Page 90 of The Game We Played

His brow wrinkles. “A crappy job? But I filled my trash bag.”

I lift up my trash bag. “And my trash bag is filled with all the trash you missed.”

“The trash I missed?”

“All the glass and microplastics. You ignored them and went for the big trash.”

He stares at me for a moment before blowing out a breath. “Okay. Show me how you want it done.”

I wait for the punchline but it doesn’t come. He’s serious. For now. We’ll see how serious he is once he realizes how much work this is.

“You’ve been ignoring the seaweed. Fishing line, glass, and plastics get caught in it. It’s easy to miss, but it’s potentially harmful.”

His nose wrinkles. “The seaweed is gross.”

I blink up at him. “Can the big football player not handle a bit of seaweed?”

He straightens his back. “Of course, I can.”

“Come on.” I wave him forward. “Let me show you how it’s done.”

I expect a joke, but he’s quiet as he watches me sift through the seaweed and pull out pieces of glass and fishing line.

I show him the line. “This is one of the most dangerous items on the beach. Animals get trapped in them.”

“I didn’t even see it.”

“You have to slow down and really look. Not run around grabbing the cans and bottles and think you’re done.”

“Okay, boss. I’ve got it.”

“I’ll watch you search the next piece of seaweed.”

I expect him to bristle. I’m not his boss after all. But he nods before moving to the next piece of seaweed. He painstakingly removes the glass shards.

“I don’t see any fishing line, but maybe you could double check. I don’t want any animals getting caught.”

Is he joking? Humoring me? I meet his gaze. His eyes aren’t twinkling. He’s actually listening.

I check the seaweed. “No fishing line. Good job.”

His smile is full of pride. He’s taking this task of cleaning a beach on the island I love seriously. This Tanner is irresistible.

We continue to work. I spot a net in the water and go to grab it. I tug at it but it doesn’t move. I grunt with the effort.

Tanner surveys the situation before wading into the water. He trails his hand on the net. He stops when he reaches a piece of driftwood.

“The net is snagged on the wood. I’ll untangle it and you can pull the net out of the water.”

He untangles it and gives me a thumbs-up. I try to pull the net out of the water, but it’s heavy. I strain but it’s not budging.

Suddenly, Tanner is there. He grasps the net next to me and together we pull until it’s out of the water.

“Can you…”

I trail off when I notice he’s already folding up the net. We finish folding it together and carry it to the truck, already piled high with garbage bags. We throw the net in the back.

“You guys done already?” Sophia asks.