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She slid away from me, and I tried not to be upset about it. I asked for this.
“Sure, Charli. If that’s what you want,” she said.
It wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted her to kiss my face off and then take me back to her place at the inn and absolutely destroy me again, but then I’d have to deal with the consequences tomorrow.
It wasn’t smart.
“Yeah,” I said. “We can still hang out, though. We can be adults, right?”
She stared at me and I felt my face get red again.
“Right,” she said.
It was almost like I felt her mentally pulling away as well as physically.
Alivia already had walls up, and after I’d rejected her, it was like she added a few more for good measure. Our conversation was stilted and awkward and I was convinced I’d ruined everything.
Beach day tomorrow?Natalie asked via text message.
I checked the weather and it was going to be one of the first really hot days of the summer, and the sun was going to be out with barely any clouds. Perfect.
Yes! It’s on.
You should invite Aliviashe said.
I looked up at the person in question.
“Natalie’s asking if you want to come with us to the beach tomorrow,” I said. “You really don’t have to.”
“No, that would be great. I usually don’t go to the beach unless I’m going to run.”
Okay, I guess I was going to the beach with Alivia, so she didn’t completely hate me.
“We’ll teach you how to appreciate the beach properly. No running required,” I said as I coordinated with Natalie.
“But I like running,” she said, almost pouting.
“I know you do. But you’re going to learn how to enjoy non-running. I promise, you’ll have a good time.”
I really shouldn’t be making promises like that.
“If you say so,” she said, draining the rest of her beer. “I should get going. I still have to check in and make sure the inn isn’t on fire.”
Did she ever stop working? It didn’t seem like it. Her parents were the inn owners, but I’d literally never seen them. It looked, from my perspective, that Alivia was shouldering all of the responsibility. That was too much for one person.
Of course, I didn’t say any of that to her. She didn’t need me chiding her after rejecting her.
“We’ll pick you up tomorrow. Don’t worry about breakfast, I’ll have donuts,” I said. “I pretty much always have donuts.”
“Then I’ll look forward to that,” she said, handing Batman her card to close out her tab.
“See you tomorrow, Charli,” she said, and then she was gone.
I slumped over on my stool. What had just happened?
* * *
When I got home, I pulled out every bathing suit I owned and tried them on. I didn’t want her to see me in a repeat suit.
