Her mouth splits into a grin and it’s somehow brighter than before.My breath deepens, and I feel myself spiraling again.Say something, man.Anything.But my mind is blank.It’s like it’s been reduced to only one function: intake.I take in the slope of her slender nose to the rounds of her high cheeks, charting the light dusting of freckles that could only be a map to the best kind of golden-brown eyes.They’re warm and comforting like Tennessee whiskey.Come on, man.Eyes like whiskey?I feel like kicking my own butt right now.I need to end whatever this infatuation is and get back to why I came here in the first place.To win.I know what I have to do.
“How in the world did you trip getting out of the car?I’ve seen skateboards with higher clearances than that.”
Chapter 5
Tate
Ouch!His words packa punch.But why?I’ve only just met this man.
I squint up at him against the sun as it just begins its descent.The air is still thick with warmth from the day, but about every fifteen seconds or so, a cool breeze from the ocean finds its way through the canyon.He looked relatively tall from where I was sitting on the ground, but now, standing next to him, I might as well be a flea.A child beside their parent.Honestly, you could probably easily fit two of me in one of him.Maybe more.His hat, a two-toned baseball cap with a large orange T stitched on the front, works to shade the upper half of his face,but nothing could hide the ice of his baby-blue eyes.
“I thought mullets were supposed to mean you’re fun?Or is this the business side of you?”I jest, seeing if I can thaw him a bit...but nope.
His nose wrinkles before, “What?”
“You know,” I continue, hopeful for an energy shift, “business in the front, party in the back?”I think I see a small twitch of his lip from under the umbrella of his golden ’stache, but it’s quickly swallowed by an even deeper frown.
“Carl, wanna unlock the trunk so I can get my bags?”he says, still keeping his eyes locked on me in disgust.The sound of Carl scrambling behind me narrates his actions.The stranger spins on a booted toe, slicing the air in front of us without so much as another word.
“Alright,” I call behind him.“Yeah, let’s get in there!”
After grabbing my own bags, I line them up on the step outside the front door.I feel like it’s necessary to try and attempt to redo this whole introduction.I drink in the salty air and smile.
“Are you going to go in?”
“Has anyone told you that you are kind of a grumpy shadow?”I say, turning towards the voice to find he’s beside me again.
“HA!There is no way I could be your shadow.You’re, like, this big,” He makes a show of hovering his thumb about a centimeter above his index finger and squinting.“Maybe a grumpy giant shadow, but definitely not yours.”
“What’s your name, oh tall, mighty human?”I give him a beaming smile, surely interrupting his thoughts about all the ways he’s much bigger than me.Granted, there are a lot.But maybe we can be friends.Or at least not enemies.His jaw tightens as his eyes freeze back over.
“Levi.Levi Johnson.Your next American Icon.”His face is stone serious, and yet, somehow it makes me laugh.
“Well, Levi...Levi Johnson, the next American Icon, I’m Tate McGregor.Most people just call me Tate, but I do get the occasional Tater-tot.”I offer my hand and he shakes it reluctantly.I guess I’ve got to take what I can get from him.I turn, picking up one of my bags from the ground, and push open the front door.But before I can take my first step inside, a large hand, weathered from hard work or hard play, plants itself against my middle, stopping me.
“Hey, Tate...”Levi’s voice has morphed into something cautious.
