Chapter 10 #2
I catch Gabriel staring at me. He quickly turns away to focus on the road.
“Something you want to say?” I ask.
“I’m just surprised you two would even attempt running off.”
I look him up and down. “Didn’t seem hard for you to help us climb off that roof?”
He chuckles. “Trust me, I’ve navigated that roof for many years.”
“So why judge us?” I ask.
“You two are supposed to stay on the property. Tita Karra has made that clear.”
“But why do you care?” I press.
He gives me an awkward look. “Because when I’m grounded it’s by Ruby Calabrese. When you’re grounded it’s by the president of the United States. Has a little more weight to it.”
I sigh. “She’s still just a mom at the end of the day.”
“And commander in chief,” he adds.
“Both can be true at the same time.”
“For you, sure,” he says. He doesn’t finish his sentence, but I know what he’s thinking. There seem to be two kinds of people: those who want to know me to get close to my mom, and those who are too scared of me because of my mom. It’s why I’m so close to Oliver. He gets it.
From the worried expression on his face, Gabe is in the second camp: too scared. At least I know where we stand. We’ll never be friends, but for the time being we can act friendly.
“Thank you for getting us out,” I offer. “We were getting a little bit of cabin fever.”
“Well, as I said, I have to run some errands,” he says, nodding at the large bags in the truck bed behind him.
Elle scrunches her nose. “What you got in there? Skeletons of bad guests?”
Gabe smirks. “More like the skeletons our grounded guests want to keep hidden,” he jokes. “I’m going to drop these linens with the cleaners in town.”
“In town.” Elle perks up. “Can we stop by Pat’s Famous Ice Cream?”
He does a double take. “How do you know about Pat’s?”
“From the flyers in the inn’s lobby. Abby and I have collected a few of them to figure out what we can do for her summer bucket list.”
Gabe perks up. “You have a summer bucket list?”
Elle nods. “She does. And it’s full of actual fun—”
“Elle. That’s enough,” I snap. I can’t believe my sister. If I wasn’t going to share my bucket list with Tita Karra, our family, why would she think I’d spill it to Gabriel?
She throws up her arms. “Seriously, Abby? How can you finish your bucket list if we’re stuck at the inn. Why can’t you share—”
“Please stop,” I say sternly to Elle. She glares at me, then digs into her purse and pulls out her giant headphones, signaling she’s done with me.
Without a word she dials up the volume on her phone and disappears into whatever the Enzo-emo pop song of the day is.
She’s sitting next to me, but she might as well be on Mars.
Gabriel’s smirk gets under my skin. “You enjoying your front row tickets to the Elle and Abby show?” I snap.
“I didn’t say anything,” he says, but his amused chuckle says otherwise.
Sighing, I whip out my phone and show him my checklist app. “This is my summer bucket list.”
His hand tightens on the wheel. “Abby, you don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”
I shake my head. “You told me about your summer goals. So,” I exhale. “I can tell you about mine.”
His copper eyes glimmer as they lock onto mine, and I do my best to not be distracted by them. “Fair,” he responds.
I take a deep breath. “This is the last summer I have as a high school student. My summer before college will be spent with college prep and traveling the world volunteering.”
His brows lift like that’s not so bad.
I look at my hands. “I know. I’m so grateful for all the privileges and opportunities I have. I’m fully aware of how lucky I am.”
“Stop,” he says. “I wasn’t judging. You didn’t ask for your life, Abby. And everyone should get the chance to enjoy their summer break.” He looks in his rearview mirror and then pulls over to the side of the road.
“What are you doing?” I demand.
He puts the truck in park and smiles. “Giving you my full attention.”
I glance at Elle, who makes a point of holding her phone closer to her face. “We’re going to stretch our legs a moment,” I say. She barely acknowledges me. I sigh. I’ll have to get on her good side later.
Gabe opens his door, and I climb out after him. We head to the back of his truck. He opens the truck bed’s door and we sit side by side like we’re tailgating. I show him my phone and he bends to get a better look. “Sorry, can you make the font bigger?”
I sigh and hand Gabe my phone with my checklist app. His lips move as he reads my list aloud. “Art lessons, team sports, cooking…Obviously not the Hawaii stuff.”
“Obviously.”
He laughs. “Do something ‘nature-y’? I’m glad you’re not above made-up words.”
I flush. “What I mean is enjoy the great outdoors.”
