Page 45 of Spring Tide

“Well,” she sighs, dropping her hands to her lap, “when I first walked into the bar, he wasn’t too hard to find. Unfortunately, he already had his hands full.”

“What does that mean?”

“He was dancing with some girl I didn’t recognize. They were kissing, touching, um, I don’t know, having sex on the dance floor, essentially.” She laughs, but it’s a humorless, lifeless sort of sound.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”

“It’s not a big deal, really.” She lifts one shoulder in a careless shrug, fingers drumming against her lap. “I thought we kinda liked each other, but it’s not like he owes me anything. I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

“Not a big deal? Are you kidding?”

“No?”

“Harper, he asked you to come out with him tonight. You took a rain check, sure.” A muscle in my jaw ticks, irritation crawling up my spine. “But he told you to come out if you changed your fucking mind, didn’t he?”

“He did.”

“So you ended up changing your mind.” I shake my head, gritting my teeth. “You come out to see him, yet he decides to stick his tongue down some other girl’s throat. Fucking asshole.”

“It’s okay, Luca.” Her hand comes to rest against my shoulder, reining in my temper. “We didn’t know each other that well, anyway.”

“You’ve had a crush on him for a long time, Harper.” I pull up to the stoplight, glancing to my right until our eyes connect. “You fucking switched your class assignment to get closer to the guy. What are you even talking about?”

She nibbles on her bottom lip. “It was just a silly crush. I only know, like, three things about him at this point.”

“Is one of them that he’s a fucking dickhead?”

“Noo.” She drags out the word, half suppressing a snort. “I know that he’s handsome, he likes to play sports, and he really likes it when I wear my lifeguard uniform.”

“Wow, what a well-rounded guy.”

“You really don’t like him, do you?”

“No, I don’t, especially not after tonight. And you shouldn’t, either.” I turn one last sharp corner, angling into the parking space in front of her apartment complex. “He doesn’t fucking deserve you.”

We both turn quiet as we sit together in the lot. It’s a comfortable sort of silence, I guess, one that’s filled only by the sounds of my idling engine.

When she finally decides to speak, her voice is cheerful again. “Do you want to go grab some ice cream?” she asks with that light and airy tone I’ve come to expect.

“What?”

“Ice cream? Do you want some?” Her lips curve into a wide grin. “There’s this great place not too far from here. They’re open late.”

“You want to go out for ice cream? Right now?”

“Yeah, I do.” She nudges me with her elbow. “I think we both deserve it after the night we’ve had, don’t you?”

My brow furrows in confusion, but I nod my agreement nonetheless. “Alright, let’s go.”

I shift out of park, following her wayward directions to the Golden Cone, Harper’s favorite ice cream shop. It’s convenient because it’s only five blocks from her apartment, and they happen to have a drive-through window.

We both order plain chocolate ice cream, but Harper opts to top hers with gummy bears. Apparently, she likes it this way because it adds a splash of color. It’s a disgusting combination, yet somehow, it makes sense to her.

It’s all just sugar, anyway.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asks, mindlessly swirling her ice cream around.

We’re sitting together in my car now, engine off, spoons scraping against paper bowls in the parking lot.

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