Kids In Love (Short Story)

Chapter 3

“I don’t think that I can thank you enough for what you just did back there,” Katie said once we were out of the restaurant.

“He shouldn’t have done that… what the hell is wrong with him?” I spoke more to myself than to Katie.

She remained silent, though, as we walked out of the restaurant and onto the pier.  The silence between us wasn’t awkward, but it wasn’t pleasurable either… it was just silence.

“So Harry,” Katie finally spoke up, “what brings you to Santa Monica of all places?” she wondered, turning to me as our journey on the pier ended and we began to walk down to the beach.

“I’ve always wanted to vacation here since I was a kid… I finally got enough money saved up, so I took the first chance that I got,” I replied awkwardly.  That was such a cliché question for her to ask me.

“What do you like about California?” she wondered, giggling when she witnessed two children splashing each other in the shallow water beside us.

“I like the people here… everyone is always so friendly,” I replied honestly.  I hadn’t met a single person who was rude to me… except for Justin, but he was drunk, so I counted that as an exception.

Katie laughed, breaking me out of my thoughts, “You obviously haven’t met that many people yet, then,” she smiled, her gaze meeting mine.

I looked away from her awkwardly; I had never been the most confident when it came to talking to girls.  However, Katie was a very talkative and friendly girl, so it was much easier to talk to her.

“What about you?  Were you born here?” I wondered, watching the sun begin to set in the horizon.

“Nope, I was born in Denver, Colorado, but I moved in with my grandmother here in Santa Monica when I was about thirteen,” she explained with a bittersweet twang in her tone.

I wanted to ask why she moved in with her grandmother and why she didn’t live with her parents, but that was none of my business and I knew that if she wanted to give me details, she would.

“And if you’re wondering, I don’t live with my parents for a reason, but I’m not comfortable telling somebody I have known for only about an hour,” Katie explained.

That was understandable.  I probably wouldn’t tell her my life story until I got to know her better either.  I nodded my head to show her that I was paying attention and not just dozing away from what she was saying.

“You’re really quiet,” Katie noted, discontinuing her walking before plopping down onto the ground.

We were far enough from the water, so it would take a while for the tide to reach us.  I sat down beside her and played with my fingers.

“And you do that a lot,” she commented, motioning to my hands.  Did I?

As if reading my thoughts, Katie nodded, “That’s all you were doing at the bar, playing with your rings,” she added with a giggle.

“Why did Justin call you that?” I blurted out, feeling awful after the words left my mouth.  I had tried so hard to keep that in, but it kept popping up in my mind and for some reason, I felt like I needed closure for that question.

Her eyebrows rose in slight shock after the words left my mouth.  She knew what I was referring to, and I now felt like I was being rude.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have…”

“No, it’s fine.  It’s actually kind of a long story,” she responded, gnawing on her lower lip gently.

I didn’t know whether or not to respond to what she had said.  Katie turned to me with raised eyebrows.