Gold Digger

Chapter 3

Claire's POV

I drive to the park to meet Riley and I'm completely disgusted by the amount of squirrels and pigeons and people feeding them. I wait on a park bench near the entrance for him to pull up.

"Come on, get in," he says with a smile.

"Where are we going?" I ask with a similar smile, happy to be leaving the great outdoors.

"Starbucks!"

Thank goodness! I am in desperate need of an iced caramel macchiato. I have to admit, the guy has taste. I climb into the passenger seat.

As we are sitting at the booth making small talk I notice a guy that I recognize from back home, a guy I used to date.

"Lila! What are you doing here?"

"I think you're mistaken, her name is Claire," Riley defends.

"No, I'd recognize her anywhere."

"Jake, can we talk about this later?" I ask. Riley starts to look extremely confused.

"I guess so, I'll call you sometime."

I nod as Jake walks away.

"So Claire isn't your real name? It's Lila?" Riley asks with his eyebrows raised.

"Well, Claire is my real name. I had it changed from Lila."

"Oh. Why?"

"I just like Claire better, ok?" I snap, and instantly feel bad when he quickly drops his eyes to his latte. We drink the rest of our Starbucks in silence. Once we are in the car, I try to apologize.

"Riley, I'm sorry that I didn't tell you before."

"There's no reason to apologize," he responds, frowning.

"Yes there is, and I shouldn't have yelled at you in there."

"It's ok," he replies as we approach the park and we car. I give him a small smile and he returns me with one, too.

"I'll talk to you later, Claire."

"Ok. Bye, Riley."

I walk to my car, unlock it and climb inside, and watch him drive away, hoping that he isn't mad. Because if he's mad, there goes my chance at fame. I pull out my phone and dial Jake. There's no point in putting it off, might as well get it over with.

"Hello?" He answers.

"Jake it's me."

"Hey Lila."

"It's Claire now, remember."

"Oh, right, sorry. And I didn't mean to interrupt your date earlier." I can sense his eye roll and frown at the word date.

"I'm really sorry but this is the way it needs to be."

"You just left. I didn't hear from you for weeks, months, and then I see you in L.A. with some guy."

"You have to understand, Jake, I'm terrible at goodbyes. I didn't want to have to say goodbye to you. I still care about you, just in a different way."

"When you say goodbye don't you mean breakup?"

"Huh?"

"You said you're terrible at goodbyes. It wasn't a goodbye, it was a breakup."

"I'm really sorry..."

"I've got to go, Li- I mean Claire."

"Bye," I sigh into the phone as I hear the click that signals he hung up.

Great, just great. My best friend hates me now. I wish we would've never dated, why wasn't he happy just being friends?

*****Flashback*****

"Lila, are you done yet?" Jake asks me with an annoyed voice.

"I'm almost done, be patient," I respond, scolding playfully.

"Ugh," he groans.

"Now, which bikini do you think Jackson would like better? The green one, or my blue polka-dot?" Jackson was the guy I had recently been crushing on, and he was going to the beach for the beginning of summer with the rest of the recently graduated seniors.

"Why do you care what that idiot thinks?" he asks, with a noticeable edge to his voice.

"I just do!" I snap.

"You need someone who doesn't mess around with any girl who'll give him the time of day, someone who's serious about you." I sit down next to him on my bed, setting down both bikinis due to the nervousness and unease in his usually confident, even cocky voice.

"Someone like me..." he trails off and looks down at his hands clasped in his lap.

"What?" I ask, completely thrown off guard.

"I really like you, Lila, maybe even love you. Just please give us a chance, we're great as friends and I just know we'd be great in a relationship. Please let us try, just for this week at the beach. I promise, if it doesn't work out, we'll make it work as friends," he finishes, finally raising his eyes to meet mine. I'm stunned into silence by his shocking revelation. All I can think is,

My best friend likes me, I think maybe I might like him, too.

I nod slowly, hoping I won't regret my decision later. A smile starts to slowly lift the corners of his lips, and I allow myself to think of how soft they look, as they get closer and closer to mine. The minute they meet, I swear time is frozen and I can't move, until he gently pulls away and I open my eyes and stare at him, happiness clearly written in the soft blue color of his eyes, the rosiness of his cheeks, and the soft smile spreading slowly across his face.