“Yeah. I wish I could stay here for another month or two.” I sighed. “How perfect wouldthatbe?”
That had his head pivoting to look at me, a flicker of the man I’d started getting used to hiding in plain sight on the sharp bones of his cheeks and jaw. “What’s wrong? You’re stressedaboutwork?”
I kept my gaze on the water as I nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying not to let it freak me out, but it is. My mom sent me a link to that job opening that’s still available at her work while we were at the beach, and it’s just got me thinking about what I’m going to do when I get back.” I told him the truth. My mom had sent me a link with a smiley face at the end of it, but the problem was, I’d thought about it, only I’d thought more about what was going onwithhim.
“You’re not going to do it, are you?” he asked, sounding more like himself than he had all day. Not totally like the Ron to my Ruron, but closeenough.
I couldn’t look at him then. “I don’t know. They’ll probably hire someone before I get back from my dad’s. But… I can’t keep going with my money situation the way it is, at least not for too muchlonger.”
“But you don’t want to get an office job,” heremindedme.
“I know I don’t.” I swallowed and shifted my focus toward the midnight-colored gulf again, not wanting to look at him as I told him the truth. “I’m a chicken, Aaron. I’ve told you that already. I’m too scared things won’t work out. I’ve already told you the craziest things I’ve ever done. I was freaked out to gofishing. Fishing. I think I’ve taken enough risks just these last few months since I quit the job I had withmyaunt.”
“You’re not a chicken,” he said, as what I could only assume was his foot slid across the sand to touch mine. I didn’t let myself focus on his affection. What I did let myself zero in on was this gesture that was all my Aaron. It wasn’t like I could bring attention to it though and tell him I noticed what wasgoingon.
Instead, I told him, in a weird voice that almost sounded disappointed, “I hate to break it to you, butIam.”
“No,you’renot.”
“Yes, I am. We talkedaboutthis.”
“Yeah, we did, but you’restillnot.”
“Aaron—”
“You’re not,” he insisted. “What are you scared of that you haven’t done?” he asked, his voicerising.
I screwed up my nose and finally turned my head just enough to make eye contact with him for all of a second before glancing forward with a shrug. “A lot of things.” Maybe I didn’t want to talk about this, but I didn’t want him going back to his morose, mopey crapagain.
“Like?”
It was my turn to sigh. “I don’t know. Lots of stuff. Jumping out of a plane. Getting a tattoo.” I pointed at the water vaguely. “Heck, go swimming at night. There’s a ton ofstuff.”
Aaron paused. “You’re scared of going swimming atnight?”
“You saw me jump on top of you when something touched my leg a couple of days ago. I almost cried when you made me hold that first fish, remember? The Loch Ness monster is probably swimming around in the water right now right beside Jaws, ready to get me if Igoin.”
Aaron snickered and I found myself smiling more at him sounding like himself than anything. I flicked my gaze to the side, finding him with his arms planted behind him, eyes on me. I looked back at the water. “Nessie isn’t going to get you,” heclaimed.
I side-eyed him with a smirk. “You’re on a first-name basiswithher?”
“Yeah, what of it?” He nudged me again, andagainI kept my attention forward. “Get in the water. Nothing willgetyou.”
“No.”
“Ruby.”
“Aaron.”
“Get in the water. You say you’re scared, and I know you’re braver than that, sodoit.”
I couldn’t help but turn my head to look at him with a crazy expression on my face. “That’s easy for youtosay.”
“Why?”
I blinked. “Because you’re probably notreallyscared ofanything.”
Aaron’s head jerked back and he frowned. “I’m scared of enoughthings.”
