HALLE
‘Yay!Santa Monica!’ I cheered as we got off the coach.‘This is one of the places I wanted to visit.’
‘What d’you wanna see here?’ Jake said.
‘Everything!The beach, the pier and I’d love to go on the Pacific Wheel.’ I pointed to the Ferris wheel in the distance and watched the cute red and yellow gondola-style cabins rotating.
Just last night after our group activity, which was a couples quiz night on the beach, playing games like This or That, Two Truths and a Lie and Never Have I Ever, I’d thought about asking Sammie if we’d be coming here.
The activity was fun and I’d learnt some interesting things about Jake, like the fact that he didn’t lose his virginity until he was twenty (I’d assumed that because he was in the band and had girls throwing themselves at him, it would’ve been younger).
‘Cool.Let’s make it happen.’ He pulled his cap down.
‘Are you okay with that?If you think too many people will hassle you, we don’t have to.’
‘It’s okay, don’t worry about it.’
Suddenly I felt bad.After seeing how uncomfortable he was at the observatory when that guy wanted photos and learning more about what happened to him, I didn’t want to put him in a difficult situation.
Although he was kind of ‘in disguise’, if someone was really looking, I was sure they’d still recognise him.
‘Does the whole cap and sunglasses thing actually work?’
‘Mostly.Sometimes it might make me stand out more, but it’s all I’ve got right now.’
‘If you feel uncomfortable, let me know and we can hide somewhere.’
‘Yeah?’ His eyebrows shot up in surprise.‘Thanks, but you’ve been looking forward to this, so I’m not gonna ruin it.Let’s go.’
When we went to the Pacific Wheel, the queue was too long, so we headed to the arcade, then went for a walk on the beach.
Thankfully, by the time we came back, the queue was shorter.
‘You having a good time?’ Jake asked.
‘The best!You?’
‘Same.’ Jake moved closer, reached down then gently circled the back of my hand with his thumb.
Warmth flooded my body.
God, that felt so good.
I got the feeling that if there weren’t so many people around, he’d hold my hand properly.I was gutted because I desperately wanted him to, but I understood why he couldn’t do that in public.And it was better if he didn’t.The last thing I wanted was to be splashed across the gossip sites.
My stomach twisted.This whole situation was messy.I knew I shouldn’t like Jake, but I craved his touch.I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about that almost kiss we’d had on the beach yesterday or that hug.Being so close to him was amazing and I wanted to feel that closeness again.
But we had to be sensible.
There’d be no touching or anything else in public.
It was too risky.And foolish.
‘Ready?’ Jake asked once we were in our seats.‘I know you’re not a fan of heights – you sure you’ll be okay?’
‘They’re not my favourite, but I’ll be fine.’
As we climbed higher and everything beneath us got smaller, I tried to relax.
