“I kind of don’t have a dad.” Oh no, oh no, oh no! I couldn’t believe I just let that out. I was busy breathing in the last of the salty air, and my brain must have clouded over momentarily.
“What about your mom? I don’t want her to think I’m a bad influence on you. That is if you’ve ever even mentioned me to her.” His voice got tight at the end of his last sentence.
My feet got pins and needles. I was sure he could hear my frantic heartbeat because it was deafening in my ears. I couldn’t mention my mom. I just… I just couldn’t. So I deflected the question. “What’s your mom gonna say?”
He grinned. “She told me I should take you to see the sunset.”
I bit my bottom lip and had to look out the window so he wouldn’t see my smile.
After we parked in my driveway, he walked me to my doorstep. I thanked him for a fun day. The late afternoon sun was shining on his face, and his eyes had specks of gold in them I had never noticed before. We both seamlessly moved in for a hug. His arms felt warm and strong wrapped around me. My armor of defenses felt like they were crumbling under the weight of his sincerity. When I peeled myself back from him slightly we ended up standing almost toe-to-toe.
“Can I… try something?” he asked.
I was staring at his chin again; I was afraid to look in his eyes for fear that the gold flecks would entrap me. “Okay.” My voice sounded like a younger version of me, quiet and unsure.
Then I felt his hand under my chin, and he tilted my head up toward his before his lips slowly found their way to mine. His mouth was soft, and the kiss was gentle. If I was a microwaved piece of apple pie, he was the cool scoop of ice cream on top. And his lips melted into mine.
Chapter Thirteen
As I organized the sales rack at Denim I still felt a bit dreamy. Since I had skipped school, I figured I should at least go to work. After all, they paid me to come here, and it was only a three-hour shift. My lips practically still tingled from the kiss. It was a like a movie in my mind, and I kept replaying the scene over and over again. I touched my lips gently as if trying to seal in the feeling.
I was brought back into the present when my phone vibrated in my pocket. There was one new text from Zoe.
Have 2 talk.
I tried to conceal my phone as I texted a reply. The last thing I needed was Taylor nabbing me for texting on the sales floor. I’m working.
Two seconds later her reply came. I know. Look across the hall.
I looked up from the sales rack and out the front doors. There across the hall was Zoe. She caught my eye and started waving me over. Why didn’t she just come into the store?
I gave her the sign for one minute and went to find Taylor. Something about how Zoe was acting was freaking me out, and I needed to find out what was going on. After a long eye roll, Taylor agreed to let me take my fifteen-minute break.
“Hey,” I said when I approached her. “What’s going on? Why didn’t you come into the store?”
She raised her head to look at me, and I could see the tell-tale redness in her eyes that let me know she’d been crying. “It’s over.”
“What’s over?”
“Me and Darren. We… we broke up.” She pressed her lips together as if trying to retract the words.
Darren and Zoe had been dating for over a year. I wasn’t quite sure how she’d handle this. “Are you okay?”
She forced out a smile. “Yeah, I mean it was pretty much mutual.” Meaning not so mutual on her part, but she was holding it together like a trooper.
I linked my arm with hers. “Let’s go to the food court.”
We were sitting across from each other. She was checking her eye makeup in a handheld mirror, making sure none of her mascara had smudged. We had ordered two smoothies from Freshly Made, but they were going to take a minute since they were just finishing cleaning out the machine. There was so much I wanted to tell her. I wanted to tell Zoe about the kiss. The warm, soft, sweet kiss that Brandon and I had shared just a few hours ago, but I couldn’t. It’s one of the worst feelings ever when you’re on cloud nine about something, and your best friend is having one of the worst days of her life. Not that I thought this would destroy Zoe or anything, as she’s much stronger than that, but no one comes out of a break-up completely unscathed.
“So be honest, Zoe, are you okay?” I finally asked.
She gave me her signature sly grin. “Of course, my sweet Marissa. I’m going to be fine. I just… wanted to see you.” She twisted a napkin around in her hand. “Rissa?”
There was a moment of silence. “Yeah?”
“Am I… going to be okay?” She looked up at me, and her eyes were questioning. Like those of a child who asks you if Santa Claus exists.
Before I could respond, Rob from Freshly Made was standing at our table with our drinks. “Here we go, ladies. One raspberry-orange smoothie for my friend Marissa, and one banana-coconut-peach smoothie for a new friend I hope to make.” He flashed a smile to Zoe as he set her drink down in front her.
“Rob, this is Zoe. Zoe, Rob.” I said. The two exchanged head nods.
“I have to say I’m mad at you, Marissa,” Rob said to me.
“Me? For what?”
Rob crossed his arms over his chest, causing his muscles to flex. “For not telling me about this ravishing friend of yours sooner.”
Oh ick. I’ve
