Page 9 of Memories By the Shore
Avery rubs her lips together as her cheeks flush red. Sheisattracted to me.Hell yes!
“In twenty minutes, actually.” She smiles.
My eyes remain locked on hers. “Do you want to meet me on the beach when you’re done?”
“Sure,” she answers with a nod.
“Okay, well, see you around, Jasper,” Francesca mumbles before leaving the store. I assume she was quickly followed by her friends. I barely notice she’s gone, and when I do, I realize I askedAvery to meet me for both the benefit of pissing off Francesca, but also for me.
I slowly remove my arm from around Avery’s shoulder. “Awesome.”
When I stepped back, she was not the only one flushed.
Embarrassed, I play it cool, running a hand through my hair. “Okay, well, see you around.”
Without waiting for her response, I turn on my heels and power walk out of the store with the tips of my ears burning all the way out. Although choking at the last minute, that could not have gone better.
I take a seat on the bench outside the store. I’m not waiting long because Avery walks out exactly twenty minutes later.
My heart pounds in my chest. I smile, nervous but excited. I try to make eye contact, but she keeps her head down and continues to walk toward the parking lot.
Did she not think I was serious?
Popping off the bench, I jog over to her. “Hey, where are you going?”
“Home,” she replies as if I should already know.
“I thought we were meeting down on the beach?”
She stops walking and turns to face me. “You were serious?”
We had a moment—or so I thought. Now I feel self-conscience. I’m such an idiot.
“Yes.” I wipe the beads of sweat from my forehead and suck in a deep breath.I can’t punk out.“Do you want to take a walk along the beach with me?”
Her eyes lower. “It’s sunset. Which means it’s almost dark, and I don’t know you.”
I chuckle, then extend my arm for her to grab my hand. “Come on.” Avery hesitates. Her green eyes fall to the ground, then back up to me. “I don’t bite, I promise.”
“Okay,” she agrees, then cautiously slips her hand into mine. Her hand is small and soft and feels good.
With the sounds of the surf in front of us and the chatter from the boardwalk behind us, I lead her through the sand toward the water. Not thinking any of this through, I struggle with what to say.Should I make small talk?I want to get to know her, but she makes me nervous.
“So, you work at Shore’s?” I ask, immediately turning my head away to curse at myself for such a stupid question.
Avery nods. “I wanted to get a job for the summer.”
“You’re only here until August, right?”
I briefly heard from Helen about how her niece was coming to stay with her because her parents died.
“Yeah, then I head back to Arizona for college.” Her fingers twitch inside my hand, but she doesn’t pull them away. “I’m sure you know I’m here because my parents died.”
“I do.”
“And you haven’t asked me about it yet?”
I shake my head. “Nope.”
