“Hey, at least this is fun.”
“For me or you?” he jokes.
“Me, of course. But you’re strong. You’ll survive.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he chimes, and I know he’s smiling even if I can’t see him.
“Ooh, I think that’s them.” I point in the distance to a couple sitting on the beach, side by side. It’s dark enough out now, even with the light from the streets, that I can’t be positive.
“Willa!” Harlow waves.
“Yep, that’s them.”
“Thanks for the confirmation,” he jokes. “I didn’t gather that when she called out your name.”
“You’re welcome,” I say sassily and hop down from his back.
Harlow and Spencer stand, dusting sand off their butts.
“Hey, Willa. Jasper.” Spencer greets us with a tip of his head.
I hug Spencer and turn to Harlow. “Are you ready to go?”
She nods. “Yeah, we better get home before Dad kills us.” She rolls her eyes playfully and we both laugh.nbsp;
Honestly, our dad has lucked out that the two of us haven’t been interested in boys until now. I guess it sucks that it’s both of us at the same time. Though, he doesn’t actually know about Spencer.nbsp;
“Did you guys have fun tonight?” Spencer asks.
Jasper and I exchange a look. I think of the ice cream and our kiss on the Ferris wheel.
“Yeah,” we both say at the same time.
Tonight has been fun, but I always have fun with him no matter what we’re doing. He’s shown me that it’s not what you’re doing, but the person you’re with that makes things the most worthwhile.
We say our goodbyes and Harlow, Jasper, and I walk back to his Jeep.
He drops us off without a minute to spare, and we head up to go to bed.
When I climb into bed I fall asleep almost immediately and sleep deeply. No text or ping of a rock on my window comes, and I know that Jasper too has been able to sleep tonight.
nbsp;
“Watch out.” Jasper passes me buy, three coffees balanced precariously in his hands as he rushes to get them out to customers.
Cool Beans is packed with customers and we can’t seem to get things done quick enough. Tessa, Jasper’s mom, covers the register and the two of us, along with another employee, Kate, scramble to take care of the orders.nbsp;
I feel like I’m running around like a crazy person. I’m sure I look deranged. But as quick as I get one drink made there are five others needing to be made.nbsp;
Jasper, Kate, and I seem to do a dance around each other as we do our best to keep up.
“Please tell me it’s going to slow down soon,” I beg of Jasper as I scoop ice into a cup.
“We can hope.”
“Ugh,” I groan.
The only good thing is at least the tip jar is getting full. We all split it evenly, but anything extra is something I can put toward my trip. I get giddy thinking about it. I’ve never been out of the state, let alone the country, so this is a big deal for me.nbsp;