Ask Me Anything

Chapter 4

Carrie had a point. Everywhere I looked, I saw another attractive guy that I wouldn't mind "stumbling into". But also, like I said, I am someone who values a lot more than just looks in a guy and Lucas seemed like the kind of guy you could actually sit down and have an intellectually stimulating exchange with. On the other hand, it was the summer, and just the beginning too. Who knew could happen between then and August when we went home?

All I knew was that I didn't have Lucas's number anymore and that to him, it probably seemed like I wasn't interested at all since I hadn't contacted him yet. Still, Kylie had a point. If I really wanted to see him again, all I had to do was go to the bookstore, though as luck kept seeming to have it, we kept seeming to run into each other.

Summer was going to be full of surprises, I could just tell.

This theory was only further fueled as the days went on and I spent more days at the park. Greg and I talked almost every day, since he was always there when I was, per Mark's doing. That way, Greg could make sure I didn't burn the place to the ground or get someone killed. With every day we spent together, we got to know each other more and more. He had lived at the shore for only three years. He and his boyfriend, Brian moved in together when Greg came out to his parents. They weren't the most supportive of his announcement.

In fact, they weren't pleased at all. They told him, in no uncertain terms, that they didn't support him in discovering his sexuality and that he was a disappointment and disgrace to their family. Upset, he ran to Brian to comfort and the two of them came down the shore and rented a house for cheap. They'd been there ever since, and they were very happy.

He was putting himself through school, so he wasn't depending on his parents for anything. He worked at the park, but also at a local hot dog cart during the day that people could come right off the beach and order from. That's how he paid for school and for rent for the house. Brian was a manager at a local grocery store as well as at the hot dog cart as well. With both of them working two jobs, they were able to live quite comfortably at the house.

In turn, I told Greg about myself and my not-so-interesting life. I was only 19, and as I'm sure you gathered, I wasn't the most popular person, neither in high school nor college. I was a natural at blending in with the scenery and the faces around me, so no one really noticed me all that much. I stuck to my books, listening to music, collecting vinyl records, focusing on my studies when I was in school, and going to the gym. I found running to be quite cathartic. You know, after I got into a routine of doing it. It was not something I gravitated to right away, I could tell you that. I used to be kind of a chubby kid when I was younger, but since puberty and the gym happened, I was actually quite proud of the shape I was in.

I told him a little about my ex-boyfriend, Mike, who had been great until he broke up with me right before we went off to college, three nights before our two year anniversary. He told me it was because he didn't want ME to feel tied down when I went off to school, which seemed ironic when I found out from a good friend that went to the same school with him, that he hooked up with three different girls within the first two weeks of the semester. It was pretty obvious where his allegiance was, and it wasn't to me, that's for damn sure. It hurt, after I found that out, but I got over it, as we all do. He had been special to me, though. I had only had one other relationship besides him and it wasn't serious in the slightest. Mike and I were actually pretty steady and we were each other's firsts. But, apparently, once I opened those doors for him, he felt like he never wanted them closed.

It was because of Mike and many other reasons that I was very guarded when it came to the male species. They were hard to read, even when you knew their endgame had to deal with getting you into bed. It's not like they did a great job of hiding that fact then it was very clearly their motivation for ever striking up a conversation with you in the first place.