Temporary Beach

Chapter Five

"Alright, I've got it. The loser has to pick up the winners slack."

"Neither one of us really slack though," I argued with his proposal. "True, but, I meant that the loser, aka, you, would have to clean up all the tables and stuff. The winner, aka, me, could do whatever they wanted during that time." I knitted my brows together and let my mouth slightly gape. "Jace, that's probably gonna be a lot of work. Wait, no, scratch that. That is a lot of work, regardless."

"We can call off the bet if you're really that scared of losing," he said slyly. Being the stubborn person that I am, knew there was no chance of me calling off the bet. "No, I was just concerned for you. You're gonna get burnt out from cleaning all of those tables."

"Okay, okay," he said in a conceited tone. "How many people do you think will be here?"

"13," I quickly answered. "Maddi, it's flattering that you think that highly of my dad's business. But, I'm gonna estimate only around 10 people." We shook hands in the most competitive way possible. I wouldn't say I'm too competitive, in all honesty - I just really don't feel like cleaning all of those tables.

~ ~ ~

Noon had finally rolled around, and business was much slower than usual. I was actually a little fearful that I might lose, but I'd never let him see through my cocky façade. "Hey, Maddi," Jace called to get my attention. "Since I'm gonna win, can we switch back to the original bet I made?" Puzzled as to what he was referring to, I tilted my head as a response. 

"I vaguely remember saying 'the loser has to kiss the winner,' or something along those lines," he really tried his best to keep a straight face, but he couldn't even manage to get through the first half without cracking a smile - by the time he'd actually finished his sentence, he was giggling like a child.

I lightly pushed his shoulder and shook my head as he continued his fit of giggles. He almost reminded me of a child trying to convince their parents to let them stay up past their bedtime by being overly adorable. Unfortunately for him, I wasn't planning on caving into his proposal.

The bell jingled here and there, but the amount of customers wasn't even close to my guess. As the little gold bell that hung by a thin, brown string, chimed again, I was genuinely thrilled to see the face I've grown familiar with over the course of a few days. "Harry," I happily exclaimed.

"Someone's excited to see me, but who wouldn't be?" Honestly, I think every guy in this town is acknowledging today as some sort of national holiday for confidence - it wasn't a bad thing though. "Well," I started.

"Jace and I made a bet." His ears seemed to perk up at my statement, along with his eyebrows, which raised in interest. "Whoever loses has to clean all the tables. Do you happen to know five more people that could come in here?" I asked as I leaned against the white marble countertops.

"Sorry, love, I don't know too many people here. I can help you clean the tables though." Butterflies seemed to swarm throughout, not only my stomach, but my entire body at his remark. I was somehow able to compose myself enough to shake my head and politely decline his offer. 

He did, however, at least order some food, which Jace gladly placed in a Styrofoam box, since Harry wanted it to be a to-go order. After a brief conversation about practically nothing, Harry was on his way out. He kindly held the door open for, yet another, familiar face. Although, this one wasn't nearly as familiar as his.

It was the gorgeous girl from yesterday, who had asked for an application. "Hi, I came by to drop off my application," she said sweetly. I held her application in my hand as I made a mental note to hand it to Jace when he got back inside from sorting some boxes outside.