Evan’s POV:
After hearing Maria cry her eyes out and confess to something that has been haunting her for the past six months, I was angrier than I had been in a long time. This Sean guy had taken such and wonderful girl and abused her trust and his relationship with her. He got drunk and still insisted on driving! Who the hell does that? And then to top it all off, he goes and kills someone, someone they both knew, and leaves the crime scene because he doesn’t want to get caught!
I was torn between staying there and comforting Maria and going to find this Sean dude and beating the crap out of him. But in the end I decided to stay and console Maria. She needed me more than my anger needed to punch someone.
I pulled her against my chest and was rubbing her back and telling her it would be okay for quite awhile before she was able to stop her tears and breathe normally again. I was about to ask if she wanted to get some dinner somewhere when we both heard someone yelling at us from the parking lot. I knew Maria recognized the voice from the way she smiled, so I was guessing it was a friend of hers. I turned around so I could see who it was and saw a guy coming down the slope to the sand to meet us. He looked a little older than both Maria and I, but he had the same hair and eyes as Maria. Maybe they were related? We both stood up and Maria went over to her friend giving him a hug.
“Hey Ryan! What’s up?” Maria asked him as they walked back to where I was standing.
“Not much really. I was looking for you actually,” Ryan told Maria, he looked over at me then and said, “And who would this be?” He asked Maria with a wink. What was the wink about?
“Hey man. I’m Evan Thompson. I’m on vacation here this summer.” I told him shaking his extended hand.
“Ryan Carlson. It’s a pleasure to meet you Evan,” Ryan told me and as he turned towards Maria I heard something along the lines of “Heard all about ya” which earned a slap in the stomach from Maria so maybe I heard right. “Anyway…so dinner? You two want to come? I was thinking about heading over to Pelican’s Point,” Ryan asked Maria and me.
“Sure. Sounds fun. Can you come Evan?” Maria asked me coming over to take my hand. She was practically pleading the way she looked up at me and batted her eyes. You would think I was trying to make a hard decision or something. I mean come on, dinner with the girl I am dying to spend time with? It doesn’t get much better than that.
“Of course. I’ll have to check with my dad though,” I gave her hand a little squeeze and I smiled down at her as I said this.
“Right. Well I need to change clothes and we can head by your house to tell your dad and then we can meet you there Ryan. Sound okay?” Maria asked Ryan.
“Sounds awesome. I’ll see you two there! Oh! And I invited Rachel too! She is most likely going to meet us there after she gets off work!” Ryan yelled to us as he retreated back to the parking lot of the Y.
Maria and I nodded and waved goodbye to him. I turned to her and took her other hand. I needed to ask her something and I figured there wasn’t a better time than the present. “Maria?” I asked first to get her attention. She nodded her head and raised her eyebrow in the yes-what-is-it? face people make. “Maria, I know I told you Saturday that I like you and I do. I know I told you today that I wanted to take you out on a date and I do. And I know I told you a little while ago that I want to be here for you now matter what and I do. So…basically I want to just get the formality out of the way and simply ask you straight up…Maria would you please be my girlfriend?” Her face was instantly lit by a smile and she nodded her head and beamed up at me.
“I would love to be your girlfriend Mr. Evan Thompson.” She told me as she blushed.
“Great! Awesome!” I was speechless but at the same time I wasn’t. I couldn’t believe I was officially with the greatest girl in the world, and at the yet same time, I wanted to scream it out for everyone to hear.
“Yeah…it is pretty awesome,” She told me kind of as an afterthought, as she pulled me back toward where our cars were parked in the Y parking lot. The sun was still shining bright but it was beginning its descent along the horizon. It made her hair seem to have golden streaks in it and it brought out golden flecks in her chocolate brown eyes. I was struck by her beauty and the happiness that was radiating from her. God knows I felt the same way as she did right now. “But we should probably get going…wouldn’t want to make Ryan and Rach wait for us too long otherwise who knows what they will think is going on.” She told me giving me a knowing smirk. She was just so damn adorable.
“Alright fine. But how do you want to go? Since we both drove ourselves here and all?”
“I was thinking that you could follow me over to my house and then we can stop by your house and ride in the same car and head out to Pelican’s Point? Sound good?” She asked me, turning around to face me once we reached the parking lot. We had unknowingly parked next to each other. Go figure.
“Sounds awesome. Lead the way my lady,” I said with a slight bow of my head. She laughed and got into the driver’s seat, starting her car. I followed her to her house where I parked in her driveway and stared at her house from the front. It was even nice looking from the front than it looked from the back.
