18. Tyler
EIGHTEEN
TYLER
NOW
We didn’t leave much time between leaving Ojai, getting to San Diego, and checking into our Airbnb before the four of us went out on the streets to look for our Halloween costumes to wear to Chloe and Annika’s friend’s party.
“I gotta say, Anni, I’m not too thrilled to be back here,” Reid says to his girlfriend. She gives him a sympathetic look. Reid and Annika dated briefly in college, so I can imagine the residual feelings still are present as we walk the streets.
“You just need to create some new memories,” Chloe says.
“I don’t really like being back here either, if I’m being honest, but I’m here with my best friends—it’s a new chapter.
Do what I do best: put a smile on and pretend like nothing is bothering you!
” She skips ahead of us and spins around in a circle, nearly smacking a man passing by on the sidewalk.
“Oops, sorry!” she says, then laughs. I have the sudden urge to skip down the street with her—her energy is contagious–despite Annika shaking her head.
“Chloe, remember, I said let’s talk about our feelings, not cover them up.” Annika tells her.
“But it’s so much easier to skip my troubles away.”
“Well, let’s try to be aware of innocent people in your wake.” Annika gently places her hand on Chloe’s shoulder to steady her.
“Where are we heading anyway?” Reid asks Chloe, who points to me. Reid and Annika stop walking and turn to me. “You planned it? You’ve never even been here,” Reid asks, puzzled.
“Well, I just made the itinerary. Chloe and Annika told me all the places they thought we should go, and I organized it,” I say, looking over ladies, who both nod.
Chloe told me some places when she came to see the cottage.
The events of that night nearly send my thoughts drifting and I think I see blush creeping on Chloe’s cheeks, as if she’s thinking the same.
Annika looks between me and Chloe and gives me an eyebrow raise that I promptly ignore.
I clear my throat and take my phone out of my back pocket, reading off the list. “Okay, first stop is Herbal Thrift, then the Salvation Army, then Picnic on the Beach and Dazed Music, then finish at Last Page Books.”
“Hey! I didn’t add Dazed Music!” Chloe runs up to grab my phone, and I stick my arm up in the air. “No fair, you’re like eight feet tall.”
“As the organizer, I took creative freedom and added a spot that sounded fun. Plus, they have records and other music there besides instruments.”
“Tyler, you’ll have to check your bag if you buy a guitar,” Annika says, putting her hands on her hips.
“It can just go on my lap,” I say, sticking my tongue out at her, which causes her to roll her eyes.
“Well, come on! We gotta go, Aimee’s party is tonight, and none of us have costumes!” Chloe says, pulling my arm toward her and leading us down the street to the first stop.
According to Annika and Chloe, the first two thrift stores had nothing to spark any Halloween costume ideas.
I consider these people expert thrifters.
As soon as they step into a store, they somehow can sense if it’s going to be a good haul.
The first place didn’t have any men’s clothing, which we probably could have worked with, but we didn’t really have the time to figure it out.
So, we made an ad hoc decision before lunch to go to a small boutique thrift store near Pacific Beach.
We walk in, passing a small painted sign that reads, “Shelly’s Finds.
” The threshold for the front door is bordered with seashells, and inside, a plethora of sand-colored rugs are layered on the floor.
A wind chime sings as the door opens and closes.
A college-aged-looking gal is at the register in the back left corner, greeting us quietly. Only two other people are in the store, but it is jam-packed with stuff. Circular racks are cluttered together, and a wraparound staircase goes up to a loft with even more racks.
Chloe gasps next to me. “This is the one,” she announces, and the four of us dive into the racks. I look through the selection of men’s T-shirts and almost instantly find something that could work with what I’m wearing today. I grab the blue shirt and keep looking through the racks.
Annika runs over to Reid, holding a long black dress, and tells him to look for a striped blazer. We’ve been in the store for barely five minutes, and Chloe somehow has an entire stack of clothes thrown over her shoulder.
“Chloe, you’re going to have to check a bag if you get all that,” I say to her, and she looks up, her brow furrowed, then breaks into a huge bright smile. She laughs and lets out a snort, then covers her mouth.
“Did you just snort?” Annika asks her from across the store.
“Yeah,” Chloe says, laughing even harder and snorting once more. We all burst out laughing. I glance over, and even the employee is struggling to suppress a smile.
“Come on, let’s try on our options,” Chloe says to all of us as we snake toward the back of the store, where there is one fitting room. I take a seat on a stool shaped like corn on the cob, while Chloe sits cross-legged on the floor in front of me and Annika leans against the wall.
Reid goes in first with a pile of black-and-white jackets. He takes about a minute to open one. He’s wearing a black sports coat that is probably two sizes too big for him, but it has intense shoulder pads and thick white stripes. He runs his palms along his hair, trying to slick it back.
“I have no idea who you are supposed to be,” I say to him.
“Yeah, me neither,” Chloe adds.
“Just wait till you see mine,” Annika says and goes into the dressing room next with her all-black outfit. Reid moves aside and looks through Annika’s purse.
A minute later, Annika reveals her look.
She’s wearing a floor-length black dress with a deep V-neck and long sleeves.
She’s tucked her black hair behind her ears.
He hands her a tube of lipstick, and he himself turns around.
She applies red lipstick, and when Reid turns back toward us, he has a black mustache drawn on his face.
“Mi amor!” Reid exclaims and grabs her hand, trailing kisses up to her neck.
“Ah! Morticia and Gomez Addams!” Chloe exclaims. “That is so perfect for you two!”
“I see it now. Great choice—you both look amazing,” I say.
“Definitely winning the hottest couple costume,” Chloe adds. “Okay, my turn!” She scoops up her pile of clothes and hops into the dressing room.
