Page 234 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol. 9
"No." He laughed. "To feel broken. To be cheated on. All of it. I get why you ran out on me the other night. It takes time to trust people again after that."
I liked the feeling of his hand in mine. It was so nice having someone listen to me. But the fact that he understood made it even better. "Do you mind me asking what happened?"
He shrugged. "It was a long time ago. My high school girlfriend and I decided to stay together after graduation even though we were going to different schools. She cheated on me the first semester we were apart. I think you learn a lot from shitty stuff like that. I learned that long distance relationships don't work. I'll never try to do one again. And I guess from yours, you learned that you shouldn't date assholes." He smiled down at me.
"Yeah." I looked out back toward the water. He doesn't do long distance relationships.So why did he ask me on a date in the first place? And why is he holding my hand right now?I snuck a sideways glance at him. Maybe he was just being nice. It didn't matter either way though. I really wasn't ready to date again. But I could use a friend. "So now you know all about me, even down to my most humiliating moment.” I pulled my hand away from him, ignoring the fact that my whole body suddenly felt cold. “What's your story?"
He shrugged. “I have a younger brother. My parents are still together. I'm boring. I've always done everything I was expected to do. And that's why I'm here this summer. I feel like this is the last time I'm going to know what it feels like to make my own choices."
"Your job can't be all that bad."
"I just have to sit there all day behind a computer screen. The whole day will be gone by the time I get home. I like to beoutside. I don't want to forget what it feels like to have the sun on my skin. I'm dreading it. I feel like my life is ending." He laughed. "Now I'm the one being dramatic."
I smiled at him.
"Maybe I should think of this summer more like you do. I need to figure some things out too. And every day my mom keeps bugging me, reminding me that I need to get some work-appropriate clothes. I don't even know where to go for something like that."
"I can come with you if you want. There are some outlets really close. It'll be fun."
"Actually, that would be really great. What are you doing tomorrow?"
"I'm a weirdo with no friends. What do you think I'm doing? Just kidding, I do have friends. Well, one friend here. The girl I mentioned the other night does actually exist."
He laughed. "I never doubted that she did.”
“Oh.” Drunken me was great at jumping to conclusions. “Good.”
His smile was contagious. “So, do you want to go tomorrow?"
"Sure. I need to buy a few books anyway, so it'll be good to go shopping."
"What wasMade of Steelabout?" He gave me a mischievous smile. He must have heard about it. Everyone had heard about it.
"It's a romance. It's just a really sweet story."
"Mhm."
"Clearly you already know what it's about. And I didn't finish it. I haven't exactly been in a romantic mood this past week."
"Well, maybe you can finish reading it now."
His sentence hung in the air. He had a new job starting in the fall. And I'd be flying back to California. But he was still flirting with me. Or maybe he was just being funny.
Regardless of his intentions, I found myself wanting to be flirtatious back. He had called me a sexy weird girl earlier. Compliments were nice, even if they were only half nice. And his words had given me a surge of confidence. It felt like ages since someone looked at me the way he was looking at me. I stood up and pulled off my tank top.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I haven't been in the ocean in a week. I need to be wet."
He started laughing really hard.
Why did I choose that phrase?A normal person would have said they wanted to go in the water. I decided silence was thebest response. If I explained myself it would just end up getting worse. I was the queen of word vomit when I was around him.
Finally he spoke again. "But it's getting dark. Aren't sharks out at night?"
"I don't know, you're the lifeguard."
"I'm pretty sure they feed at night. And I'm worried that they might be as attracted to you as jellyfish are."
