Easier to Lie

Chapter 15

The talk between Leah and Emma went fine. That's how Leah described it, fine. They talked, they cried, they hugged. End of discussion.

She was acting like herself once we left. Eric stopped at Mac's for lunch. Leah refused to go inside until she reapplied her make-up, a process that took entirely too long.

A hungry Adam was the worst kind of Adam. "Babe, c'mon, it's just lunch. Hardly anyone is here. You look fine."

"You're my boyfriend, you're supposed to say that," she looked at me with pleading eyes, "Reggie, do I look okay?"

"Like Daisy from The Great Gatsby. Can we eat now?"

As if I wasn't hungry already, my stomach growled even louder when Mac greeted us. Eric laced his fingers with mine, gaining the attention of Mac.

"I see you finally got the girl," he smiled at both of us and provided the four of us with free milkshakes.

The lunch crowd swarmed shortly after we ordered. It never took too long for every table at Mac's to be filled. I was thankful for the crowd, we had done enough serious talking for one day. We needed to relax and have fun.

I couldn't decide between fries and onion rings so, I got one and Eric the other. We shared, and Leah kept saying how it was the cutest thing she had ever seen. When Adam tried to steal a bite of Leah's chili fries she slapped his hand away. Leah didn't share food, not even with me.

"What are we doing after lunch?" Adam asked in between bites of his crispy chicken sandwich.

"Mini golf?" Leah suggested, "we could spend the day at the Boardwalk," and that's what we did.

We had to park a mile away but none of us complained. The Boardwalk was huge, almost like a small festival. There were rides, games, food, shops, anything you could imagine.

We stayed together for most of the afternoon. Mini golf was our first stop. The funny thing about that? The only golf clubs available were the small kid sizes. We looked ridiculous, but we had a great time.

Eric was a step above us because he lived here and spent a lot of time on the golf course. Leah and Adam made it a competition between them. Watching the two most competitive people I know go head-to-head was the most entertaining yet annoying thing in the world. I, on the other hand, sucked at mini-golf.

I wanted to learn, and Eric wanted to teach me. I'm not going to lie, having his hands on my hips felt nice. His touch was soft and warm, like a bonfire in the early autumn. I wanted to roast marshmallows on his body. He was making me have dirty thoughts I had only read about. I liked it.

Eric won that first round of mini-golf, which surprised no one. Leah and Adam tied so they were going to have a rematch. I epically failed, but I had a great time playing.

While they had their rematch, Eric and I went shopping. I picked up this homemade wooden frame that was horribly decorated with beads and shells. It was so ugly that I had to buy it. I wanted a picture of all four of us for my dorm room.

"What are your plans when summer ends?" I asked as he twirled me around.

"I'm joining the Navy."

I stopped in my tracks, causing Eric to spill the Dr.Pepper he had bought moments earlier. "I'm so sorry," I said, then added, "Are you serious, though? The military?"

"Yeah, I've already talked to a recruiter. I'm signing the papers on my birthday."

"That's three weeks away. What about us?" We couldn't break up so soon after becoming a couple. "You can't make me fall for you then leave. That's not fair!"