“Uh-huh.” He types on my screen.
“What are you doing?” I demand.
“Making improvements.”
He shows me the phone and my mouth twitches as I read his edits to several of my bullets. “You changed ‘community events’ to ‘parties’?” I exclaim.
“Hold on, I’ve got more edits.” He taps my screen, but instead of typing, his eyes widen. My pulse spikes like I said the wrong thing on the campaign trail. He must’ve accidentally swiped and seen my “unofficial list”—and my “first kiss” goal!
I groan as I cover my face with my hand, but through my fingers I see his reaction. His Adam’s apple visibly bobs as he swallows.
“You weren’t supposed to see that page,” I whimper.
He nods slowly in agreement. “First kiss and date stuff is probably best with your boyfriend.”
I lower my hands and stare at him. He must mean Oliver. I bite my lip. He’s probably right. Didn’t I write those bullets with Oliver in mind, to do while the two of us were in Hawaii? It sounded like the perfect romantic plan for Abigail’s predictable life, or at least it used to.
But now that my summer plans have been ruined and I’m sitting next to this boy who makes my body tingle in spite of myself—the only thing I’m certain of is how uncertain I am.
I close my eyes. The best thing to do now is stick to the facts. “I’m not allowed to have a boyfriend until I’m in my senior year, but”—I laugh nervously—“according to Elle I’m technically a senior since I’ve completed junior year, so…”
“So, you and Oliver?”
I stammer as Gabe’s copper eyes lock onto mine.
“Oliver’s my best friend. And…” My voice trails off as my brain wrestles with how to respond.
All signs point to Oliver and me heading in that direction, and no matter how exciting Gabe may be, we’re parting ways in a few weeks.
I can’t even…I shouldn’t even entertain anything happening between us.
“You’re right. Those items should be with my—”
Gabriel cuts me off as he hands me my phone. “No worries. You don’t need to explain. Your list is good.” His voice is friendly, but flat. He heads back to the truck’s cabin, and I follow right behind.
If awkwardness had a soundtrack, it’d be playing at full volume. I glance at my sister as I buckle up. She’s still not acknowledging me, but her body seems to have stiffened. Gabe, on the other side of me, is also at peak awk.
I stare down the empty road in front of me, and for some reason I start to laugh.
I have no idea where it goes, and I’m in a truck with a boy who I just met, after doing something I never thought I’d do—climb out of a second-floor window and escape my security detail.
And despite all the unfamiliarity of this situation, a thrill goes down my spine at having done something for myself for once.
Maybe my summer plans aren’t completely ruined—just different.
Elle squints at me. “What’s so funny?”
“Don’t worry about it. I have an idea,” I say.
Gabe lifts his brows as I continue. “I help you with your photo portfolio as your subject with good proportions,” I tease, using his words when he shared his art school dream. “And you help me with my bucket list.” I clap my hands. It’s the perfect idea.
Gabe pauses as he considers. “Your list has things that would require you to leave the inn. How are we going to do all these activities when you’re grounded? Would I have to fetch a ladder for you every time?”
I realize spending time with me has always been difficult because of my constant Secret Service babysitters, but this summer I’m up for the challenge. “We’ve slipped away once. We can do it again.”
Gabe takes a deep breath. I’m relieved when he nods in agreement.
“All right. Being able to leave the inn will obviously provide me more photo opportunities.” He rolls his eyes.
“And you’ll probably start alphabetizing our refrigerator if we don’t get you out of the house.
So, Abigail Cary-Alzona. Deal me in.” He rewards me with a dazzling smile.
“Agreed,” I say.
I smile at him, and for the second time since I’ve arrived at Mystic Hollow, we shake hands—and I do my best not to react to the jolt of energy I feel from his touch.
I take a mental snapshot of this moment: the warmth of the summer breeze, the cute boy in dark jeans and a white T-shirt, and his sun-drenched smile.
“All right. We’re officially launching Operation Bucket List,” Elle says.
I gawk at my sister. “You’ve been listening the entire time?”
She scrunches her nose. “I’ve got a vested interest. I need to get out of the house too.”
I shake my head at her but smile. “Fine. We have the rest of the month to complete our mission and experience a regular teenage summer.” But as Gabriel pulls back onto the road, I can’t help reminding myself that after our time here, I’ll be back in DC with Oliver and my carefully planned life.