. Either on my leg or holding my hand.

Once we were seated in the restaurant, I found myself distracted by watching Gray interact with the waiter. His kindness was effortless, his humor natural, and there was something undeniably endearing in the way he spoke. With our orders written down, the waiter left and Gray gave me his undivided attention.

As the candlelight danced across his features, casting a warm, golden hue on his face, he leaned in. “Now that we’re officially on our first date, I have to tell you officially, you look stunning in that dress.”

I beamed with delight, feeling the soft fabric of the dress against my skin. “Why thank you. You clean up pretty well yourself,” I said, admiring how his shirt hugged his shoulders just right.

He chuckled and I soaked up his adoring gaze. “You know, when you wore that dress the first time you came to church, I thought you were a figment of my imagination. You had been on my mind since the day before, and suddenly there you were, right in front of me.”

Curiosity piqued, I titled my head to the side and rested my chin on my hand. “And yet you didn’t seem the least bit confused. You seemed so confident.”

“That’s because I had a few precious seconds to compose myself before you locked eyes with me,” he confessed.

“I did not lock eyes with you,” I protested.

“Oh yes, you did,” he countered, his grin widening.

“Okay, maybe I kind of did,” I admitted, unable to suppress a giggle. “But only because I wanted to out-stare you. And for the record, I won. You looked away first.”

He leaned back, the light reflecting off his eyes, making them sparkle. “Yes, because I was so overwhelmed by the connection I felt with you. Besides, I made up for looking away by chasing you down in the parking lot.”

I felt my cheeks warm at his words. “True.”

“Guess what I purchased today?” he asked.

“What?”

“Let me show you,” he said, mischief in his eyes. He fumbled with his phone for a moment before finding the picture he was looking for. He held it out to me with a triumphant grin.

I leaned in closer, squinting at the screen. “Is that a ridiculous amount of sunscreen?” I asked, unable to suppress a laugh.

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