Page 68 of Feel It All

“No, I love you more, Winry,” Waverley plays along.

“Ha, ha, very funny,” I roll my eyes. “Well, now that this is done, I am heading out. And yes, I’m going to hang out with Graham.”

“I’m shocked, aren’t you Wyla?” Waverley jokes.

“Totally, I mean you guys never see each other.”

“Oh, I almost forgot, I have something for you two.” I pretend to look through my bag, then pull out my hand with the middle finger raised, and they burst out laughing.

Chapter 19

Graham

IhangupwithWinry and roll out of the bed. Whatever she has planned had better involve her being in a swimsuit too. The idea already has me excited, both mentally and physically. I take a quick shower, washing last night’s shift off me. It felt like the longest night ever and we weren’t slow either.

It started with serving a bunch of civil papers that the station has been behind on. Then a car wreck, thankfully with just minor injuries, but it shook the family up pretty good. After we got everyone all cleared, we let the little boy sit in our patrol car and play with the siren to help make him feel better. We had several traffic stops, but most we just let off with a warning, and we finished up the night by going through some paperwork to refresh for upcoming court cases, one being Winry’s. It’s about two weeks away, and I have been reviewing it every chance I get.

Out of the shower, I have to search for a little while to find some swimming trunks. I don’t swim often, so I really have only two pairs, and where I put them is beyond me.

After I find a pair, I throw some clean clothes and shoes in a duffle bag. I grab my phone and see I have another message from my mom with another attempt to get me to talk to her. I called her the morning after Dad came over, and it did not go well. He did call and talk to her about it like he said he would, but she hasn’t budged on giving Winry a chance.

I can’t even get a good reason from her either. All I managed to get is that she is just not the one my mom wants for me. I informed her that it didn’t matter who she wanted for me, it was who I wanted, who made me happy. That meant very little to her, so we haven’t spoken much since then.

I did my best to make Winry feel better about the whole situation, but I know it still bothers her and I hate it. Meeting my dad did repair some of the damage, considering he loved her, but the damage from mom is still there.

A knock comes at my door about five minutes later and Winry beams at me when I answer the door. She looks perfect with her hair pulled back in a clip, a white knit swimsuit cover-up and a black bikini underneath.

“Hey, handsome, want to go on a date with me?” She grabs my hand, pulling me toward her.

I breathe in her peach and honey scent and smile. “With you? Most definitely. Especially if it involves you ditching this thing.” I tug at her cover-up and pull her in for a kiss.

“Well, come on then. I got my bags in my car. You got yours?”

I hold up my bag and close my door, following her to her car. “Where are you taking me that it requires a change of clothes?”

“You’ll see, now hop in.” She winks at me, and we get in her car.

We drive for about twenty minutes and the ocean comes into view. We pull into the parking lot with a sign that reads “public beach access,” and over to the side is a restaurant with a huge deck coming out by the water.

“We are here,” Winry says giddily. We get out of her car and the salty air hits my face. I go the back, where Win has the trunk popped. It looks like she packed her whole house.

“Goodness, Win. Did you leave anything in your apartment?” I laugh.

“Shut up and help me. I packed us a little picnic, but I figured we could do dinner at the restaurant here. Now here, take this bag.” We unload her car and head down toward the beach.

“Right here looks good.” Winry sets down her bag and digs out a big picnic blanket and lays it down. We weigh it down with the other bags and picnic basket then take a seat.

Winry starts to dig through the basket, pulling out some fancy board with meats, cheeses, olives, and cracker all plastic wrapped. Then she pulls out some wine tumblers, a bottle of champagne, and some fruit.

“Goodness, I thought you said a small picnic,” I tease her.

“Hush you, or else I won’t share.” She gives me a little shove and carefully pops the bottle of champagne. She pours us each a glass, and she puts some raspberries in hers. “Cheers, to many more spontaneous dates with you.”

I smile at her, and we clink our glasses. I take a look around at the beach. It’s a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. The water is clear blue, and I’m dying to dive in. The beach isn’t overly crowded thankfully, and there is a volleyball net over to the side.

“So, how was your day?” I ask and take a bite of a strawberry.

“Good, I worked out this morning, helped Wav finish up her classroom…oh, and Wyla finally decided that she wants to be a vet tech,” Winry beams.

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