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CHAPTER4
Peyton
I knew Chloe Wainwright would make her trek down the boardwalk. My best friend Monica suggested I call Chloe and tell her my intentions regarding securing Hank’s permit.
Telling Chloe my plans was not going to stop me from moving forward. Why stress the poor girl worrying about a bit of competition?
“Peyton, opening another ice cream place on the boardwalk without telling Chloe is equivalent to when you put glue in her hair in fourth grade,” Monica admonished.
“I didn’t put glue in her hair, Monica. I only wanted to touch it to see if it felt as soft as it looked. It wasn’t my fault my hands were full of glue at the time.”
I watched Chloe stand outside my Shake Shack. Her baby blue eyes widened as she read the sign overhead. Her long, curly, chestnut hair was tied in a messy bun. It looked soft, and I still wanted to run my hands through it. Her alabaster skin gave me the impression she had not spent her time in the tropical jungle with her parents.
I hadn’t returned to Tranquility during the summer. Instead, I choose to take advantage of the training programs offered by the university. I hadn’t seen Chloe since the summer after high school. We didn’t run in the same circle.
I remember the first time Chloe entered our class. Fourth grade with Mrs. Hunter. I think I had been crushing on Chloe Wainwright from the moment she sat in front of me. Accidentally putting glue in her hair the first day did not make the right impression. She avoided me the entire year.
I spent the bulk of my allowance that summer visiting Catherine’s Sweet Treats. But no matter how many times I tried to apologize, words failed me. Finally, I told my mom what had happened and enlisted her wisdom to get Chloe to forgive me. My mom asked why I hadn’t apologized when it happened. In my mind, I didn’t need to apologize. It was an honest mistake. Chloe should have been happy. I thought her hair was soft and wanted to touch it. The longer I waited, the harder it became.
My mom suggested I make Chloe a card saying I was sorry. Including why I did what I had and how it was all a big mistake. I never meant to put glue in her hair. I bought some pretty hair bows and wrapped them in sparkly pink paper. Girls like pink.
When I arrived on the first day of fifth grade, Chloe was nowhere to be seen. She had returned to her parents. Naturally, I took offense to Chloe’s desertion. As a result, I avoided Catherine’s Sweet Treats the following summer.
It wasn’t Chloe’s fault her parents wanted her to experience the world. But tell that to a prepubescent boy.
I put Chloe Wainwright out of my mind. At least until I stepped into seventh grade. I’d recognize that curtain of curly chestnut hair anywhere. I had my second chance, or so I thought, until Justin, head of the math squad, wrapped his arm around her shoulder, announcing to everyone Chloe was his girlfriend.
No biggie. It wasn’t as if I was still crushing on Chloe Wainwright.
As before, when I believed I was slighted, I avoided visiting the boardwalk. And like fourth grade, Chloe disappeared at the end of the summer.
By the time she returned to our senior year of high school, I had sensed a pattern. I was not going to fall into the trap that was Chloe Wainwright. She left broken hearts up and down the boardwalk. Besides, I had Nancy’s undivided attention. She was the bad girl your parents warned you about. But the things we did that year felt anything but bad. Which was why I continued doing those things through college.
I’d heard that Chloe kept Catherine’s Sweet Treats open after her aunt passed. Other than that, I had no clue what Chloe Wainwright had been doing since graduating high school.
I watched Chloe’s face morph to understand what my sign implied. I couldn’t help but smile and wave at her. Maybe it was time to apologize for the glue incident.
Oh, and perhaps explain why I was selling milkshakes on the boardwalk this summer.
