“Okay, since you didn’t specify what type of date you were going on, I brought everything from mountain climbing to formal dance wear,” Lynn said, throwing down a pile of clothes from my closet onto a nearby table. Ara and I hurried from behind the counter, crowding around the lump of fabrics and bag of shoes. Ara squealed, already picking through the clothes, but I just gave an aggravated sigh. As soon as Rosen left, little did I know that Ara texted Lynn and had her get some clothes for me so I could change out of my work uniform.
“First off, I only think he was joking about the date thing. Second, he didn’t say where we were going, so I think I should just go casual,” I commented, staring at the clothes being tossed off to the side by Ara who had deemed them unworthy. Both girls ignored me, and I glanced back at Kayla behind the counter who simply shrugged and went back to reading a magazine.
“Oh my gosh El, I totally forgot you had these! You haven’t worn them since last summer,” Ara exclaimed, turning around and holding up one of my favorite pair of shorts.
“I thought I lost those,” I said, a big smile overtaking my face as I grabbed the highwaisted shorts and held them up against me.
“They were behind your shoe bin,” Lynn replied with a laugh, coming over to inspect the shorts closer. I dug through and found a loose black T-shirt with a big daisy on the front, holding both items with a smile.
“This was like my favorite outfit last year,” I said with a grin. “I’m wearing it.” I gave no room for argument, as I slipped off into the bathroom to change. I jumped around a bit as I tugged my skirt and shoes off, kicking them off to the side as I pulled up the shorts. Before I buttoned them up, I made sure to tuck in the shirt thoroughly so you couldn’t see any lines through the shorts. Once I had the shorts buttoned, I looked in the mirror as I gently pulled on the shirt so it hung loosely around my frame and over the top of the shorts.
I smiled at my reflection, undoing the braid in my hair so it fell in soft waves across my back. I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach as I thought about the possibility of actually going on a date with Rosen.
Once I had my shoes back on, I walked out of the bathroom with my work uniform in my arms. Lynn had already stuffed all the clothes back into a bag, and she smiled at me when she saw me emerge.
“I always loved that outfit on you,” She clicked her tongue, looking me over with a smile. I tucked my uniform in the bag, and placed it on a chair so it was out of the way. Lynn went back to texting, and I glanced at Ara who was back behind the counter again. She had told me she decided to stay and hang out with Kayla for the rest of the day, since it seemed to be pretty slow.
“I’m going to head out, Lee wants me to go to his for dinner tonight,” Lynn said with a sigh, still looking at her phone. “I’ll drop your stuff off at your house El,” I nodded my thanks as Lynn grabbed the bags and left, still typing vigorously on her phone. I was hoping that they hadn’t gotten into a fight, because their fights tended to be pretty brutal. Thankfully, they didn’t happen often and usually resolved in a few days if they did.
“Don’t forget this,” Ara suddenly said, tossing me my wallet from behind the counter. I stuffed it into my pocket and gave a relieved sigh.
“That would’ve sucked if I forgot it,” I replied back, spinning around when the door chimed. Rosen sauntered in, fiddling with something in the front pocket of his dark jeans. He glanced up, eyes meeting mine, and a big smile overtook his face.
“Hey Ellie May,” He said, sidling up next to me and holding out his arm. “You ready to get this date on a roll,” He winked at me, and I rolled my eyes in reply, linking my arm through his.
“You only wish this was a date,” I teased, my more confident side deciding to show.
“I don’t even know how to reply to that. Are you sure this is Ellie?” Rosen called, peering at me and then at Ara over the counter. She just let out a laugh, shaking her head at us.
“You’re a bad influence,” I added, as we started walking out the door. The sun had started falling about fifteen minutes ago, casting a golden glow through the town.
I was surprised when we came upon Rosen’s car. I had just assumed we would walk to someplace in town. I climbed into the passenger side, buckling up as Rosen started the car, glancing over his shoulder before gliding off the curb and on to the road.
“We are going to the beach, by the way,” Rosen said, shooting me a smile. “I haven’t been there yet, and I figured it would be fun for the both of us to go,” He explained, not holding back any surprises. The beach was just at the end of town, so it now made sense to me why he would want to take his car.
Rosen fiddled with the knobs for the radio, until he got to a station he liked. I smiled when I recognized an alternative band that I liked to listen to.
Rosen noticed my smile and looked over at me. “For some reason, I knew you weren’t mainstream pop girl,” He said, a grin growing on his face.
“I like different stuff, pop is all the same after a while,” I replied back, tapping my fingers against my thigh. “Plus, this type of music has more meaning to me. It’s more relatable” I actually was open to almost any type of music, but I definitely prefered alternative over every other genre.
I looked down when my phone chimed, and pulled it out to reply back to a text my parents sent. They usually sent me a text whenever they got the chance so they could check up on me. It’s funny because they didn’t like leaving me home alone, but they did it when they went on vacation anyways.
