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“See, that’s the thing.” His crooked grin turns into a full-blown smile. “I don’t.”
“I . . . I don’t understand.”
“Because you aren’t the only badass in your family.” Dash laughs. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you’re related to the Lola Stone. Her piece on the underground punk scene is literally the reason I started listening.”
“That’s great, but what does G-Lo have to do with a promise you made your dad?”
“Do you remember telling me she was running a background check on me?”
A light goes off in my head, and G-Lo’s cryptic comment about Dash’s parents comes back to me. “Yeah.”
“As it turns out, she knows my mom from way back in their early journalist days. And apparently, your grandma has some juicy dirt on my parents. She wouldn’t tell me what, but whatever it is, Dad doesn’t want it out there.”
My jaw drops. “G-Lo blackmailed your dad?”
“Yup. Like I said, your grandma’s badass.”
“She really is.” I laugh. “She must have something really good if she got your dad to let you out of that promise.”
“Without a doubt.” He shudders. “Remind me to never end up on her bad side.”
“You and me both.” I gaze out at the blue Pacific, remembering all the moments that brought me here. “You know, I’ve learned a lot about G-Lo on this trip. And a lot about my mom. But mostly, I’ve learned a lot about myself.”
He pulls our joined hands into his lap. “Oh yeah? What have you learned?”
“I used to think Mom and I were just alike. Before she got sick, I was fully prepared to go to college, get married, find a nice stable job and a minivan.”
“Really?” Dash cringes. “A minivan?”
I smack his shoulder and giggle. “Shut up and let me finish. I might look like my mom, and maybe I am like her in some ways, but there’s way more of my grandma in me than I ever realized.”
Dash strokes his thumb across my knuckles. “Are you saying I need to stay on your good side, too?”
“I’m saying, I jumped off a freaking train trestle! Me! And I outran a New York City cop, and snuck backstage at a concert, and waded through Buckingham Fountain.”
Dash’s eyebrows jump up at the last one. “Seriously?”
As I nod, I’m struck with a sudden WWGLD moment. What would G-Lo do? She certainly wouldn’t wait for a guy to make the first move. I inch closer to him on the bench. “I’ve done a lot of thrill seeking on this trip. I even risked my life a time or two. But the biggest thrill I’ve had since leaving home was meeting you.”
“Zoey, I—”
Without giving him a chance to finish his thought, or me a chance to chicken out, I grab both sides of his face and kiss him. The moment our lips touch, electricity crackles between us, and I know. This is where I’m meant to be. As soon as the shock wears off, Dash pulls my hands from his face, slides them around his neck, and we melt into each other.
God, I’ve missed this.
A chorus of loud whoops interrupt our moment, and we both turn toward the source.
“You go, girl!” Daisy screams from the park entrance.
“Friends of yours?” Dash rests his forehead on my shoulder as he catches his breath.
“Just some girls I know.” I wave at Daisy and the other Golden Girls as they wander down the pier toward their next adventure. Then I turn my focus back to Dash and his swollen lips. “So you know, I’d like to do a lot more of this as soon as I get some sleep.”
Dash’s slow smile sets my skin on fire. “Sleep is highly overrated.”
With my back pressed to Dash’s chest and his arms wrapped tightly around my middle, we sit on the beach waiting for the sun to sink into the ocean.
He rests his chin on the top of my head. “A deep cerulean blue.”
