Let's Play Pretend

V. Chocolate vs. Vanilla

(Day three)

*Andrew's POV*

The Florida sun beat down on me, leaving its mark in the form of salty sweat dripping down my neck. I absent mindely wiped at it with the back of my hand. Despite the heat, I still insisted on having my knit beanie tugged over my hair. 

I made a face when I noticed that the bridge of my glasses was making my nose unpleasantly sweaty. Oh, the drawbacks of glasses. 

People milled around the main part of Seaside, their arms full of shopping bags, looking around for something to do. I didn't know what I planned to do with Charlie. Right now I was just hoping that she'd at least show up. After that cliff jumping incident I wasn't so sure. That was a bad idea for a first date. I'm a fucking idiot. 

I ran my finger through my hair, squinting into the unforgiving sun. The sun was so bright that I almost  couldn't see her coming. Her hair was yanked up into a messy ponytail, displaying her face well. I couldn't help but notice that s she seemed dressed out of her comfort zone. She was wearing a black shirt with small sleeves that ended right before her belly button and cut off jean shorts. She'd made a small attempt to make the outfit more "her" by yanking on a thick white and gray sweater. I grimaced at the idea of wearing a sweater in this heat. 

She smiled when she saw me. A smile that lit up the streets of Seaside brighter than any sun ever could. I waved her over to me. And, after glancing over her shoulder, she slowly made her way over. She dropped down onto the step of the marble stage one down from the one I was sitting on. 

We sat in silence for a couple of minutes at we watched the tourists idly walk around. The tourists came in all different shapes and sizes. Some were aggitated mothers who brought their kids here thinking that they would just go off and do their own thing and instead got drawn into an all day shopping/beach trip followed by a complaint filled dinner about how tired their kids were. Some were teens like us, kids just wanting an escape before the rest of their lives started and they headed off to college. Some were dads, hanging back, drinking beers, and watching their wives deal with the kids. Others were adults on their own. To me, adults coming here without kids is like adults going to Disney World without kids: creepy with a capital C. 

Charlie swung her legs back and forth on the steps, occasionally hitting her heels against the back of the step. 

"Hey, so I'm sorry about the cliff thing last night. That was a stupid idea and--" I began. 

"No," she cut in. "It was fun. I mean I guess that's what you could call it." She looked down at her hands and smiled gently. "It was out of my comfort zone. So thanks." 

I smiled at the back of her head, at her twisting pony tail. 

"You're welcome. So lunch?" She turned towards me with the same smile, but wider. 

"Sure. That'd be great." Without thinking it through, I took her hand in mine. She jumped a bit and looked down at our tangled fingers. She stared at them for a minute before breathing out a sigh and relaxing her hand against my touch.

We made our way across the busy street and to a restaurant that was sitauted on top of another restuarant. We were seated at a table by the window, which were opened and sending us gusts of salty air. Charlie hung on to her napkin, afraid that it might fly away with the seaside wind. 

I stared at her while she stared out the window at the ocean. 

"Wow, this place has a great view," she breathed. 

"Yeah it does," I whispered. Catching me staring at her, she blushed and rolled her eyes.

"Cheese ball."