Page 22 of Those Summer Nights (Sweet Cravings 2)

I smiled at him.

"Maybe I should think of this summer more like you do. I need to figure some things out too. And every day my mom keeps bugging me, reminding me that I need to get some work-appropriate clothes. I don't even know where to go for something like that."

"I can come with you if you want. There are some outlets really close. It'll be fun."

"Actually, that would be really great. What are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm a weirdo with no friends. What do you think I'm doing? Just kidding, I do have friends. Well, one friend here. The girl I mentioned the other night does actually exist."

He laughed. "I never doubted that she did.”

“Oh.” Drunken me was great at jumping to conclusions. “Good.”

His smile was contagious. “So, do you want to go tomorrow?"

"Sure. I need to buy a few books anyway, so it'll be good to go shopping."

"What was Twisted Love about?" He gave me a mischievous smile. He must have heard about it. Everyone had heard about it.

"It's a romance. It's just a really sweet story."

"Mhm."

"Clearly you already know what it's about. And I didn't finish it. I haven't exactly been in a romantic mood this past week."

"Well, maybe you can finish reading it now."

His sentence hung in the air. He had a new job starting in the fall. And I'd be flying back to California. But he was still flirting with me. Or maybe he was just being funny.

Regardless of his intentions, I found myself wanting to be flirtatious back. He had called me a sexy weird girl earlier. Compliments were nice, even if they were only half nice. And his words had given me a surge of confidence. It felt like ages since someone looked at me the way he was looking at me. I stood up and pulled off my tank top.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I haven't been in the ocean in a week. I need to be wet."

He started laughing really hard.

Why did I choose that phrase? A normal person would have said they wanted to go in the water. I decided silence was the best response. If I explained myself it would just end up getting worse. I was the queen of word vomit when I was around him.

Finally he spoke again. "But it's getting dark. Aren't sharks out at night?"

"I don't know, you're the lifeguard."

"I'm pretty sure they feed at night. And I'm worried that they might be as attracted to you as jellyfish are."

"So you can watch out for me. Isn't that kind of your job?" I started to unbutton my jean shorts.

"During the day..."

"Oh my God, are you scared of sharks?"

"Who isn't scared of sharks?"

"But you're a lifeguard."

"I'm still a person."

I laughed. "You don't have to come with me." I pulled off my shorts and tossed them onto my towel.

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