The Landlord

Chapter 45

"Remember that time we went on that trolley?" he asked with a humorous smile, glancing over to me.

"That time like an hour ago?"

"Yes, that time."

"I can vaguely remember...."

"Well, maybe we can call the trolley and have it pick us up," he laughed, running a hand down his face.

Chuckling, I shook my head. "Such a chicken. I promise: you made it up, you can make it back down."

Sitting back up and stretching, his blue gaze in mine turned more apologetic. "It's not like we have much of choice. We're meeting my family for dinner pretty soon."

Checking the truck clock, I smiled sadly back to him. Before we left for our adventurous time in the city, his parents invited to take us out to dinner. Hopefully, since we would be in a public setting, tonight's dinner wouldn't be as disastrous. Still, neither of us were excited about it.

"With you're driving, it's more likely we will get into a crash before we get to dinner," I joked.

"You're not wrong," he said, glancing aimlessly out the windshield.

But then something caught his eye. His aimless gaze focused on something and he sat up, narrowing his vision. I noticed that across the empty portion of the lot, there was a banner hanging between two structural beams. It was an advertisement for some boardwalk – a boardwalk that seemed quite exciting. It listed that there were rides, games, and food.

He rolled his head to look dramatically back to me. "So... you busy tonight after dinner?"

Suppressing a laugh, I asked. "Why? You suddenly have something in mind?"

"No. Just curious."

"Uh-huh," I smiled.

***

Sure enough, after going to dinner with his family (which honestly was quite nice), we headed to that boardwalk. That banner did not do it justice either.

The huge wooden boardwalk was right on the ocean; it looked like a gigantic pier. Starting up the beach, it extended out over the water. Since the sun just set, everything was lit up and flashy. Including all the booths and shacks that lined both sides of the boardwalk. They offered souvenirs, food, beer, and carnival games. There were even some rides – with a glowing ferris-wheel in the distant at the very end. Strings of lights zig-zagged above everything, illuminating our surroundings. So yeah, way fucking cooler than I expected.

And for not being 'sweet' to me, Blake sure was being sweet to me. Maybe he forgot we no longer needed to act like a couple. I sure didn't complain. We only just started walking down the boardwalk when he stopped me. "I'll be right back," was all he said before jogging back towards the truck.

When he returned, it was with one of his hoodies – and he handed it to me. I didn't even complain about the cold or ask either. Then again, it was dark, we were on the ocean, and I was wearing a white tee and form fitting blue skirt, so obviously I was a little cold. Still, it was really sweet.

"You really didn't have to," I smiled, sliding on the wide and loose green hoodie. "You're suppose to be an asshole, remember?"

"I'm being one. That's my worst hoodie."

We began walking again, steps echoing against the wood boards. We took in the lights above us and bright entertainment around us. But there was nothing better than just... talking with him and enjoying the ocean breeze.

"So earlier... like in the downtown area, you actually liked that? All those people and buildings and the craziness?" he asked, tucking his hands in his jean pockets.