She’s not wrong. Sometimes the people closest to a situation are the ones who can’t see it for what it truly is.
“I keep telling her to go after what she wants, but she won’t listen to me,” Judith says, feigning annoyance. “It’s simple, really. The heart wants what the heart wants.”
“I doubt she would listen to me, either,” I say. Aunt Beth is quite hardheaded.
“Well, let’s brainstorm on it, alright, dearie?” Judith takes a sip of her coffee. “And come up with a plan.”
I glance back toward Charlie and Beth. She's laughing at something he said and their heads are dangerously close together, as if they’re sharing a secret at the counter.
“Thea,” I hear. I turn around and see Penny at the counter, holding a glass of soda.
“I accidentally got root beer; do you want this?” she asks. She holds up the glass higher in emphasis.
“Sure,” I say. I bid farewell to Judith and slide out of the booth to return to the counter.
Penny hands me the glass and I take a drink of it. The carbonation tickles my nose and I scrunch it as the bell above the door dings again.
Charlie and Beth pay no attention to us and Penny reaches for the plastic bag on the counter beside her.
“Hi,” she says cheerfully as a customer walks up beside me. I turn to look and am surprised to realize it’s Jake from the beach.
“Hi,” he says, smiling at her as he reaches into his back pocket for his wallet.
“Two bacon cheeseburgers, fries, and a side salad,” Penny says, reading off the ticket from her notepad.
Jake nods and pulls some bills out of his wallet. He hands them to her and waits while she makes his change.
“Hey,” I say, getting his attention.
His green eyes slide over to me and it takes my breath away.
“Hi,” he says. I can tell he’s trying to place where he has seen me.
“Thea,” I say, trying to jog his memory, “from the beach.”
“Oh, right,” he says, shaking his head. “I remember now. The, uh, frisbee.” He gestures at his neck.
“Yeah.” I smile and feel a blush burn across my cheeks.
“How are you?” he asks. “Hopefully better than when my friends tried to annihilate you.”
“I’m good. How are you?”
Jake smiles again and I notice as his eyes dance over my body. “Better now,” he says.
Penny returns to the counter in front of us and hands Jake some dollar bills and coins. He gently takes them from her and slips them back into his wallet before returning it to his back pocket.
“So, Thea,” he says. “What do you say to getting dinner with me sometime?”
“Sure,” I say. “I’d like that.”
“Good.” Jake pulls his phone out and swipes at the screen. “What’s your number?” he asks.
I rattle off the digits and watch as he keys it into his contacts.
“How about Friday?” he asks.
I pretend to think about it, as if my schedule is jam packed.
