“ Today’s forecast is set to be all sun without a cloud in the sky, reaching a high of 85 degrees. So, get yourselves down to the beach or pool, because it’s going to be a very warm day...”
“You don’t say,” I muttered my sarcasm to the little radio sitting on the desk beside me. Sweat was already dripping down the back of my neck as I fanned myself with a bookmark.
After an hour of sitting in the warm booth selling tickets, there had finally come a lull in the surge of people coming through the school gates, giving me some time to sit back and enjoy my book — well, tried to in this heat. I was relying on popsicles from a cooler box under the desk to keep me alive.
I had my sneakers kicked up on the tabletop as I leaned back in my seat. My nose was buried in a book as a light breeze blew swiftly across the school grounds. It flitted through the window and lifted the loose tendrils of hair from my bun away from my face, bringing the faintest relief before the air was thick with humidity again.
There was a soft knock from outside the booth and I looked up to the window, finding a pair of kind, smiling hazel eyes looking right back. They belonged to the familiar face of a young man whose hair was honey-blonde and styled in a way that belonged to a Disney prince.
“Hi,” he smiled easily. Handsomely. Almost too handsomely.
The heat had finally driven me crazy and I was hallucinating.
I blinked, temporarily forgetting what I was here for until it clicked. I straightened quickly, tucking my legs down, but knocked my heel on the lip of the desk and almost toppled out of my seat. I caught myself with a huff and stood, brushing the disheveled strands of hair away from my face before plastering a smile on my face. “Hi. How many tickets?”
“I already bought mine from the woman who worked the shift before you.” He lifted a ticket in his hand for emphasis.
“Oh... Did you need help with something? Directions?”
He half smiled, his cheeks growing rosy as he tousled his hair. “You don’t remember me, do you?”
I chewed my lip and cringed. “Sorry, no.”
“I’m Oliver. We met last Saturday.” He spoke with hope in his voice and eyes as he tried to jog my memory.
“Right, yes, Oliver.” The waiter Mom wanted me to meet. The waiter she probably schemed into meeting me here.
I glanced in the direction of the raffle draw and sure enough, she was watching with a satisfied little smirk on her face. She gave me a little wave. I smiled politely at her, and then at Oliver. Masking the way my teeth ground against each other. “I’m Lily.”
“I kind of already knew your name but it’s nice to finally meet you.” He leaned a lightly tanned forearm on the counter as his eyes shone.
“You too.” I kept up the smiles and sweetness and he bought every part of it.
“So, what were you reading before I interrupted?” He nodded to the book on the table.
“Just a romance novel,” I shrugged, casually flipping the book over so the shirtless man on the cover was facing down. “Are you here with your sister?”
He looked impressed. “You know my sister?”
“No, but mine does. They’re both sophomores.”
“Huh. Small world. But to answer your question, I am here with her. At least until she gets tired of hanging out here and wants to leave.” Somehow Oliver could smile even when he wasn’t. The corner of his lips seemed to be permanently upturned. “Did you go to school here too?”
“I did... But I don’t remember you attending?”
“No. My family moved us here from Jersey after I graduated high school.” He went to say more but was cut short when a young teenager appeared at his side. His sister, I assumed based on the similar blonde hair and hazel eyes. She wasn’t as smiley though.
“I’m ready to go now,” she drawled, motioning to another girl waiting nearby. “We want to go shopping.”
Oliver raised his eyebrows and looked at me. “And this is my sister, Eliza.”
I offered her a smile. “Hi.”
“Hi,” she deadpanned before turning to him. “Can we go now?”
“Yeah, fine. Go wait by the car.” He watched his sister leave with her friend before bringing his bright, hope-filled eyes back to me. “So.”
I pressed my lips together, smiled apprehensively, and raised my eyebrows expectantly. “So.”
