Page 14 of Promise Me Nothing
He barks out a laugh. “There’s like, ten stories there.”
But he doesn’t elaborate any further, his expression becoming somewhat distant as he stands next to me, looking out over the beach.
As the sun dips lower in the sky, the temperature takes a sudden dip that has me wishing I had on a sweater.
Lucas turns to me. “So, what do you say we get you settled in one of the rooms and then we grab something for dinner? I know you’re tired, but you’ve gotta be hungry.”
I smile just as my stomach gurgles loudly.
We both laugh.
Looking like I don’t really have a choice in the matter.
“Count me in.”
CHAPTER FOUR
Hannah
A short while later, we’re sitting at a place called Bennie’s at the Pier, an upscale brewery with a rooftop bar and a view of the ocean and the Hermosa Pier as it stretches out into the water.
We rode here on bikes along The Strand, the sea breeze snagging tendrils of my hair from the unkempt bun I’ve had up since midway through the bus trip. It took about ten minutes to ride from Lucas’ house to the pier, and was actually pretty fun. It’s been a long time since I’ve ridden a bike, my own disappearing when I went in to the system. I love that I’ll be able to ride around town on two wheels.
Lucas took me out to this little storage area on the side of his house filled with a handful of bikes, a few surfboards, and other beach equipment, and told me I could use anything I wanted. I picked a light blue and pale pink beach cruiser, one of the ones you see on TV that has a basket and wide handlebars. It will be such a great way to get around Hermosa this summer.
I sip my vodka soda, keeping my eyes on the horizon, the sun having set not too long ago. The glow from it still radiates out from where the earth meets the sky.
“The sky just after sunset is my favorite,” Lucas says, drawing my attention over to where he sits, glass of whiskey in-hand. “Most people want to watch the sun dip down, but I prefer how it looks afterwards. Especially when there are just a handful of clouds. It looks different every night.”
“It seems like living at the beach would be magical all the time.”
He shakes his head. “I don’t want to sound like a snob, but it’s definitely not. There are a lot of positives, don’t get me wrong,” he laughs at the disbelieving look on my face. “But there are the negatives, too.”
I squint my eyes at him. “Name three.”
Lucas rubs his hand across his chin. “Putting me on the spot here.” He takes another sip from his drink and then puts it down, leaning forward and considering me before he answers. “Okay. One is that everything is damp all the time. The ocean air is so wet that metal rusts a lot faster. Even paper curls up and gets wrinkly.”
I nod. “Okay, I’ll accept that. Another one.”
He chuckles again. “Alright, everyone sees it as the party spot and not a place where people live, so tourists treat the area like shit and get really loud all the time.”
“Don’t you do that, too?” I ask. “When you have your parties?”
Lucas lifts a shoulder. “I might annoy my neighbors with the partieson occasion,”he emphasizes, “but I definitely don’t litter, and people treat the beach like it’s a trash can.”
I grin. “One more.”
He drops his head back, groaning. A beat goes by before his eyes return to mine. “You got me. That’s all I can come up with.”
“Ha!” I cry out, pointing at him. Then I flush, realizing how loud I was, forgetting myself for a moment.
Lucas just smiles and lifts his menu to peruse.
I lift mine as well, and my stomach bottoms out when I see the prices. What was I thinking, coming here?
My mind starts racing through what I have in the bank and in cash, trying to quickly calculate how much I’ll need to get by until I can manage to find a job. But realistically, I know that eating anything other than the ice cubes in my drink isn’t in the plans for me tonight.
Time to just suck it up and blurt it out, because the cash in my wallet and the little bit in my bank account just cannot allow me to do anything but head to a grocery store and stock up on PB&J and microwave ramen.
