Page 120 of Promise Me Nothing
My cheeks pink slightly.
“No one I’m related to would take all of the time to read the manual first.”
“Well, my patience is definitely something I got from my mom,” I reply, crawling to my feet, cringing when I realize my right foot has fallen asleep.
“Have you fiddled around with it enough yet so we can take it out and shoot some photos?”
I nod, my face covered in nothing but happiness.
“Let’s walk down to Mary’s to get some morning drinks, and you can take pictures of everything we see.”
“That sounds so fantastic.”
We wander down The Strand as I test out the camera. I play around with the digital settings and try new exposures. There’s an expression I’ve heard before, being like a kid in a candy store. I’ve always understood the concept, but having never been a child in a candy store, I never felt like Ireallygot it.
Until today.
This feels like the first moment I’ve really understood what that meant. There’s just so many things I want to do and try with this camera, that I don’t even know where to start.
“You work tonight, right?” he asks, taking a sip of his coffee as he follows me down The Strand.
I nod.
“Tomorrow, I need to head up to Downtown LA to handle some stuff with my mom and our lawyer.” He shrugs, like it’s an everyday occurrence that most people would understand. “Do you want me to invite her here after? We could all have dinner.”
My eyes widen, behind my lens as I’m attempting to capture a shot of a bird on the wall that divides The Strand from the beach.
Lucas laughs at my reaction.
I step over next to where he stands, leaning against the half wall dividing the pathway from the beach.
He hands me my tea and I take a sip, thinking it over.
“Is it okay if I tell you I’m not ready?” I ask, not wanting to be rude, but also not sure if it’s the right timing yet.
He rubs his face, though I can tell he’s hiding a smile.
“I do want to meet her, I swear. But I just need a little more time.” I sigh. “I have to get over a few things before I cannotsee her a certain way. And she’s your mom. I want to care about her the wayyoucare about her.”
Something soft comes across Lucas’ face but he turns away before I can really understand what it means. “Not a problem.”
He takes back my tea and we walk for a few more minutes, the sound of my camera shutter clicking softly as I continue to take photos.
“I’ll just make sure to tell her you don’t want to meet her yet.”
I turn and glare at him, seeing his teasing smile. “Stop it, or I’ll chuck this at your face right now.”
When I get off work that night, I have a text waiting for me from Wyatt.
A little happy fairy does a dance in my mind.
After our weird interaction last night, I was worried. I couldn’t shake off this strange feeling and I wasn’t sure what to expect. So hearing from him is exactly what I need.
Hopefully he was just in a funk and everything is back to normal.
Wyatt: Hey. Plans today and tomorrow?
I grin, shooting off something small in reply.
