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“I figured.”
“Ahhh!” I slap his arm.
“But I’m sure I can handle it,” he says with a smirk.
The crowd around the pier shrinks as we continue to chat. I feel like I still know so much about Oliver. His sea-green eyes still light up when he’s talking about something he loves.
There are also things I don’t know. Like the fact that he actually surfs now. Not only that, but he teaches other kids how to surf. He’s not just staring at the lake like it’s something to tame. He has mastered and become friends with the water.
One thing Oliver hasn’t brought up is having a childhood friend. Maybe he’s forgotten about me.
“I hate to cut this short…” He sighs.
He thinks this was short. We’ve been together since nine in the morning, and it is now one in the afternoon.
“But work calls.” He sounds like he regrets saying this.
“Oliver?”
“Yes, princess?” He’s still calling me princess, and I won’t lie about enjoying it. The way he says it makes the word feel warm, like sunshine on a chilly morning. He’s studying me again, grinning, which then causes pleasure to reach from my stomach all the way up my back to the base of my neck. He’s too sexy to be allowed to smirk like this.
“If you’re working three jobs just to get by, what about—” I bite my lip to hold back from saying Holden—his dad’s name. I know his mom left when he was eight, forcing his dad into a more paternal role. Where is he now? “What about your parents?”
His smirk drops, and his eyes darken slightly. I just crossed a line, but before I can backtrack, Oliver levels me with another look. This time, the darkness in his eyes is replaced with melancholy.
He looks away. “They left.”
Without thinking, I grab his face, cupping his cheeks and making sure he’s looking at me. “You deserve parents that love you unconditionally.”
I don’t regret leaving, but the idea that he was abandoned by his dad makes me want to rage. My blood is boiling. I wish I could punch Holden for making his only son feel like this. I already knew his mom had left. We didn’t start hanging out until three years later.
We only spent one year together, but he was all I needed.
His face shifts to an unreadable expression as we stare into each other’s eyes. He then pulls himself from my hold, getting off the bench and taking my hand into his as we walk away.
“Would you like to go to a house party with me next Friday?” Oliver asks when we reach the entrance of the pier.
I smile softly. “That sounds fun. Can my brother and sisters come?”
“Of course. I can even pick you up.”
There it is. The simple act of him wanting to pick me up makes my blood turn cold. He can’t since I’m staying at the Gordons’ house, and that will lead to questions I can’t answer.
“That’s okay. We can meet you there. Just text me the address.”
His shoulders slouch slightly. “Okay.”
“Will I see you before then?”
“We could meet on the beach. I usually take a swim after I work on a few projects.”
I nod as we separate, and just like that, I am walking into the deep end.
After my date with Oliver—
Wait, no, not date.
I can’t let myself think it was a date. We were just friends before, but now I’m not sure. I never saw Oliver as particularly handsome, but that all feels different now. I didn’t even know I liked boys back then. Romance wasn’t on my mind. Surviving my parents was.
