The Summer I Met You

CHAPTER 29

Our friends are set to arrive any moment. The sun has almost fully risen. The excitement of hanging out with everyone has come crashing down. I should be excited, Dan is my best friend, but right now I'd really like to get to know Lennox better. There's more to her than the Hollywood starlet I met at the airport.

"Please let me know if I'm overstepping in any way, but I was wondering if you — uh do you really want to go on the boat today?"

She quietly observes me. I wish I could read her mind, find out if maybe I've misread what's happening between us. I'm jumping in too quick, getting attached when maybe I should have my guard up. She is Lennox Taylor after all.

Her hand slides over mine, pulling me from my thoughts.

"What do you have in mind?" she asks.

Holy shit, she's interested. Max get a grip on yourself. It's crazy because it's not like I've never asked a girl out before. I attempt to speak, but nothing comes out, so I wait a minute to see if I can find my voice again.

"Do you trust me?"

Her leg shakes as she regards me. I hold my breath waiting for her to change her mind. I'm diving in hard and fast, and I don't think I can turn around.

I'm tripped up by her hand tightening around mine. "Yeah."

"Okay, so um... is it okay if I take you somewhere else?" I ask.

I swallow hard while I wait for her to answer.

"Okay."

"Okay?" I repeat her answer to make sure I've heard her right.

I get to my feet and hold my hand out for her to take. She focuses on the hand then looks back up at me, then takes it, allowing me to pull her up. Lennox's green eyes have me in a choke hold. If we stick around any longer everyone will be here and then I won't be able to spend the one-on-one time with her I was hoping for.

"Where are we going?" she asks as we race through the parking lot.

"It's a surprise," I say, picking up the pace.

I open the door for her, then jog around the front to get into my side. As we pull out, Dan's car is driving up the other side of the road. I step on the gas in hopes that he doesn't see us leaving.

                                                                                 ***

Traffic on the main roads is starting to pick up, but it's not too bad. Once we hit Sunrise it lets up a bit. Lennox passed out about ten minutes into the drive, which makes surprising her a lot easier.

Her mouth is set in a straight line and she's breathing evenly. I try to keep the radio low, so it doesn't wake her. I feel a little bad for texting her so early. Without having her to talk to, my mind starts racing. I think about her confession the other day regarding dating that actor, Chase Dawson. Does she still think about him? Am I her rebound? What if whatever happened to her in Hollywood comes back to haunt her and destroys whatever we have.

Both of our phones have been going off since we left. I can't be bothered to look. I know it's Dan. I'll text him when we get there to apologize. The 135 is coming up and we should be there soon.

 Lennox stirs a little.

"Hey, how long have I been out?" She yawns.

"A little while, it's cool though. We're almost there."

I lift my chin towards the windshield. Coming up in front of us is a large green sign that says, Jones Beach. Keeping my eyes on the road, I catch Lennox's reaction in my peripheral. Her lip's part into a wide grin.

She looks over at me. "Jones Beach? Really?"

Her smile reaches her eyes. She's glowing and it's all because I surprised her.

"Max." Her voice breaks, and I catch her wiping at a few tears that have started to fall.

"Good surprise?"

I swallow hard, taking a deep inhale as I wait for her answer. She reaches over and places her hand over my knee. Her fingertips lightly rubbing my leg.

"The best."

She flashes me another killer smile, before looking back out the window in anticipation of reaching our destination.