Given Time

♡21♡

The view of the bay is breathtaking. Boats of different sizes and colors sit idly next to each other, and I can hear them bobbing and creaking as they move gently on the waves. The presents my parents and friends bought for me are sitting on the table in from of me as we sit on the white leather couches, basking in the warmth of the sun. My friends sit on one side with me, while my parents sit on the other as we share our fondest memories of our childhoods, and I'm glad to see they're all getting along, laughing and joking together.

"This is a good one," my dad announces for what feels like the hundredth time.

"When Leah was around five, we held a kid's party to celebrate Easter. One of the dads who came was bald and Leah went up to him, put an Easter egg sticker on top of his head, and said, 'Now you're an egghead'. It was both mortifying and hilarious." He laughs, slamming his hands down on the mahogany table.

I cringe from yet another embarrassing story being told about me, and unfortunately, the evil people my friends are they lap up every second of it and demand to hear more stories.

"Ugh. Please, no more!" I plead. "When I meet both of your parents, I'll make sure to find out every embarrassing thing you did as kids." I point at them menacingly.

"Oh, come on, Leah. It's just a bit of fun," Ben goads.

I stick my tongue out at both of them and cross my arms.

Above their chuckles, I hear a set of shoes walking along the deck, moving closer to our table. I look up, expecting to see one of the cabin crew, but instead I'm met with Tanner carrying a large sports bag over his shoulder.

My mouth drops in surprise to see him here. I thought that after what happened the last time we were together he'd have got the message that I'm not interested in having anything to do with him, yet here he is.

As he walks closer to the table his blue eyes bore into mine and I have no idea how to respond. My parents don't know what has happened recently between the two of us and I have no plan on telling them.

"Ah, here's the man of the hour! What took you so long?" my dad asks, getting up from his seat and slapping Tanner on the back.

My eyes move from Tanner to my dad and my brow furrows as I realize he's the one who invited him.

"Sorry. I thought I'd get a couple more hours on the ice before coming," Tanner responds quietly, dropping his bag on the floor.

He then turns his head back to the table and takes in Ben and Zara sitting next to me. The astonished look on his face tells me he didn't know they were coming.

"Uh. Hi, guys." He gives an uneven smile and takes the seat next to my dad, so he is sitting directly opposite me.

As I take in his appearance, I see he is wearing a gray flannel T-shirt that is unbuttoned one too many, making me catch his toned chest beneath. I can tell from the tan on his skin that he's been out in the sun recently, and I hate to admit how good he looks because of it.

"Happy birthday, Leah," Tanner says quietly.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I lift my eyes to his face and see that he's looking evenly back at me. "Thank you," I say coolly, tilting my head to the side. "I didn't know you were coming."

He ruffles his hand through his dark hair and glances over to my parents. "Um, yeah. Your dad asked me this morning." He then turns his attention back to me and swallows. "But I can go if you want me to."

"What are you talking about? You're not going anywhere," my mom says, reaching across the table to pat his hand. "You're here just in time. We're reminiscing about Leah as a youngster."