Page 89 of The Chemistry of Us

I smiled down at my feet. “Yeah, feels like it. Wouldn’t be us if something crazy didn’t happen.”

We started walking down the boardwalk toward the restaurant.

Vaughan reached for my hand and didn’t let go. “Remember the beach tent incident?”

“Sand everywhere.” I sighed. “And Sandy going crazy.”

“Yeah, Sandy. Still crazy?” he asked.

“Yup.”

“Just like my dad. At least we can agree on that. Think they’re still screwing?” he asked. “Not that I want details.”

“I think…” He squeezed my hand and pulled me closer to him. Butterflies exploded in my stomach. “That they’re stilltogether. Otherwise, she’d be even harder to deal with. Plus, you know Mark, her husband, he has his own side piece. Apparently, it works, and love is dead.”

“Maybe to them,” Vaughan said. “But they’re entitled idiots with too much free time, no offense.”

“None taken.”

“Am I entitled still, you think?”

I smirked up at him. “The fact that you have to ask that says enough.”

His face fell.

“But,” I added, “the fact that you’re aware of it means that you don’t want to be. You just can’t help it, and that’s good because it means you're self-aware.”

“I think you just gave me a compliment.”

“The beach makes me sappy.”

“Ah, I see.” We were almost at the little dock with all the restaurants. “Maybe that was the key all along, getting tutored on the beach so you don’t build a shank and or cut my dick off.”

“You can build shanks anywhere. I’d find a shell.”

“Part of me feels like that would hurt worse than a knife.”

“Shells are very sharp. Imagine the bacteria.”

“Whoa, okay,Dateline, settle down.” He released my hand, then wrapped an arm around me. It was so casual, so normal that I didn’t even realize we were walking like that until we passed a store and I looked at our reflection. To anyone on the outside, we looked like a couple. And not just any couple but a happy couple.

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

If only we could go back to the past and communicate or tell each other to put down the very firearms given to us by our parents and weaponized by them at the same time.

“Two,” Vaughan called out to the server. “And can we be on the water?”

“One table left.” She grinned. “You guys out celebrating anything?”

My heart sank to my feet.

“Actually, yes,” Vaughan said. “You see, I forgot her birthday last week and treated her like shit, so I’m trying to make up for it starting with hamburgers, followed by drinks, some fries, more drinks, and most likely ice cream. You think you guys can come sing later too?”

“Of course.” She looked ready to swoon. “That’s just, wow, what a self-aware man. Keep him.” She winked at me. I felt hot all over when I sat down. I expected him to sit across from me. Instead, he sat right next to me.

“What are you doing?”

He just shrugged and said, “Staying by your side since I failed to do that last week. Is that okay?”

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