for, liar

Chapter 44

Me and Miles make our way back to the beach house to change into actual clothes for the boardwalk. As much as I wanted to lay in the sand and relax, I wouldn't want to interfere with plans his mom already had.

"Would we be lazy if we drove down there?" I ask from the bathroom's cracked door while I'm changing.

Miles laughs and pulls his polo shirt over his head. "Yes, that would be very lazy. Besides, it's a longer drive than it is to walk because we have to go around all the woods and stuff."

I groan and step out into the bedroom. "Fine, we can walk. I'll act like I'm in shape just for you." I say and grab my phone off the end of the bed.

He chuckles and slides his flip flops back on. "You're so kind."

We walk back down to the beach and start toward the boardwalk. There weren't that many people actually in the ocean today so that was a good indication that it wouldn't be too busy.

Miles keeps a firm grip on my hand as we walk away from the sand to the stretch of gift shops and places to eat. That's where all the damn people had gone.

"Oh, shit. There's a lot of people here." I say.

Miles drags me through a crowd standing in the walkway. He excuses us and walks us down the strip. "Yeah, because it's all the tourist bullshit." He spits and huffs.

I laugh and squeeze his hand slightly to ease his anger. "Why are you pissed about tourist attractions? They can be fun sometimes."

"They're alright but I'd much rather be laying in the sand and listening to the waves. We should've gone to Edisto or something. They have zero attractions."

"Well I don't care about any of those attractions because I have the best one of all." I say and wink at him when he looks at me.

He laughs and rolls his eyes. "That was the worst thing you've ever said and you should feel bad about it."

"Not a chance!" I yell, cradling his arm in both of mine.

He walks us to one of the many seafood places. Lauren and Penny are seated at a table next to the bar. We walk on over and sit at the booth across from them. They already both have margaritas they're sipping on.

"So do you come to the beach often, Bree?" Lauren asks and takes a sip.

I shrug my shoulders and shake my head. "No, not really. I love it, though. I just don't have the time or funds." I respond with a nervous giggle.

"Well you are welcome to stay with us whenever you feel like driving down." Penny says.

"Thanks! You guys are so sweet."

Miles picks up the menu from the table and opens it up. "What's your favorite seafood?" He asks and keeps his focus on the list of options they have to offer.

I despise seafood. It's probably the one thing I won't eat. I hate the smell of it almost as much as I hate the actual taste so I'm hoping to God there's chicken fingers or something.

"I'm not a huge fan." I admit and scan the menu.

"Not even crab? Lobster? Shrimp?" Lauren questions.

Each one of those is equally as repulsive.

"Yeah, definitely not a seafood girl."

"That's okay! They have a whole page on the back for other options."

Miles flips it over for me and I end up just ordering a side of fried pickles because we had already eaten lunch. The little bit of the appetite I did have was destroyed by the smell in here.

"I'll take the crab legs." Miles says to the waiter.

The teenager in a striped tank top and surf shorts takes the rest of our order and walks to the back to put it in. All of the employees here looked seventeen.

"So tell us about yourself! Where are you from? What do you like to do? How did you guys meet?" Lauren asks.

I knew I was going to be bombarded with questions at some point. I prepared myself for it on the walk up here. "I grew up in North Carolina, went to UNC, and majored in Psychology. Now I live in Charlotte, just got my first apartment, and am an assistant manager at Scream Beans."

"Oh! That coffee place where you yell at people? I love it!" Penny exclaims.

I chuckle and nod. "Yeah, it's exciting sometimes."

The waiter brings us our food. Miles takes no time before digging straight into his crab legs. He must have been hungrier than I thought.

"So what's the story on how y'all met?" Lauren asks.

She takes the side cup of sauce that came with her shrimp platter and drizzles it all over the plate. I breathe through my mouth to avoid the smell as much as possible but I can practically taste it.

I think I hate seafood so much because I ate an entire plate of shrimp when I was eight and got the worst food poisoning of my life. That scarred me for life so just being around it makes me want to hurl. I have to keep my composure. I can't embarrass myself in front of his mom.

"He came into my job and harassed me about a bottle of water." I say more jokingly than anything.

Miles laughs whole heartedly and empties his hands of crab. "I did not! I just wanted a bottle of water and she told me to go across the street!"

"The gas station was cheaper! I was trying to save you a buck fifty." I defend.

Lauren and Penny start cackling at our melodramatic storytelling.

"Wow, that's romantic!" Lauren says.

"I know right." Miles adds with a wink.

I feel an instant jolt in my chest. This isn't going nearly as bad as I thought. My nerves have calmed enough for me to take a dive into my basket of pickles.

The two go on to talk about everything under the sun. It transitions from beach life antics to childhood stories of Miles. I listen and give my input when it's a good time. I feel comfortable and I can't believe how much I'm really falling in love with all of this. It honestly scares me a little bit.

"After this we were going to go shopping because Penny accidentally bleached her favorite shorts. You guys are more than welcome to come with us or venture off on your own." Lauren says, finishing off the last sip of her drink.

Miles shrugs and looks over at me, waiting for my response. I swallow the bit I had in my mouth to avoid talking with a mouthful like a monster.

"That's up to you. I'm up for whatever."

I really want some alone time. I know we'll have plenty of time with his mom back at the beach house so I'm hoping he declines her offer for now.

"Yeah, I think we will pass on the shopping for now. I kind of wanted to take her to the Sky Wheel."

The what?

"What's that?" I ask.

"It's this giant Ferris wheel that goes over the whole area. It's really neat." Penny answers and smiles.

I've never even been on a Ferris wheel. It shouldn't be too bad as long as it's not that high up.

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