Kiss Cam

Ch. 33 - Her Face Photoshopped On My Body

I smile. "That's sweet. Where'd you end up finding him?"

"Here."

"Really?"

"Yep. He was just lying in the sand," the lady who handed me the water before answers. "When we reached him, he didn't fight us in taking him back to our house."

I raise an eyebrow, confused to why she just jumped in randomly. Mr. Castaway sees my confusion and laughs a little.

"Uh, Riley, I'd like you to meet my wife, Adrianna," he introduces.

She sticks out her hand for me to shake, which I do. "I have to thank you for saving my husbands job. He's told me all about you!"

I never knew he was married. I had seen pictures of this lady on his desk, but always assumed she was just his sister. There was no reason to think he wasn't married, other than the small, small hope I had to one day marry him.

"Oh." I blush. "Well, it's very nice to meet you."

I leave out the fact that I'm so, so very slightly jealous of her and just keep a small smile on my face.

"Go talk to him," my teacher urges. "I think he just needs someone... well... someone other than his lame history teacher."

I laugh and look back to where Dexter's still sitting, throwing rocks into the ocean. My smile fades as my stomach begins to church. After all the fighting I've done with him, I still care. I still want to be his friend, even if he hates me.

Mr. and Mrs. Castaway help me stand up a few minutes later after the crowd disperses completely. I feel much better, though just a little woozy.

I walk down the beach to where Dexter is sitting and take a seat right next to him, ignoring the pounding of my heart. "Hey."

"Hey."

"Uh," I pause, "thanks for saving my life."

"Yeah." He throws another rock into the water with incredible speed.

I bite my lip. "Do you.. do you want to go grab a hotdog with me?"

He looks at me with those pained, tired eyes. "Okay."

"Yeah?" I ask out of disbelief and total excitement. "Alright, cool." I stand up from the sand and wipe of the grains from my damp dress.

Dexter stands up, his clothes still soaked and dripping. He really did jump into the water to pull me out. What am I feeling right now?

We walk in silence back up to the pier. Once we get to the hotdog stand, I ask, "excuse me, do you sell hotdogs here?"

The hotdog guy glares at me in annoyance, but it was definitely worth it. I got a smile out of Dexter.

We order two hotdogs, which I pay for as a thank you to Dexter for my life. He doesn't object, knowing I would never give up on trying to repay him.

"So, what were you doing at the pier?" I ask casually, sitting at the bench.

He sits next to me and shrugs.

"Were you with Mr. Castaway and his wife?"

This surprises him, considering he probably thought I had no idea about the three of them being friends. "Uh.. yeah."

"That's cool. I love Mr. Castaway, and Mrs. Castaway seems just as great."

He nods.

"How've you been?" I ask.

"Fine," he answers simply.

"Missed not seeing you at school," I admit. "It's really not the same messing with Georgia without you."