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“So, what are you going to tell your mom about me?” she asked, as I tried to mix the right amount of sand with the right amount of water and push it into one of the molds that had little turrets in it.
“I haven’t decided yet. Do you have any suggestions?” I asked.
Finally, I filled the mold and flipped it over in one smooth motion. We’d agreed before we started on a design.
“That depends on how much you want to tell her. You could just tell her you’re hanging out with a friend. You could tell her you’re just hanging out with me,” she said.
Slowly, I pulled the mold off the section of wall. It came out perfectly.
“Is that what we’re doing? Hanging out?” I asked.
Esme took the mold and started putting more sand in it, carefully tamping it down before adding more.
“For now,” she said.
“For now,” I repeated.
She gave me a little sideways smile. “The day isn’t over yet. Anything could happen.”
* * *
“It’s beautiful,”I said, marveling at our finished sandcastle. We’d made it fancy with shell windows and a little rock pathway.
“Any crab would be happy to call it home,” she agreed.
We both took pictures on our phones.
“And the waves will undo all our work, which is kind of beautiful. And maybe tomorrow someone will use these same grains of sand to make another castle,” Esme said, rinsing her hands off in the bucket of ocean water I’d gotten earlier.
“Phew, I need to get out of the sun,” she said, fanning herself.
“Same. I’m so toasted.” I really felt like I needed a nap.
We walked back to our stuff and started gathering it together. My body was just a little sore from my swim earlier, which was satisfying. Plus, there was the whole “Esme is definitely interested” part. This day had been a success all around.
Esme and I dusted the sand off our feet as we stood near our cars.
“Thanks so much for this, Paige. It’s been a really, really good day. I needed it,” she said.
“I’m glad,” I said, shuffling my feet back and forth in my sandals.
Be aggressive, Paige.
I had to make a move. I had to do something.
“I’ll make you dinner,” I blurted out. Wow. Brilliant. Why didn’t I just go in for a kiss like a regular person?
“Dinner?” Esme said. She tapped her chin with one finger as if she was pondering that suggestion. “I’d love to have dinner with you.”
Dinner could lead to dessert, which could lead to… other things. I was going for it. I’d gotten the green light. It was time.
Wyatt was going to be so pissed and it was going to be so great.
* * *
Esme agreedto come over in a few hours, so I rushed home to shower, panic clean, and figure out what the hell I was going to make her that would impress her enough to fuck me.
Pizza. Most everyone liked pizza. There was a frozen crust in my freezer, and I found some fig jam and brie in the fridge, so we were going fancy. I also added some fresh arugula and herbs, caramelized some onions, and ripped up some prosciutto to add as well. I found a bottle of wine I didn’t remember buying and pulled that out.
