Mom really liked this guy. It was apparent by the huge, red grin on her face and the way she looked at him. Her eyes were practically pulsating hearts.
She's dated a few guys since Dad. I was never introduced to any of them, not that I wanted to be. It was nice with it just being us two. The house was always quite, I got to walk around without pants, the wi-fi was never lagged because I was pretty much the only one who used it. Mom and I had the perfect little set up and I didn't want another person in the mix.
But the way she looked at Tyler with hearts in her eyes and a permanent smile on her face reminded me, once again, that things change. Mom and Tyler could get serious and suddenly I'd have a step-father and brother.
"You gonna finish that?"
I looked over at Anthony who was pointing at my dessert with one of his chubby, dark brown fingers. My stomach was stuffed to capacity with the chicken pasta I had earlier, so I slid the untouched red velvet cupcake over to him.
Anthony seemed like a cool kid and I wouldn't mind having him as a brother. So far I've learned that he liked, no, loved, all things tech. He proved that by listing all the reasons why my "outdated" android phone was inferior to his iPhone. But him being a fan Supernatural made up for that.
"So, Loren, your mom says you're thinking about studying fashion in college," Tyler said, bringing the conversation to me, my least favorite subject.
Just as I was getting into the whole living-in-the-moment thing, I was forced to look ahead. Past the linen-covered table we sat at, past the weekend, past my junior year and senior graduation.
College wasn't that far off into the future. I couldn't help but wonder where Miles and I would be by then. God, we hadn't even gone on an official date, yet there I was wondering what the future held for us.
"Yeah," I said, finally. Forcing any other thoughts of the future out of my mind. "I'd like to open my own clothing store one day."
"When that happens," Anthony piped up, in between bites of the cupcake. There was cream cheese frosting at the corner of his mouth. "We should go into business together. I have this idea for -" He paused, glancing around the restaurant as if there were spies everywhere. "Not here. We'll talk later."
He went back to his dessert and I held back a laugh.
+ + +
"I can't believe you fell asleep on him, Lo," Nikki cackled over the phone.
Mom and I made it home from dinner with Tyler and Anthony about thirty minutes ago. I told myself to be in bed by eleven and I kept looking at the time on the laptop in front of me. It was a little after ten which meant I had almost an hour to brainstorm date ideas with Nikki. Time that was being wasted by her fascination with me ruining my date with a nap.
"Focus," I hissed. "I need ideas."
"Oh my God," she cooed. "You really like him, huh?"
I chewed at my bottom lip to contain my smile. If you'd told me a month ago that I'd be at my desk making a list of date ideas for myself and the guy who almost drowned me, I would've died of laughter. But there I was doing exactly that.
Then it came to me. A date idea I knew Miles would appreciate. "Never mind," I mumbled into the phone, a small smile taking over my lips. "I think I have an idea."
"Tell me," she demanded.
"Later," I told her, pulling up Google maps. "I have some planning to do."
+ + +
Miles gave me a quizzical look from the passenger seat of my mom's car. He'd been impatiently asking me "are we there yet" like a child. Once the car was parked and we'd arrived at our destination he was silent.
"The rec center," he said, looking up at the building. "Is this where you take all your dates?"
"No, you're the first." I grabbed a plastic bag from the backseat and tossed it to him. "You'll need these."
His brow creased as he looked inside the bag. "Swim trunks and a towel?"
It took a long time to find swim wear in November, and it garnered some strange looks from store employees when I asked if they had anything left over from summer. In the end I found some blue striped shorts for Miles and a one-piece swim-suit for myself.
I flashed him a smile before hopping out of the car and heading for the center's entrance. He followed me inside and we headed for the locker rooms.
"I thought you couldn't swim," he said, seemingly happy about my choice of date venue.
"I can't," I told him. "So, I'm trusting you to keep me from drowning."
We went to our separate locker rooms. The women's locker room was empty and every step I took echoed. My swimsuit was underneath my clothes. After stripping out of the jeans and t-shirt and tossing them into the small locker, I caught a glimpse of myself in one of the floor length mirrors. The way the floral print bathing suit clung to my curves made me feel self-conscious. Before my nerves got the best of me and ruined yet another date, I grabbed my towel and exited the locker room.
Miles was right outside, already in the swim trunks I got him and the orange towel was draped over his shoulder. His back was turned to me as he looked at a bulletin board full of flyers. I've seen him shirtless a few time, but still it made me blush.
There was one flyer on the board that he was particularly interested in as he leaned in to read it. It was for the Fall Festival, Mom had one on the fridge. Excited that her band was listed among the names of performers.
"You going?" I asked, standing next to him.
"It's the most exciting thing that happens in Westbrook, of course I'm going," he replied, glancing over at me. He did a double take. "Wow."
My face flushed as his eyes took in every inch of me, his mouth hanging open just a bit. Despite being slightly mortified at hoe exposed I was, a small part of me enjoyed the attention.
"Come on, the pool's waiting." I took his hand in mine and lead him to the pool area.
Just as I suspected, the pool was empty, besides a man in swim cap, goggles and a speedo doing laps in the deep end. The lifeguard looked bored as she scrolled through her phone from her spot on the lifeguard tower. It was November after all, who was thinking about swimming at this time?
I walked over to the shallow end and I could hear Miles chuckled from behind me.
"You know, my offer still stands," he said as I let go of his hand, throwing my towel on a nearby lounge chair and taking a seat at the edge of the pool, dipping my feet in. The water was colder than I expected. The pool was meant to be heated. "I can teach you how to swim. Then you can enjoy the deep end and the diving board."
He sat next to me, pointing to the other side of the pool where a diving board sat more than a few feet above the water.
"I'm fine over here," I said, looking back over to him. "Where I can stand."
He laughed again before jumping into the water, like the cold liquid didn't bother him. He bobbed in the water in front of me.
"You getting in or what?"
My feet had become accustomed to the waters temperature, but I was hesitant to plunge my entire body into it.
"It's cold."
"This was your idea," he countered, swimming closer to me.
"My ideas aren't always well thought through," I told him.
He was directly in front of me now. He brought his wet arms up, folding them over my legs as he looked up at me.
"See, that's your problem, Mermaid" he said. "You think too much."
Maybe if I wasn't distracted by his gem-colored eyes, I would've noticed his sneaky hands move around my waist. But by the time I realized what was happening it was too late. My body hit the cold water with a loud splash.
"I hate you," I said, spitting out water.
He smirked. "You didn't call me an asshole, so we're making progress."
I pushed the wet curls that stuck to my face back, narrowing my eyes at him. The shock of the impact wore off. "Was there a reason you threw me in the pool that night?"
"I was bored." He shrugged. "And kind of drunk."
Something in me flinched at his response. It was easy to disregard his drinking when we were just friends. But we weren't just friends anymore. So, I had to ask, "Do you do that often? Get drunk, I mean?"
He shook his head. "No. Only when I'm bored." His arms slipped around my waist, pulling me closer. "And I haven't been bored in a while."
His answer was good enough for me, so I let him kiss me.