“Come on in and I’ll be ready in 10 minutes tops,” Maria told me as we entered the foyer area and walked back into the kitchen, “Hey mom! Evan and I were going to meet up with Rachel and Ryan at Pelican’s Point for dinner. Is that alright?” Maria asked her mom walking over to her and leaning on the counter where her mom was reading a magazine. It looked like one of those home and garden ones; but by the looks of her house, Mrs. Mancini could probably write the articles in that magazine.
“Sure thing sweetie. And Evan! It’s such a pleasure to see you again! I heard you were helping out at the camp! Is that right?” Kate turned to me asking me about today. Maria gave me a slight smile and headed off down a hallway to the right, I assumed to her bedroom.
“Yes, that’s right. Maria mentioned it to me that she worked there in the summer and I love kids so I decided I would help out as well.” I told her smiling. I had walked over to the counter and took the place where Maria had been standing just seconds before.
“That’s so sweet of you! So are you excited? For Pelican’s Point? Have you heard anything about it?”
“No I haven’t heard it about. Is the food good?”
“It is absolutely to die for! And you have to order the crab cakes! You can’t go there and NOT order the crab cakes!” She told me, practically begging me to get the crab cakes.
“Okay! I guess I will have to try some of those!” I told her laughing.
“You definitely will!” She told me laughing as well. We continued laughing for and talking for awhile, it was so easy to talk her. It made me miss my own mom and how we used to be able to talk about anything.
“Oh looks like Maria is ready! You two have fun!” Kate told me and Maria, who had walked up behind me.
“We will. I promise.” Maria told her mother laughing. She grabbed her keys off the counter and took my hand as well. She pulled me out the door and as she led me to my car I couldn’t help but check her out. Not in the gross perverted way of course. But in the simple see-what-she-was-wearing way. And trust me, I was glad I did. She had pulled on a pair of jean cut off shorts and a cream colored tank top that was cut in the back so you could see her tan back. Her hair had been braided somehow and it was hanging down her back in a thick band. When she turned back to me, there was no evidence that she had been crying earlier. She looked amazing to say the least.
“Okay so do you know how to get back to your house from here?” Maria asked me, as we stopped outside of my driver side door.
“Yep, I believe so.”
“Great, so I will follow you there and then we can ask your dad and get into one car?”
“Correct!” I agreed and got into my car.
“K, let’s go!”
When we got to my house we walked through the front door to see my dad and brothers sitting in front of the TV watching Wheel of Fortune. It was a tradition in our family, something our mother loved to do, that we would do after dinner. It was a good thing they ate without me otherwise I would feel bad ditching them. This was after all a family vacation.
“Hey guys!” I called into the room. Simultaneously three heads turned in my direction.
“Hey E! You missed dinner!” Jack informed me as he leaned over the back of the couch to talk to me.
“I know, I know. But I was hoping to go out to eat with Maria. Would that be okay with you?” I asked my little brother, acting as if his approval meant the world to me.
“Well…,” He paused for a second and then motioned for me to come closer so he could whisper in my ear. I did as he was told and he continued, “Since I know you liiiike her…then I guess this one time would be okay.” He told me as serious as could be. I couldn’t help but smile and I felt my ears turning red at the thought of my brother knowing that I liked Maria. I wondered if she heard what he had whispered? I turned to see her laughing silently at me. She probably did hear part of it at least then.
“Thanks little man. So dad, I am just going to go change real quick and then we’ll head out. Is that okay?” I asked him, I needed his approval over my little brothers no matter what.
“Sure son. No problem.”
With that I want back to my room. I decided to keep my shorts on and just change out of the camp leader shirt. I settled on a sky blue fitted v-neck and threw some aftershave on to freshen up a bit. A quick sweep of my hair with my fingers and I was good to go. When I reentered the living room Maria was laughing at something Tommy had whispered to her. I wondered what it was about, she was blushing too…maybe it was about me. I smiled just at the thought of her thinking about me.
“Alright ready?” I walked forward and took her hand like she had taken mine at her house. The only reply I got was a squeeze from her fingers intertwined in mine and a nod from my father and we were off. I insisted on driving, even if we were taking her car, simply because that was what the guy does- he drives the girl around. Of course she had to give me directions but I was still able to get us there in about 15 minutes. Along the way, Maria told me about Ryan and how they were so close because of what happened to his sister. It was sad that she had died at such a young age, I couldn’t imagine what that would have done to Mr. and Mrs. Carlson. Maria also told me about how most people either thought Ryan and her were related or dating when they worked together at the store; but they had never dated and the thought never crossed either of their minds. Ryan seemed like a fun guy from what she told me. Maria also told me how when Ryan and Rachel get together, it can be one hell of a night. They are like joke machines that don’t know when to stop. It seemed like an exciting night and I knew that it would be, no matter what, simply because I was with Maria.