“It’s a mom-daughter thing,” Liam said wisely. “None of them get along at our age.”
He sounded so old, and Leah laughed when she told him so. He blushed, the red tinting his cheekbones. Leah couldn’t help but notice how they seemed chiseled now, more pronounced. He’d definitely grown up this year, turning more into a man. She wasn’t sure how that made her feel. He shifted in his seat, thinking she was offended.
“I mean, you and your mom do, but most don’t.”
She rolled her eyes. “I never see mine. So, we don’t really count.”
“My dad says she’s the hardest worker he’s ever seen,” Liam told her. “And she’s so pretty. I wonder why she doesn’t just get remarried?”
Leah froze, her gaze on Liam. “You mean, so she can just be taken care of by a man? Are you sexist now?”
“No, of course not!” he said. “Never. I was just saying... It would be easier for her if she had someone, and...”
He trailed off and Leah laughed.
“I’m kidding. Calm down.” She took another sip of her soda. “I don’t know what’s going on with that. She and my dad have a weird sort of attached relationship. I don’t know why they don’t just get back together and be done with it.”
“Some people are happier apart.” Liam nodded, a teenage sage. “Mine are. Of course, they hate each other, so...” He shrugged. His phone dinged. He glanced at it.
“Speaking of moms...” He punched at his phone, answering his mother’s text.
Leah used the moment to check her own phone. She found several texts from Him. She didn’t want to even think His name, because something felt off about the way he’d been texting her.
Today, he sent two photos of himself, just his torso, with two different shirts on.
Which one should I wear today? he asked.
She studied them, wondering why he wanted her opinion. But then chose.
The blue one, she answered.
Thanks, he replied immediately. I want to look good today. I never know what to wear.
What is so special about today? she asked, and her heart was going pitter-patter, and she didn’t even know why.
I think I’ll be seeing you, won’t I? Her stomach lurched, but not in a bad way. It was a startling thing, to have things changing between them. He’d known her for so long, and now...it was different. But she had to admit, even though it felt weird, it felt good to have someone care about what she thought. He was even going to change his shirt because of her opinion.
“Here you go, chica.” Nico delivered their food himself, and Leah and Liam both put their phones away.
“Plane food sucks,” Liam said when Leah eyed him shoveling french fries into his mouth five at a time. “I haven’t eaten all day.”
She gave him her fries, too, and he ate every last one of them. “Do I want ice cream, too?” he asked Leah.
She rolled her eyes again. “No. You’ve forgotten the heat here. Do you want to throw up on the sand from stuffing yourself?”
“You’re right.”
He paid the bill, insisting on paying for both of them. That gave Leah a funny feeling, too. Even though he’d done it in the past, it felt different now. While he was paying, she couldn’t help but check her phone, anticipation flooding her.
Sure enough, He’d texted again.
I hope you don’t think I’m a dirty old man.
Of course not, she texted back, while Liam handed Nico some bills. You’re not old.
I just feel a connection to you. I’ve really noticed it lately. It feels different than before.
Her face flamed. Was this really happening?
Nico started chatting with her, bringing her attention away from the confusing texts. “I haven’t seen you in a while,” Nico said. “You need to come in more often and brighten this place up. I gave your monster here a beef bone.”
She glanced down, and Bo moved to protect his new treasure, as though Leah might want the wet hunk of mangled marrow and bone.
“Thanks, Nico.”
“De nada, chica.” He winked, his brown eyes sparkling, and she smiled back.
As they were clamoring down the wooden pier steps, Liam looked at her.
“That dude creeps me out. He’s into you, and he’s like...forty.”
She smacked his arm. “Oh, my gosh. Forty isn’t that old. And he’s not into me. He’s just friendly. He’s married.”
“That doesn’t always mean anything.” Liam was wry, and Leah felt awful.
“Oh, God. I’m sorry, Li.” His mother had cheated on his father. She’d forgotten.
“No worries.”
She knew he was used to it now, the fact that his mother had betrayed his father. But she should’ve remembered. She shouldn’t have brought up anything related to cheating. To change the subject, she gestured toward the giant buoy in the bay. It tilted with the waves, the faded red and white paint peeling on top.
“Race you.”
She took off running, with Bo on her heels. Bo, of course, skidded to a stop at the edge of the water, but Leah barely paused to pull off her shirt and toss it behind her on the sand. She dove into the waves in her sports bra, and didn’t even check to see if Liam was following.
He wasn’t.
Liam stood next to Bo, and when Leah reached the buoy and swung up onto it victoriously, he grinned at her beaming face. She did her victory dance while balanced on the slippery float, and he couldn’t help but notice how beautiful she’d gotten. She looked like a younger version of her mother, Emmy, confident and exuberant. She had this glowing quality that he couldn’t put his finger on. No one up north in the city had it.
Her wet sports bra was transparent in the sunlight. He noticed, and so did a couple of guys standing nearby who elbowed each other and eyed her pink nipples straining against the white fabric.
“Knock it off,” Liam growled at them. “Fucking assholes.”
They rolled their eyes and ignored him, and Liam motioned for Leah to come in. She took her time swimming in, and when she met him on the shore, he handed her her dry shirt.
“Put this on,” he told her gruffly, unable to meet her eye. “You can see through your bra.”
She was embarrassed as she put the shirt back on but laughed anyway. “Haven’t you seen a nipple before?” She tried to laugh it off, but her cheeks were pink.
“Yeah. And now so have they.” Liam gestured toward the guys nearby. “Yours.”