A Boy in the Hand is Worth Two in the Head

Chapter 24

After a few more minutes in the water, we’d both simultaneously started walking back to the shore. Will put me onto his back again, but I was nowhere near as agitated as I was when we’d gone in. Probably because I knew that if I started to panic again, he wouldn’t let anything happen. Also because I trusted his hands. Not that I would tell him that.

I thought about Will’s mum, and how he seemed to think that he was at fault. I wondered what had become of his dream to be a firefighter. I understood why he never mentioned his dad. I voiced none of these.

The breeze from the two coolers in front of us blew around my ankles, and I shivered a little. My dress was still soaking wet, though it had stopped dripping a couple of blocks ago. The cold air blew gushes of ice wind at me.

Will had offered me his shirt, but I didn’t take it, so it was slung over his shoulder lazily. Neither of us had bothered bringing towels, so he was still shirtless; something that was both wonderful and distracting at the same time. I could see the Subway worker behind the counter having the same problem I was, dragging her eyes away from his body as he pondered over the many options.

She glanced at me quickly, and raked her eyes over my bedraggled appearance. “Are you guys together?”

I stared at her. “Pardon?”

She cleared her throat, and looked down at my sub. “Are you paying together?” I started, and reached for my purse, which still had sand in the crevasses.

“Oh, no, he can pay for himself,” I told her, my face deadly serious. She frowned less, and Will shot me a dirty look, but didn’t protest. He again concentrated on the salads in front of him while I paid for my food.

After he’d finally decided on everything but jalapeños and tomato, he was almost jumping around in anticipation.

“You were right Ebby, this is much better than a picnic,” he exclaimed gleefully. The girl behind the counter just stared at him, bemused.

“Does that mean we’re not getting up early tomorrow then? I asked hopefully. He looked amused.

“Don’t be foolish dearest, a deal’s a deal.” I snorted.

“Yes, bullying me into making you sandwiches is a deal I would have made.” The girl handed him his change, and he practically dragged me outside, in search of grass.

“I'll make the sandwiches then, if you want. You can find something else to make.” He hadn’t even noticed the hilarity in my voice, the poor boy.

“Alright,” I laughed, “you can be my sandwich bitch.” He stuck his tongue out at me as he quickly started to sit cross-legged on the nature strip of someone’s house. “Are you kidding?” He paused, took in my expression, and sighed.

“I haven’t had Subway in years Eb,” he whined, but began to follow me, if not moodily, his plastic bag of food swinging from his hand.

“Eat while you walk?” His eyes lit up at this, but he remained strong.

“No, my first bite of this is going to be perfect,” he told me, a smirk lingering on his face, for a reason I couldn’t quite grasp.

“What?”

“Doesn’t sound familiar? Like, any life aspirations you’d had?” I frowned at him.

“Trust you to be thinking about me pashing some guy,” I teased him, mulling what I’d just said over in my head. Why was he thinking about that?

“No, trust me to be thinking about you never following through with anything you want,” he laughed right back. I knew what he meant, but that still hurt a little. It was true though. I never finished anything I started, unless I had to. As soon as I got something I wanted, it lost its appeal. That’s why I was so terrified of being kept at the farm; that’s why I was so terrified of finally finishing my education. What if I changed my mind, and hurt everyone around me?