Page 65 of The Mistakes I've Made
Now, it was my brow that rose…and waggled. She laughed out loud.
“That’s definitely breaking the rules,” she warned.
“You’re no fun.”
“You’re the one who made them up,” she replied with a shrug.
I know,I thought, remembering just how tight that bikini top had been while stretched over those perky breasts of hers.Don’t remind me.
To prove to her just how good my cooking skills were, I popped open the cooler and began pulling things out.
When her eyes widened, I realized I might have gone a little overboard.
Okay, I probably should have realized that late last night when I had lost sleep, cooking for a girl I was convinced was no more than a friend.
Yeah, I definitely had it bad.
“You made all of this?” she exclaimed as I pulled out homemade chicken salad, rolls, several side dishes, and of course, dessert.
“I like to cook,” I simply said.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know, I am a girl who likes to eat.”
“Thank God.” I laughed.
We both dug in, and I felt a distinct sense of pride as I watched her sink her teeth into the food I’d made especially for her. I rarely cooked for other people, aside from my brother’s early morning visits, and it was nice to feel appreciated and see the joy in someone else’s eyes.
Or maybe just hers.
We ate in comfortable silence for a time, enjoying the warm afternoon sun and each other’s company.
Nothing was hurried or rushed, just like a day at the beach was supposed to be.
“I would have never guessed you were such an amazing cook,” Leilani finally said, nibbling on a brownie. “What are some other random facts about you that I might not know?”
“Well, let me think,” I said, leaning back on my elbows. “I was a scrawny kid. Bet you didn’t know that.”
She laughed. “No way.”
“Yep.” I grinned. “Smallest kid in my kindergarten class. But there were only three of us, so it wasn’t great odds, but I was still pretty small. I didn’t fill out until middle school.”
“Only three? That’s crazy.” She briefly paused, probably trying to visualize a class size that small. Finally, she spoke up again, “Give me another.”
“Okay,” I agreed, turning toward her. “I guess this one might be hard to believe, given my love for my town, but up until a few years ago, my plan was to eventually leave Ocracoke.”
“Really? Why?”
“You heard the part about three kids being in my kindergarten class?”
She giggled.
“Seriously though, I just wanted to be somewhere different—or so I thought. I thought there was something missing, like I was—”
“Waiting for your life to start?”
Our eyes met.
“Yeah.”