Chloe takes much longer than Reid or Annika did. I’d think she escaped from the store if I didn’t hear her muttering to herself in the dressing room.
“Any day, Chloe, I’m getting hungry,” Reid says.
“Okay, okay, I think I’ve decided,” she says from behind the curtain before flinging it open. I nearly fall off the corn cob stool at the sight of her.
My gaze goes from her feet, where she’s wearing white sneakers and frilly socks, to her legs, which are bare except for a tiny black pleated skirt.
She’s paired the skirt with a pink tank top and a white men’s button-up shirt tied around her waist. Her curly hair is braided into two pigtails secured with little pink scrunchies at the ends.
“Hit me, baby, one more time!” Chloe says and points to nowhere in particular, but gives me a wink. I swallow and take a deep breath in, discreetly adjusting myself on the stool.
“Chloe, you look insane,” Annika says. “Every dude at the party is going to want your number. This look is beyond hot.”
“Yeah, Chloe, what Anni said,” Reid says, looking up at the ceiling.
“Tyler, what do you think?” Chloe asks me, fiddling with the edge of her skirt.
“Can I have your number?” I ask boldly, feeling my face flushing with heat, and it must catch Annika off guard because she lets out the biggest laugh I’ve ever heard. Though, I wasn’t joking.
“Okay, Tyler. Put on your costume now.” Chloe grabs my hand and pulls me toward the dressing room. I try to ignore the tingles left in the wake as Chloe releases my hand.
It doesn’t take me too long to change. I unbutton my plaid shirt and slip on the blue T-shirt before replacing my plaid shirt.
I button it up most of the way, but push the shirt together so I can give a reveal.
I look in the little shell-shaped mirror in the dressing room, returning my glasses to my face and coiffing my hair so that it’s a bit higher.
I exit the dressing room, looking at the motley crew before me and am met with blank, unamused faces.
“You didn’t even change!” Chloe says. But I hold up a finger to the group, reach for the top of my plaid shirt, and pull it open, revealing the white-and-red Superman logo on the bright-blue shirt. Everyone lets out a collective “Ahh!”
“This is the most Tyler costume ever. Minimal effort, yet you look incredibly handsome,” Reid says, shaking his head.
“You look handsome too, Gomez,” I say to him.
“Get a room, you two,” Annika says, going back into the dressing room to change back into her other clothes.
We all change out of our costumes, check out, and finally make our way to the beach, where we set up our picnic. Reid sets out the sandwiches he picked up while we were finishing up at the thrift shop and we spread out on the blankets we brought from our rental.
Annika is sitting up, hugging her knees, and looking somberly toward the ocean. Reid and Chloe seem unfazed by her behavior, but it seems odd to me. Although the four of us are close, Annika and I spend the least amount of time together, so I have a hard time reading her.
“Annika, you good?” I say, scooting next to her and mimicking her posture.
“Hmm? Yeah, I’m good. This beach is where Reid and I had our first date. Brings back memories,” she says, turning toward me and then back to the ocean.
“Good memories, I would think?”
“Our first date was the most perfect date ever, but I came here many times after because I screwed things up. I also found my love for photography by coming here and taking pictures of the ocean.”
“I recognize the beach from Chloe’s paintings,” I say to her. “She told me she used your photos as references.”
“She always manages to turn something difficult into something beautiful.” Annika muses.
“I feel the same way about Auburn Hills. About feeling like there aren’t any good memories there.” I say trying to divert the subject away from Chloe. I can’t quite tell how Annika would feel if she knew I’d want to be more than friends with her best friend.
“Really? Why? It’s your hometown. I figured you’d love it there.” Annika turns her head to me with a puzzled look on her face.
“Well, I didn’t really move back by choice. My parents died, and I moved back to take care of the ranch and ended up just staying. But I have great memories of the town and the people I love there. It’s bittersweet. I always thought I’d do more.”
Annika nods, smiling softly. “I guess we could take Chloe’s advice and make new memories.
” She stands up and walks over to Reid, who is nearly asleep.
Despite it being October, the sun is warm, and plenty of people are at the beach.
Reid opens his eyes and shields them from the sun with his arm.
Annika reaches down and grabs his hand, pulling him up.
They start spinning around in the sand, laughing.
“Sing to me, Reid Taylor Parker!” Annika shouts, and Reid starts belting “In Too Deep” by Sum 41.
Chloe is lounging with pink heart sunglasses on, eating a sandwich bigger than her head.
I grab one labeled turkey and take a spot next to her as we watch Annika and Reid’s performance.
She has the biggest, brightest smile on her face.
I take out my phone, snap a few photos of them, and then turn it to Chloe, who takes a giant bite of her sandwich as I hit the shutter button.
I pocket my phone and extend my hand to Chloe, who looks at it momentarily before smiling and taking it.
We spin together, dancing playfully. My hand grazes her waist and her head knocks back in laughter.
I join in on singing with Reid, and Chloe looks at me, her expression turning to shock.
“Whoa, you can really sing!”
“No, no, I can’t.”
“Keep singing, please, I like it.”
“Only for your ears, Chlo. You’re the exception.” So I keep singing, just loud enough for Chloe to hear and she rests her head on my chest as we sway.
As we finish the song, Chloe releases my hand and grabs Annika’s, pulling all four of us toward the ocean. The water hits our feet and it feels cool, but in the best way, like a reset.
My cheeks burn. I’m smiling harder than I can remember. The faces of my best friends around me. My found family. I am smiling like I did when I was a kid. I look over and see Chloe beaming back at me, I grab her by the waist and spin her around in the water as she laughs against my neck.
I think I’m in too deep.