The Harper Family: Second Chances (Wattpad Version)

Official date

Keaton

I took a shower and got dressed for my date with Ricardo. It was weird to go out on an actual date—one where the other person takes you out into public and pays for a meal. Yeah, I never did that.

Grampa helped me to get ready and gave me pointers. "If you get bored, you could play Monopoly."

"What?" I cocked my head and scrunched my face.

"Monopoly is a good game. Your nana and I played it a lot." Grampa shrugged.

"I'm not ten."

"You don't need to be ten."

"How does that help with dating tips?"

"It gives you an idea of how to keep the boredom away."

I shook my head.

"Can Ricardo cook?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Your nana can't cook. I didn't want you to get food poisoning."

"What?"

"Your nana tried cooking when we got married. It didn't work. Nash and Grayson would fake a stomach bug so they didn't have to eat her cooking."

I squinted my eyes and ran my tongue along my teeth, trying to understand my grampa's logic. But whatever works for him and Nana.

We came out of the bedroom to find Ricardo waiting for me. We told my grandparents bye before leaving the house and climbed into the car.

Ricardo drove to a local beach, pulled into a parking spot, and exited the car. I followed suit. He popped the trunk, grabbed a picnic basket and a blanket, and carried it over to a spot. We unfolded the blanket and laid it on the ground. I sat down as he joined me.

Ricardo opened the lid, pulled styrofoam containers from the basket, and handed me one before taking one himself.

I took the container and opened the container. "When you said you wanted to take me on a date, I wasn't expecting a beach picnic."

"I figured it was better than camping out in my living room." Ricardo shrugged.

"It's way better than the woods. No poison ivy or wild animals."

Ricardo chuckled. "I realized we didn't start conventional, but I wanted to change that."

"My life isn't conventional if you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, I noticed." Ricardo took a bite of his sandwich and chewed.

"It's weird not to look over my shoulder. I expect someone to hunt my ass down."

Ricardo swallowed his food. "You got dragged into an unfortunate circumstance trying to protect someone. No one can fault you for your actions."

"No, but I should have seen the signs. Why would an older guy take an interest in a kid? But I made the mistake of believing him."

"Keaton, you thought someone was genuinely interested in you. We all strive to find someone who will love us. I did."

"For what it's worth, I'm glad I met you in that bar."

"For what it's worth, I am, too."

My lips curved upward slightly as I ate my sandwich.

*****
Ricardo

After everything that happened, I wanted to spend time with Keaton. It felt great not to hide our relationship. I never thought I would find someone who would love me.