Chapter 31 Playlist So Extra
I HAVE NO IDEA what to wear.
It’s only been two days since Myles asked me out (again).
We just worked a Pearl’s lunch shift together and decided to go our separate ways to clean up, then go to the pier for food truck tacos and ice cream.
It’s low key and it’s exactly what I want.
Maybe some girls wouldn’t be impressed by that for a first date, but I think it’s perfect.
Still, I want to up my game a little. Cutoff denim shorts and a T-shirt aren’t gonna cut it tonight.
I finally decide on a casual sleeveless seersucker dress I got on clearance at Vineyard Vines last year, and guess what?
My sandals still look great with it. I do my best with my hair, using a ton of product and my flat iron, and hope Myles will at least see it long enough to appreciate it before I’m forced to throw it up into an elastic.
Even though I walk to the pier all the time, Myles insisted on picking me up. He asked if my dad would want to say hello, which, sure, might be respectful and all, but I said absolutely not. Thank God my dad will still be at work and be none the wiser.
Unfortunately, my mom pulls into the driveway about two seconds after Myles knocks and I open the front door. Instead of entering the house through the garage, she exits to the driveway and crosses the sidewalk toward us, brows raised.
“And where are you two headed?”
“Just to the pier,” I say, hoping she hears the silent Don’t make a big thing of this.
Myles holds out his hand. “Hi, Mrs. Madden. I’m Myles. Myles Ford.”
My mom shakes his hand, assessing him. “Hello, Myles.” She looks at me and says, “Is this a date?” She holds her hand up to shield herself from Myles and mouths So cute!
“Mom,” I protest. I want to melt into the concrete. “Can we talk about this later?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Myles chimes in. “It’s a date. Is there a certain time I should have Amelia home by?”
He seems excited, which is awfully sweet. I would have guessed Myles was a pro at dating, but it doesn’t come off like he’s done this a lot.
That gets a smile out of my mom. I suppose I should be thankful he’s such a charmer, and hope the effect lasts until after I get home tonight.
“Thank you for your honesty, Myles,” she says, then looks to me. “Regular curfew, Amelia.”
I nod and take three steps down onto the grass, pulling Myles along with me. I’m ready to get out of here.
“Nice to meet you, Mrs. Madden,” Myles calls out as I drag him to the curb, where his Bronco waits.
I climb into my seat and lean my head back, covering my face with my hands as I groan.
“Really?” Myles asks with a chuckle. “I didn’t think that was bad at all.”
“I’m imagining the inquisition I’m gonna get when I come home tonight.”
“I’m gathering you didn’t tell them we were going out tonight,” Myles says. A slight note of uncertainty colors his tone. “Did you think they’d be upset about it?”
“The opposite,” I rush to assure him. “They’ll be very, very interested in this development.”
“That’s kind of nice.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah. I don’t think my parents give a shit about my love life. They think dating’s a waste of time that could be spent studying or practicing.”
“Oh,” I say. “That’s kind of sad.”
“Yeah.” He starts the car and waves a hand. “Sorry, the last thing I want to talk about is my parents. You, um, you look really pretty.”
I bite my lip and grin. I barely noticed what Myles was wearing, through the commotion with my mom. “Thanks. You look good too.” He’s wearing khaki shorts and a short-sleeved collared shirt that matches his eyes. “You always do.”
He twists his lips to the side like he’s trying not to let his smile get too big as he puts the car into drive and pulls forward.
It only takes five minutes to get to the pier, and we chat easily as we make our way toward a parking lot where the food trucks congregate, falling into the same comfortable rhythm we developed over the summer.
There’s only one person in line at the taco truck, so we stand behind him. Myles smiles and studies me, and then reaches up to brush a finger across my bare shoulder. Goose bumps prickle down my arm, and I shiver in the warm air. “Have you always had red in your hair?”
“Oh,” I say, swallowing. “Um, yeah. You can really see it in the sun.”
His eyes track across the strands and land back on my face. “Mmm. I’ve never noticed that before.”
My heart thumps in my chest even while my brain recollects a conversation early in the summer.
What color is that, anyway?
Um, brown?
Nah, I think I see some red in there.
I internally shake myself out of it, because I’m standing here with Myles, not Gregory.
Before I can say anything else, we’re called to the window to order, effectively dispelling whatever moment we were having.
Once our tacos are ready, we load them with salsa and find an empty picnic table nearby.
“I can’t believe we’re almost done at Pearl’s,” I say, unwrapping my first taco.
“Me either,” he says. “I had no idea I’d like working there so much. But I gotta say, I don’t think it was waiting tables that I liked so much.” His neck flushes as he grins at me.
“I know, my favorite part was standing around brooding with Anders too. Maybe we should get matching Tweety Bird tattoos in his honor.”
Myles pauses with a taco halfway to his mouth and barks out a laugh. “God, that guy. I might ask my parents if I can go live with him if they die.”
“Can you imagine? That house has got to be deadly silent, like, all the time.”
Myles sighs happily. “Just like I like it.” He takes a huge bite.
“That’s right,” I say sternly, as if remembering something serious. “You wouldn’t even have music on, you weirdo.”
