Page 45 of Dear Adam
Pretzel, also excited to see him, flies out from her spot under the workbench and paws at his leg before rolling over onto her back. He bends down and scratches her belly before straightening to face me.
“Do you have plans this evening?” Levi asks. Behind me, Emma stands at the cash register, pretending to count the till. Little does she know, I’m fully aware she’s “counted” the same stack three times.
I consider his question with a tap on my chin. I can admit I have zero plans and go out with this incredibly attractive man, or I can play it cool.
“Did you have something in mind?” I say, proud of myself for not sounding too eager.
“I wanted to see if you’d like to go on a boat ride with me this evening? We can watch the sunset.” A grin spreads across my face at the way his cheeks flush.
“I’d love that,” I reply. “Are the dogs coming, too?” He nods then reaches for my hand, giving it a squeeze before he promises to pick me up at closing and turns to leave. I watch him walk away, gaze lingering a little too long on the way his jeans mold to his backside.
I float through the rest of the day, barely able to focus on getting our orders arranged, my mind occupied completely with thoughts of Levi and our date tonight. I feel like I’m in high school again, all day dreams and blushes for the boy I have a crush on.
The day passes slowly, and Emma is no help, taking every opportunity to make fun of what I’m sure is a starry look in my eyes.
Finally, though, it’s the end of the day, and a thrill shoots through my body when Levi pulls up right as I’m flipping the sign fromopentoclosed.
He unfolds himself from the Mini Cooper, the sheer manliness of him completely at odds with the femininity of the Teenie Mobile. It’s a study in contrasts, but a testament to how confident Levi is that he doesn’t let this turquoise vehicle take away from that.
Emma and I step onto the sidewalk, and I lock the door behind us, then turn to face Levi.
“Have fun, you two,” she says with a wink.
Levi smirks at me. “Did you tell her about last night?”
My smile in response is shy, blush creeping into my cheeks. “I might have mentioned it.”
His grin grows. “All good things, I hope.”
Deciding to mess with him, I say, “Nope. I told her you’re a terrible kisser and your breath is atrocious.”
He gasps, then pulls back and covers his mouth with a hand.
I chuckle at his response. “I’m just kidding, obviously.”
He pretends to wipe at a bead of sweat along his brow and lets out a pent up exhale. “You ready?” he says, walking to the passenger door of the Teenie Mobile and opening it for me.
I get in, and off we go.
A short ride later, we arrive at the Middleton’s. When we get out of the car, Levi goes around back and pulls a basket from the trunk. I raise my eyebrows suspiciously, and he gives me a coy smile in return. “You’ll see.”
When he stretches out his hand, I don’t hesitate to curl my fingers around his. It’s a gorgeous evening but despite the warm breeze blowing off the water, my arms erupt in goosebumps when our hands come together. He leads me onto his family’s boat and I follow the dogs on, taking a seat at the bow while he easily maneuvers it away from the dock and into open water.
It’s my favorite time of day during the summer when we finally pull up to a stretch of secluded, sandy beach. When the sun sinks low into the sky, casting everything into a golden hue, life feels a little easier and full of promise.
Levi takes my hand and helps me from the boat, and we wade to shore. He spreads a worn quilt on the sand and drops a picnic basket atop it. The dogs have swam ashore, and are happily running around the empty beach, chasing seagulls and playing tug-of-war with a piece of driftwood that has floated in.
Levi drops onto the quilt and pats the space next to him.
“Close your eyes!” he says after I’ve taken a seat, and I do as I’m told, giggling when he warns me not to peek. Finally, he tells me I can open them, and when I do, I take in the mouth-watering view of not only two buttery lobster rolls, but him, standing there wide-eyed and eager. I’m not sure which looks more delicious.
“Did you make these?” I ask.
“I did not, and I told Glenda you would absolutely know but she still insisted I take them out of the containers anyway,” Levi blushes.
“Glenda helped you?” I ask.
“Against my will,” he snorts, then pulls out two solo cups from the basket and fills them with sweet tea. “Ididmake the sweet tea, though. Unless it’s terrible. In that case, it was Glenda.”