The rest of the drive was pretty quiet, just a few random comments about miniscule topics that kept the conversation going. I wasn’t surprised when we pulled up to the beach, and lights dotted the sandy shore. Many people enjoyed having campfires out on the beach at night, especially the vacationers. Most of the town kids liked to stay away from the beach at night just for that reason.
Rosen put the car in park, and I had to wait for a couple walking past my door before I could open it, slipping my phone in my back pocket. The campfire smoke immediately filled my senses, mixing with the crisp night air.
I walked towards the back of the car, where Rosen was grabbing some blankets from the trunk. He looked over at me, a smile lighting up his features.
“Do you know anything about stars?” He asked me as he slammed the trunk. I looked at him with a curious expression.
“If by know, you mean pointing out the big and little dipper, than yes,” I replied with a laugh, grabbing one of the blankets from his arms.
“Good, because I know nothing and were hoping you could show me. They don’t have stars in the city,” He said, making me laugh louder. His eyes crinkled in amusement as he watched me closely.
“I thought the guy was supposed to point out the stars to the girl,” I remarked, taking a step back as he slammed the trunk. It popped back open and he grunted, slamming it again. We both paused, watching but this time it remained closed.
“Don’t be so cliche, Ellie May,” Rosen rolled his eyes, starting his way to the boardwalk that led to the beach. I took my shoes and socks off, tucking my socks inside the shoes as I carried them with me. The small wooden boardwalk creaked as we walked near the grassy area of the beach. Thankfully, we were pretty far from the parties a bunch of the vacationer kids were having.
I sat down next to Rosen on the blankets we had laid out, the sand scratching against our feet and my bare legs. Sand can get everywhere in the matter of seconds. Both of us sat in silence for a few moments, the only sounds coming from some teenagers playing around in the shallow water.
“So what was the whole point of this?” I ask suddenly, leaning forward and tucking my legs underneath me. Rosen inhaled deeply, his face pulled together in a way that showed he was not expecting this question.
“To be completely honest, I don’t know,” he replied, glancing at me. I must have looked confused because he sighed, thinking over his words carefully before explaining. “I like talking to you and hanging out with you, and I really would like to be friends,” He paused, searching my face for any protest to his declaration. “But I don’t know if it’s more than that. A lot of the times I feel like I could want more. I want to take you out, but I don’t want it to mean nothing. You know?” Rosen asked, looking to me for understanding. In that moment, he looked vulnerable and it surprised me so much I was rendered speechless for a few seconds. I opened my mouth, pausing and gathering my words before replying.
“I know,” I said softly, picking at a loose string on the blanket. “My friends want us to just do it for the summer and have fun, no attachments,” I sighed loudly, glancing back towards him. He nodded and I took that as my cue to continue. “But I don’t really know how to even go about it?” I worded more as a question. Rosen laughed, and I think he surprised both of us.
“Exactly, how do people just casually date with no attachments?” He wondered out loud, giving me an incredulous look at such an idea that people do casually date. I laughed along with him, my whole body relaxing of any tension I had earlier. Anyone could tell the joking had helped us from an awkward situation about something we didn’t want to talk about, but kind of should have been.
Rosen’s laughter died down as he straightened, scooting towards me so we were facing each other. “Alright, let’s make a deal,” He said, a grin spread across his face.
“What is up with this summer and making deals,” I grumbled in a joking matter, shooting Rosen a smile. “What are the conditions?”
“This summer we are both going to see what happens. If we get attached, we figure it out from there. We aren’t doing anything to make other people happy, this is just for us,” He started listing, looking at me intently. My smile softened as he spoke, glad the both of us could confront the situation head on. “We will start out as friends, and take it at whatever pace the both of us agree upon. And also, I think I should add i’ve never had a girlfriend,” My jaw dropped open and I shoved his chest.
“Shut up! You’ve totally dated before, no lying,” I retorted, shaking my head.
“I’m not lying,” He defended, laughing loudly. “Just because i’m good looking, doesn’t mean I actually dated somebody before,” He shrugged.
“Why not?” I asked, genuinely curious to hear his reply. He seemed too confident about all this stuff to not have dated someone.
“I dont know. I guess it just never came up,” He replied flippantly. “What about you?” He asked, changing the subject. “Any jealous exes I should watch out for?” He waggled his eyebrows, glancing around quickly as I laughed.
“Nope,” I shook my head. “None.” Rosen just smiled in reply, a small smile that seemed more for himself than for me.
“Alright, anymore questions before we shake on it?” He asked, holding out his hand. I grabbed it firmly but paused, not shaking his hand yet.
“Just one. What do we say when people ask if we’re dating?”
YAY! Really long chapter 0_0 ^_^ I hope you enjoyed! Please vote and leave a comment so i'll update faster :)