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He imagined his sister glaring at him. Because he was the only boy in the family, aside from their dad, their mom favored him. In her eyes, he could do no wrong. Whereas the twins were often in trouble. Well, mostly Skyla. She pushed the boundaries . . . a lot.
“You know what you should try?”
A pit in his stomach formed. He knew exactly what his sister was going to say. “No,” he said, hoping to steer her away from the topic of relationships.
“Yes, and you don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“I do, and I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Ciara and I liked her.”
Therein lies one of the many issues when you and your long-term girlfriend break up. It’s not just one heart that breaks, it’s multiple. Kiel sighed heavily. He didn’t want to have this conversation with Skyla but didn’t want to ignore her feelings either.
“I know, and I’m sorry.” He opened his eyes and scanned the beach. He felt almost envious seeing other couples walking hand in hand along the surf or affectionately snuggled together on their beach towels. If he and Hannah had been together, she would’ve been on this trip with his family. They would be the ones doing all the couple type things. It only reminded him more poignantly that something crucial was missing from his own life—love and companionship.
And then his thoughts turned to the woman he met a few nights ago. She intrigued him. Kiel sat up and looked toward the boardwalk, studying the space and the people as they strolled along the wooden structure. Eloise . . . her name popped into his mind. It was as if he had almost forgotten it.
“What or who are we looking for?” Skyla asked as she turned around.
“No one,” he said as he turned to face the water. “I thought I heard something.”
Skyla stared at him. Hard. He grimaced when he saw her expression. She didn’t believe him.
“Riight.”
As he ignored his sister, he couldn’t help his thoughts as they drifted back to Hannah. They were two people who seemed perfect for each other and yet things just didn’t work out . . . that’s what hurt Kiel most deeply. Nothing was amiss. He would understand if they fought, but they rarely argued. One day, things were great. The next, they were standing in the courtyard on campus and she was breaking up with him.
Where had things gone wrong?
What could Kiel have done differently?
“I think I need a lobster roll.” Kiel heard his mother say.
He jumped to his feet. “I’ll go get it.” He needed to clear his thoughts and walking to the snack shack would definitely do that. Skyla didn’t mean anything by bringing up his ex. Kiel knew this, but it still hurt.
Kiel made a note in his phone of everyone’s order, took his father’s credit card, and headed toward the boardwalk. He climbed the wooden steps and fell in step behind other beachgoers.
Kiel stopped at the T-shirt vendor and thumbed through the classic “beach” tees and then moved onto the small souvenir stand. He spun the magnet holder, smirking at the quirky sayings. The next shop rented surf and bodyboards. This was where he’d send Skyla. She’d for sure find someone there to teach her how to surf. His sister had no problems making friends. Kiel finally arrived at the snack shack, waited in a line that moved exceptionally fast, and placed his order. While he waited, he surveyed the crowd, telling himself he wasn’t looking for the painter, when in reality, he was doing exactly that. He desperately wanted to see her again, to have a longer than five-minute conversation with her.
He rested his elbows on the railing of the boardwalk and waited for his order. In front of him, kids built sandcastles, people listened to music, basked in the sun, swam in the water, and surfers rode the waves back to shore.
People at the beach were happy. He should be as well. He shook his head to clear his thoughts away from his earlier conversation with his sister. They were on vacation for the summer. He was going to enjoy it and make friends with the locals.
Especially Eloise if he ever found her again.
“Order for Kiel.”
Kiel went to the counter and grabbed the white to go bag. On his way back, he passed by the frozen lemonade stand and ordered five, grateful the cart had a carrying case for them otherwise he was going to have to make two trips or he’d spill one and end up wearing a freezing cold drink. They’d for sure melt before he got back to his family, but the cold concoction would be good, regardless.
His dad met him halfway and took the lemonades from him. The young worker at the stand had perilously stacked the fifth one haphazardly in the middle, which teetered on the edge of becoming sandy “ade.”
Kiel passed out the food and set the two large piles of fries in the middle. He sipped on the frozen lemonade and encouraged the others to try it.
“Why is snack shack food so good?” Ciara asked as she put a fry into her mouth. “Like I could eat this and food from a food truck every day.”
“Because it’s a treat,” Leona said as she took a bite of her lobster roll. Her eyes closed, and she hummed in satisfaction. “This is so delicious. I could get used to it.”
“And not something we’re doing every day,” Emmett added. “We have food at the house.”