He takes this in stride and asks, “Did you ever get that record player you wanted?”
I will not think about listening to music the other night with Gregory. I will not.
“I did. My room is never quiet. You’d hate it.”
He blushes and looks down.
“What?” I ask.
He shakes his head, smiling. “Nothing.”
“Tell me! What were you thinking just now?”
He peeks up at me from underneath his lashes. “I was just thinking that no matter what, if I was with you in your room, I definitely wouldn’t hate it.”
“Wow.” I just stare at him, eyes wide. “Where has this flirty Myles been all summer?”
He groans. “I know, that was bad. It was, right? You made me say it.”
“You thought it all on your own.”
“Are you saying you’ve never had a thought like that? About me?”
“Obviously I have. But I’m not gonna tell you about it.”
“Why not?”
“Because it’s embarrassing.”
“Why? I said it first.”
“Yeah, but I’ve crushed on you for forever. You barely knew who I was before we got the Pearl’s jobs together. We’re nowhere near even.”
His face goes serious, and he regards me for a long moment. “That’s just because I’m in my own head so much, thinking and worrying, that I hardly notice anyone. It wasn’t you.” He taps my foot with his. “I was really missing out.”
My stomach flips even as I purse my lips and tilt my head. “Yes, you were.”
He laughs.
As we eat, I ask him why he loves rain so much and learn that the scar on his chin is from a bike accident when he was nine.
I quiz him on ocean-based animal groups.
(My favorite from tonight: A group of jellyfish is a smack.) I’m determined to find one he doesn’t know, but so far, no dice.
He tells me more about some of his senior friends I don’t know that well, and I ask about a few juicy pieces of upperclassman gossip I heard last year.
(Bennett Smith got a DUI over spring break—fake news.
Rocky Hughes is the one who stole our main competition’s mascot before the last football game—confirmed… but if anyone asks, no he wasn’t.)
We go to the ice cream shop where he used to work, and a couple of people he knows are milling around.
He introduces me to the ones I’ve never met, and a couple of them eye us with interest as we leave.
The sun is going down, and dusk settles as we slowly make our way down to the end of the pier.
Our hands accidentally brush once, twice, and at the third contact, Myles takes my hand, lacing his fingers between mine.
Suddenly I’m back in that ER waiting room, and Gregory’s touching me the exact same way, asking if it’s okay.
As if my thoughts conjured him from thin air, I look up and he’s there. Standing a few yards away, his back up against the railing, resting his elbows behind him. He’s staring right at us, gaze locked on where Myles has my hand in his.
It takes everything in me not to yank my hand back.
We’re headed in his direction. What am I going to say to him? I immediately run through my options, everything from Hey to Lovely evening we’re having, isn’t it?
“Oh, hey, isn’t that Gre—” Myles starts, but suddenly Gregory pushes off and walks away without a second glance.
I frown after him, watching him get farther and farther away before I realize I’m squeezing Myles’s hand.
“You okay?” he asks, looking down at me like he knows what I’m thinking.
I loosen my grip. “Me? Yeah. Sure, I’m great.”
He nods and we keep walking. Gregory has disappeared in the crowd.
“You know,” Myles starts, “I kind of thought you and Gregory might start something this summer.”
“What?”
“It… just seemed like there was a vibe there.”
“Oh,” I say, my tongue feeling thick in my mouth. I don’t really want to talk to Myles about Gregory. I don’t even want to talk to myself about Gregory right now.
“Well, only one guy has asked me out this summer,” I say, forcing playfulness into my voice as I bump his shoulder with mine. “And I’m with him right now.”
“His loss.”
I smile back at him and ask him about his classes next year, and we keep walking and talking, hand in hand, until it’s time to head home.
When he pulls up in front of my house, he turns off the car and looks over at me, one hand rubbing across his jaw.
“I, um, don’t want to make this weird, and I know it takes all the romance out of it to bring it up like this, but I…
I was hoping to walk you to the door and kiss you good night.
If—if you wanted to, I mean. But after what you said about your parents, I can’t stop picturing them, like, waiting at the windows and peeking through the curtains. What if your dad tries to kill me?”
I can’t help it, I laugh. My dad would never.
“He might want to meet you at some point, but he’s not one of those ‘clean his shotgun on the porch’ kind of dads.
” I clear my throat and rub my hands down my thighs to soothe my nerves.
“But, um, just in case, we could just say goodbye in the car. If you want.”
He smiles and nods, and I can feel my heart beating all the way to my fingertips as he unclips his seat belt and shifts his muscular body to face me.
I unbuckle myself too and lean across the console. For a split second I wonder if the position will be too awkward, but as soon as his hand slides across my cheek and his lips touch mine, my eyelids slide closed and his mouth is all I feel.
It’s soft, and it’s sweet, and even when he takes it a little deeper and I curl my arms around his shoulders, it’s comfortable and undemanding.
He pulls back, and I open my eyes, and we smile at each other.
“Thanks,” I say. “For tonight. I had fun.”
His hand slips from my face. “Me too. I’ll text you later, okay?”
I nod, step out of the car, and prepare myself to face the inquisition.