I tipped the remainder of my drink back and realized that Wyatt and most of the people sitting near us watched me, listening. I froze and my face flushed.
揂nd that抯 enough from me,?I said with a laugh. I cleared my throat. 揟hat抯 what I抎 do with the store if I could.?
Wyatt rubbed his jaw. 揧ou抳e thought a lot about it.?
A long sigh escaped me. 揥ell, the store has been kind of struggling, and my mind wanders sometimes.?
揇o you agree that your mom would want you to keep the store the same as she had it??
My stomach clenched. My mom was like the store I wanted to create梑old, fun, silly, and wild.
揘o,?I whispered. My throat was tight. 揝he抎 love my ideas.?I lifted my gaze to his.
Wyatt shrugged and rubbed his thumb up and down the condensation on his beer. 揕ook, bookworm, for what it抯 worth, if the store isn抰 doing well, you need to change something.?
I wanted to, but in order to do that, I had to go against what my dad wanted. Panic and guilt clawed at me, so I changed the subject. 揂re you nervous about Pacific Rim??
He wrinkled his nose and shook his head. 揑抦 not really thinking about it.?
揥hy not??
He sighed and hesitated, like he was organizing the thoughts in his head. 揑t won抰 change anything, worrying about it. I抣l still go surfing every day. I抣l still give my A-game out there.?That lazy smile hitched. 揧ou抳e got my sponsorship covered with social media.?He tilted his chin to my phone and I smiled in return.
揝ay you did well, what would happen then??
揑抎 get a sponsorship and start traveling more. There are surf events all over the world, in Australia, Indonesia, Hawaii厰 A crease formed between his eyebrows and he lost that lazy, amused smile. 揑抎 have to leave Queen抯 Cove.?
揧ou抎 miss it.?
The corner of his mouth hitched, but the smile didn抰 reach his eyes. He抎 miss it but he didn抰 want to admit it. 揘o point in discussing what hasn抰 happened yet.?
揥ell, if you left Queen抯 Cove, the town would miss you,?I told him.
He sat forward and pulled his phone out of his pocket. The screen lit up with an incoming call. Josie.
My stomach sunk and I frowned. Of course Wyatt had girls calling him.
揧ou can answer that if you want,?I told him. My voice sounded tight.
He declined the call and slipped his phone back in his pocket. 揘ot important.?He gestured to the stage. 揥hat would you sing??
揝pice Girls.?I answered before I even thought about it. I put both hands flat on the table and leaned forward. 揑 love Spice Girls, Wyatt. You have no idea.?
He leaned on his elbows towards me, our gazes locked. 揥hich Spice Girl are you??
揑 mean, I look like Baby Spice.?I pointed at my pale hair. 揃ut I think deep down, I want to be Ginger. I mean,?I rolled my eyes. 揈verybody wants to be Ginger. You could never find the Ginger Spice Barbie. She was the coolest, the bravest, and she didn抰 care what people thought. She was so badass.?I sighed.
He listened with a smile on his face, like I was talking about the most interesting thing in the world.
揝he wore this one dress, it was a Union Jack and it was so short that her black underwear was visible.?I said the last words in a whisper, holding eye contact with him. I shook my head. 揑 was just a kid but I couldn抰 believe it. It was the sexiest thing I抎 ever seen at the time.?
The gold sequinned dress popped into my head. I had slipped the box under my bed and it had sat there untouched for a couple weeks.
Wyatt抯 eyes were bright, like he wanted to burst out laughing.
揧ou can laugh,?I told him. 揑t抯 okay. I can take it.?
His grin reached ear to ear. 揑 won抰 laugh at you. Now what抯 the sexiest thing you抳e ever seen??
揌uh??
揧ou said, at the time. That was twenty years ago. What抯 the sexiest thing you抳e ever seen??
揢m.?My tongue twisted. All I could picture was Wyatt on the surfboard a couple days ago, and then walking on the sand toward me, shaking the water out of his hair. Water running down his bare skin. Lean muscle with a dusting of hair across his chest. I swallowed. 揢m. I don抰 know. Oh!?A laugh burst out of my mouth. 揑 saw some merman in a Eurovision music video a couple weeks ago. That was pretty sexy.?
That made him laugh. Nice save on my part. 揟hat would be my karaoke song, only because I heard it so many times on set that day. I dreamed the lyrics for a week.?
I laughed and tipped back the rest of my drink before inspecting the empty glass.
揑 forgot how much I like champagne.?
揧ou look cute tonight,?Wyatt said, and my mouth parted in surprise.
When I stood in front of my closet earlier tonight, I had forced myself to wear an outfit that a hot girl would wear. I had worn a light pink top that had hung in my closet for two years. It had tiny bees embroidered on it, barely visible except up close. I had bought it on a whim a couple years ago, but it was too dressy to wear to the store. Although I wanted to wear my typical jeans, I forced myself to wear a tan suede skirt.