for, liar

Chapter 46

My feet ache as we tread out of another gift shop. I was hoping to have found a perfect souvenir for Maddy and my mom but all they have is the same boring shit that every tourist shop has and nothing meaningful. I'm picky when it comes to gifts because I want to make sure I do well.

"That's about it. Are you sure you didn't see anything you think they would like?" Miles asks.

I shake my head and pout. I'm more disappointed in myself for not being able to make a decision than I am for having bad luck.

"There's one last shop and it's less touristy if you want to look." He tells me and grabs both of my hands to pull me in the opposite direction.

I follow him to a stand alone building with an old faded, wooden sign hanging on the door that's barely even legible. I raise my eyebrows and walk up the set of stairs behind him. He pushes open the door and it makes a rusty squealing sound, desperate for some kind of lubricant. From the looks of it, this place has been here even before the damn beach opened.

It's completely silent in here, I'm not sure if we are even supposed to talk. The entrance is crowded by a few shelves with old books. Miles walks me around and down the aisle of more than three hundred figurines. Not a single one has Myrtle Beach written on it or an unnecessary souvenir related to drinking, smoking, or skimpy bikinis like the rest of the stores.

"What is all this?" I whisper as quietly as possible.

I still haven't seen anyone around. Miles flashes a smile at me and walks further down.

"This was probably the first store here. The Richardson family has been here for ages. They make a bunch of handmade crafts and figurines to sell to keep the business going. It's really cute. It's been passed down for a while now."

He keeps his voice low. I still haven't seen anyone else here.

I look at the shelves of countless figurines. Most of them are shells and animals made out of wood. The more expensive ones are made of glass. They remind me of the dolphin Miles had in his condo.

"Is this where you got your dolphin from?" I ask.

He looks at me, slightly surprised by what I said.

"The what?"

"The glass dolphin. The one in your living room."

He raises his brow. "How'd you know about that?"

I only notice weird and specific details about everything. I don't know why I'd put two in two together to assume this is where he got it from. Based on his reaction, I assume I'm right.

"I saw it in your living room. It's nice."

He chuckles and runs his hand through his thick, brown hair. "Yes, my mom got it for me years ago from here."

"Maybe I should get my mom something like that? Though I don't know what her favorite sea animal is or if she even has one."

He kneels down and looks at the bottom shelf where the glass is. I lean down next to him and take a look.

"What stands out to you?" He asks.

I don't really know. They all look beautiful. They're all unique in their own way. I think my mom was a fan of seahorses at some point. She loved horses in general when she was growing up because my grandfather had a few on his farm.

I picked up one of the many seahorse sculptures. The eyes were black with a navy blue back and light brown stomach. I check out the price tag and almost faint.

"Holy shit, it's fifty dollars." I blurt.

He laughs and stands up, offering his hand out for me to take. I grab it and allow him to pull me to my feet.

"I'll buy it for you."

"Oh my God, no. You do not have to do that. I can just find a cheaper one." I say.

He shakes his head and snatches it from my hands. "This one stood out to you. It's important."

"Miles!" I yell and fight to get it back.

He holds it high above my head. I would try to jump for it but I'm scared all the other glass items are going to fall off the shelves and then I'd spend all my life savings paying for it.

"You're going to break it. Just let me buy it." I say and cross my arms.

He laughs and shakes his head again. He's relentless.

"Then let's split it and it can be from both of us." I suggest since he just won't give up.

He finally lowers his arm and nods. "Sounds good."

I playfully hit his stomach, activating that charismatic, sharp cackle.

"Asshole."

He leans down and places a kiss on my cheek. We walk the rest of the store and I'm still not able to find anything as beautiful as the seahorse. Miles speeds over to the counter and the older lady at the register rises from her chair.

"Is this all for you, darlin'?" She asks with a warm smile.

"Yes ma'am. That'll be it." He responds.

She takes the seahorse from Miles with her dainty, aged hands and checks out the price tag. The cash register was literally one of the oldest models ever. It definitely keeps the old spirit alive here.

"Alright honey, it's going to be $51.60."

Miles reaches into his wallet and pulls out a fifty and a couple of ones. I quickly hold out my half of the money had ready but he swats my arm away to hand only his cash to the lady.

"Miles." I hiss and shove the money at him.

"Fine, fine."

He takes my cash and shoves it in his pocket. The cashier carefully wraps up the seahorse and places it in a brown paper bag. She puts the little bit of change left into the bag, as well as the receipt, and hands it to Miles.

"Come back and see us!" She says.

"Will do."

I smile when Miles grabs my hand to walk me out. "Now all I have to do is find something for Maddy."

He looks around for a minute and puts on a thinking face. "She would probably like the cheesier options like a shot glass with a marijuana leaf on it."

I laugh and nudge him. "That's exactly what she would like."

Revised;