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I refrain from rolling my eyes, remind myself that Val is perfectly free and single to date whoever she wants. Or to not date at all. But hey, got to respect the chops of this guy.
I stare at some goggles on display with a new fervor, but I can still hear their conversation.
“That’s awfully nice of you to offer.”
“Yeah,” he says. “It’s a cool spot. Have you been before?”
“I used to come all the time growing up. I’m actually here for a little trip down memory lane with…”
At this point, I can’t help but look over. Val is holding a hand towards me in a half-gesture. She doesn’t elaborate.
It takes a second for the guy to size me up and the flirty smile drops off his face. He averts his gaze quickly. “Uh, right. Okay. Well, that’ll be—”
“Hang on,” Val interrupts. “Did you want something, Ethan? Maybe those kids goggles you’re staring at?”
Huh?
Oh, fantastic. In my attempt at nonchalance, I picked up a box of sparkly pink goggles and am cradling them close to my chest. I press my lips together, shove them back onto the shelf. “No, I’m good.”
“You sure? No goggles, or arm floaties, or maybe even a—Ooooh!” She suddenly lunges forward and picks up a glaringly bright sweater. “This looks exactly like a sweater I used to have!”
The faded edges of a memory come back to me as I stare at the blinding piece of fabric. “You had a tie-dye sweatshirt?”
“Yeah, when I was, like, 7. Mom got it for Alicia, but she didn’t want it and it didn’t fit Carmen so it came to me.”
“Do you want it, Teeny?”
She frowns, even as she holds the sweater to her chest lovingly. “Tie-dye isn’t really my color.”
“Sure it is. It’s literally every color.”
“You know what I mean.” She puts the sweater back. “I shouldn’t. I’m a grownup now. I should be wearing suits and fancy professional clothes.”
I raise a brow. “You can’t wear a suit 24/7, Teeny. Even the most put-together people wear sweats sometimes.”
Val sighs while literally petting the sweater. She doesn’t respond.
On a whim, I take the sweater and go to the guy at the counter. “I’ll get this. And the swimsuit.”
Val places a hand on my arm. “What’re you—”
“I’m buying these. You want the sweater, I’m getting you the sweater.”
She stares up at me while I swipe my card in the machine. “Ethan, you don’t have to do that.”
I take the bag and turn towards her. My gaze softens as I look at her wide, amber eyes, her pouting mouth that I’ve remembered kissing countless times. “I want to. Because you deserve every tie-dye sweater in the world if that’s what you want. And I’m sorry if I ever made you feel otherwise.”
19
Val
I discovered something important today.
Spending the day at a water park as an adult is completely underrated.
After the initial discomfort of the whole “trying on bathing suits with Ethan sitting not five feet away” situation, we were off to the races.
Literally. We went down slides that twisted and turned around and on top of each other. We rode down the River Rider in multi-colored tubes. I’d put an arm out ahead of him to give him a late start, or he’d grab my ankle in the pool to slow me down. I watched (from a safe, comfortable distance) as he went down the Monster Slide.
