Page 11 of Don’t Be A Stranger

I had Summer and Lily.

Although lately, it’s felt like Summer is slowly slipping through my fingers.

We talk, but there’s always this line that both of us are so desperately trying not to cross. Or even step close enough to tempt fate. There’s an awkwardness between Summer and me that has never been there before. There has never been anything that we couldn’t tell each other. Besides the fact that I’ve been in love with her practically from the moment we met. I don’t tend to bring that up.

Thinking she could never feel the same way actually helped. Because when I knew it was one-sided, I could easily accept that there was nothing I could do.

Now that we’ve kissed though? Yeah, I’ve been finding it a little hard not to want to do it again.

After clocking out for my break, I go to my usual spot at the back of Metric’s, sitting on the ground and leaning against the white concrete wall.

It’s probably not the cleanest place to sit and snack on a jerky stick, but I refuse to sit in the boiling hot break room so I usually just take my chances outside.

Sure, I’m a little too close to the trash can and I’m pretty sure there’s a raccoon hiding out nearby, but the small luxury of having a moment of peace makes it worth it.

Besides, Lily’s service is already laggy. I don’t need the sound of the cafe chaos to drown out our conversation.

“I’m so damn jealous,” I groan.

Lily looks up from the blueberry muffin she’s carefully cutting into the perfect bite-sized pieces. Because of course she’s the only person who is on a luxury cruise ship eating a prepackaged muffin.

The buffet alone made me salivate just from the pictures on their website.

And to top it all off, she’s not even out on the deck, enjoying the sun or partaking in any of the fun activities I read on the same website. Instead, Lily is hiding out in her and her grandparents’ shared cabin.

She goes back to dissecting her food, something she often does because her mind has convinced her almost every food she eats is poisoned.

If I could pull all those negative thoughts out of her head and run them over with my car, I would.

“Wanna switch places?” she asks.

“Sun on my skin, wind in my hair, and all the food I can eat?” I lift my eyebrow. “Deal.”

I rip another bite off my jerky stick with my teeth, watching the silent chaos taking place in Lily’s eyes.

I hate to admit it, but Summer is usually better at handling Lily’s compulsions than I am. Lily has never expected us to do so, but I could never leave her to her own accord. She’s always been there for Summer and me—the least we can do is the same.

“Is The Bastard being extra loud today?”

Lily pauses her movements at the mention of the name Summer and I gave to her compulsions. We read on the internet that externalizing the thoughts would help.

So now we belittle The Bastard any chance we get.

“Yeah,” Lily sighs, shoving the now crumbling muffin away, not having taken a single bite. “Sorry.”

I shrug. “You don’t have to be sorry, Lils. Just try and focus on our conversation and not the one in your head.”

She puffs out her cheeks but then nods, finally looking at me through the phone screen.

“You know,” I begin, not caring that my mouth is full. “I heard that sometimes dolphins follow cruise ships. Maybe if you go up to the deck, you could see one.”

She looks at me as if I just said the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever spoken in all twenty years of my life.

“With my luck I’ll fall over the railing and drown.”

She tries to hide it but the corner of her lips tugs upward. “I think my grandparents hate me.”

I shove the wrapper of my break snack into my pocket, shifting my phone to my other hand. “They don’t hate you,” I argue.