25. Maggie
TWENTY-FIVE
MAGGIE
I haven’t seen Duke around too much the past couple of days aside from working on our scavenger hunt items. He’s nice, but distant, like he’s got a lot on his mind.
We’d missed several of the tasks on the correct days, but we figured out that we could look back in the history of our app and still complete them. That made for a great morning, as we were practically running throughout Willow Cove trying to complete everything.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask, as we sit on a bench looking out over the ocean. We both got a bagel from the bakery this morning after finishing up three more tasks on the scavenger hunt.
Duke turns to look at me, those bright blue eyes practically causing me to melt in my seat. I’m not sure when I started to like this guy, but he’s been able to pull down all of the walls that I’d so carefully put up.
“I will be. I’m just working through a few things right now.”
“Anything I can do to help? I do remember someone badgering me into talking when I was consoling myself with a stack of pancakes.”
Duke grins. “And a vat of syrup.”
“I do like syrup. What’s up?” I ask, surprised at the ease of this conversation. I don’t feel awkward or anxious, like I did a couple of weeks ago.
“What would you say if I stopped trying to sell timeshares?” he asks, closing one eye as if to ward off a verbal attack.
Laughing, I say, “Well, I’d be super happy for you and all of the people here in Willow Cove.”
“You have a personal bias though.”
Shaking my head, I say, “To be honest, if you love it and feel like that’s what you’re supposed to do, go for it.”
“I might’ve quit the other day and now I’m trying to figure out what to do with my life.”
I blink several times, trying to comprehend what he’s just said. “Wait, you quit the business you just started? How did that happen?”
“I might’ve talked to one of the bosses and realized that my goals don’t align with theirs.”
It’s totally possible that I’ve missed a lot in this conversation. “I’m sorry, I thought you wanted to be a world traveler. Did things change?”
“Oh, I still want to travel. I just want to do it in a way that doesn’t make me lose sleep at night.”
Nodding, I say, “That’s always a wise decision. So where do you go from here?”
His shoulders slump and he says, “I’m not sure. I feel like such a failure.”
In an act that is foreign to me, I scoot closer to him and put my hand on his knee. “You’re not a failure. You’re just trying to figure out what you want in life. To be honest, I admire that you have the courage to change course when things aren’t working out for you. I did that once when leaving my father’s company and it broke me. Well, I was also dealing with other issues at the time. You should be proud that you didn’t stay out of obligation.”
He gives me a small smile and then covers my hand with his. His palms are slightly rough. “It makes me feel guilty that I’m not as far in life as my parents were at my age.”
“Life is different for everyone, and the world has changed since we were born. As long as you can find something that fits you, that’s the most important part.”
Champ comes up, wagging his tail after retrieving the ball from the beach. There’s another dog at his heels, and they keep spraying sand everywhere as they shake their fur.
“You need a bath, Champ,” I say, taking the ball from his mouth. It’s a little gross, but I need to try. This dog is worming its way into my heart, just like the guy he likes to follow around.
“Yes, he does,” Duke says, watching the dog run for the ball. “Are you ready for the wedding?”
Nodding, I say, “I think we’re almost there. I need to find a dress, though.”
“You should go see my mom. She’ll be able to help you find something that would work.”
I don’t know why that sends a shiver up my spine. “Thanks. I’ll have to do that. The wedding is in a week and there's still a lot to do. When do they announce the winners of the scavenger hunt?”
“I haven’t heard. I know they said they’ve got to tally up all the entries and make sure to check with the businesses that we completed each task.”
“What will you do if we win the money?”
“Probably pay my grandpa back,” Duke says, looking down about it.
“Well, if you need a job while you’re contemplating your life’s choices, you can always come be our stock boy,” I say, chuckling.
“That would be fun. Or I was thinking about talking to Troy. I know they’re getting ready to retire and he’s going to need someone to take over his business.”
“That would be awesome. And a lot less pressure than the arcade.”
Nodding, he says, “Hopefully I can make this one stick.”
“I think you’ve gotten enough experience now that you know what to do.”
He squeezes my hand and says, “Thank you for the vote of confidence.”
“Hey, once you said you were done with timeshares I’m all about supporting you now.” I laugh a bit and see that he’s looking at me more seriously.
“Is that all it took?” he says in a lower voice.
I hesitate, not sure what to say to that. “You’re a great guy, Duke. You’ll figure out what you need in life. You’ve got your friends and you’ve got me to support you.”
He leans in and I freeze, wondering what he’s going to do. He brushes a kiss along my cheekbone and then stands up. “I need to head out, but I’ll see you later?”
I nod, still not sure if I should move after what just happened. I know, it seems like such a dorky thing to be all giddy and frozen because of a kiss, but I wasn’t expecting it at all. And I liked it.
“Yeah, I’ll see you later.”
He heads out, calling for Champ on his way. I sit there for a few more minutes, trying to figure out what I’m doing with my life. Am I falling for the guy who was my enemy three weeks ago?