I’ll never own a dress like this.
Girls like me don’t get to go to the ball.
Not in real life.
8
Piper
Rolling waves with bright green and blue flurries rush to shore, tumbling upon themselves to kiss paper white sand. The crashing sound as water meets land is magnificent. Calming. Countless nights this could have soothed my nerves, lulling me into a semi lucid sense of peace. I should have come here ages ago.
I lie on a rented lounge chair, one arm under my head the other over my eyes. My breakdown this morning runs through my mind on a loop. I’m ashamed and embarrassed. I never should’ve fallen asleep. I knew better, but those damn couches got me. “I feel like I owe you an explanation.”
“For what?” Rex reclines in the bright blue and white lounge chair beside me, lost in the vortex that is the TickTock app. He rented our chairs from the Horizon Hotel as well as matching beach towels and an umbrella. Show up with nothing. Leave with nothing. The ultimate stress free beach experience. But renting beach gear at sixty dollars an hour is a luxury only the wealthy can afford, and I’m far from wealthy.
I shift onto my side, using my hand as a shade while I squint. Rex is even more beautiful up close than he is from afar. I couldn’t appreciate his body this morning, but from a foot away, I have no shame in fan-girling. His arms are bigger than I realized. Tan and veiny and muscular. Absolutely mesmerizing. His chest defined, without an ounce of hair on his perfect body except for the small trail leading from his belly button down beneath the band of grey board shorts that hang low on his
hips. Tempting everyone’s eyes to follow it down to his package.
Mine do. Again.
“For this morning. My freak out.”
Rex lets his phone fall to his lap and looks at me through his dark Oakley glasses. “It’s no big deal. I’m just glad I could help. I did help...didn’t I?”
“You did. Thank you.” I pause, carefully choosing my next words. Rex doesn’t need to know everything. The truth will scare him away, but he deserves to know something. “I get nightmares sometimes. This morning was an exceptionally bad one. I don’t know why, but it was. I just...I just wanted you to know I’m not always that messed up.”
Rex lifts his sunglasses so I can see the blue of his irises. He squints in the sun but tries his best to look me in the eyes. “I know. Cooper warned me about them last night before he left.”
Ughh...Cooper knows? Could this day get any worse?
“Do you want to talk about them?
“Not really.”
Rex sits up and kicks his legs over the side of the chair. He leans his forearms onto his thighs and looks out at the ocean for a moment then looks back at me. “We skipped breakfast. Are you hungry?”
I’m starving.
“I could eat.” I reach for my phone to check the time, then remember it’s still in Cooper’s car. I hate not having my bag with me. I feel naked without it. “What time is it?”
Rex chuckles. It’s low and hearty, sending my pulse racing a mile a minute. “Why? You got a hot date?”
“Maybe.” I smirk. “Are you jealous?”
“Definitely.” Rex pushes himself out of the chair and extends a hand for me.
I hesitate. He hasn’t touched me since we left the house this morning. What if the switch flipped in my brain and he can’t touch me anymore? Fearful, I take it, letting him pull me to my feet. To both my shock and relief, I’m fine. If anything, I’m a little excited. Three times now Rex has touched me, and each time I’ve been okay. Maybe things are finally starting to turn around.
“It’s eleven-thirty. Let’s grab some brunch.” Rex runs up to the tiki booth and collects his keys; they held them hostage to ensure payment. I slip on the cotton floral dress I found in his mom’s closet. It’s pretty and flowy and made by some chick named Lily. I wouldn’t be caught dead in it at school. It’s too colorful, but for the beach, it’s nice. By the time I’m dressed Rex is back at my side. He slips his shirt on then holds his hand out for me again. “Ready?”
I suck in a breath and reach out. My fingers touch his, inch by treacherous inch until our hands link together. I haven’t held anyone’s hand since I was twelve. Even then it was in a hurry-up kind of way. This kind of hand holding comes with an unspoken announcement that we are something. What...I don’t know. But something.
Rex’s black Oakley’s rise at an angle from his lopsided smile. He squeezes twice. My heart mimicking it. “Breathe, Piper. You’re alright.”
And just like that, I release the air trapped in my lungs. We walk the shoreline with waves nipping at our toes. I’m flying high above cloud nine, soaking up the sun and what is probably the most perfect day I’ve had all year. Aside from this morning’s panic attack.
We walk about a mile, hand in hand, to the boardwalk. Rex lets me go, following close behind as we ascend the not quite wide enough for two stairs. Once at street level, he links his fingers with mine again and leads us down the sidewalk. The hair on the back of my neck raises when I realize where we’re going.