it's kind of loud in here,
let's get out of this p l a c e . . .

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A father stepped up to my booth, glancing at the sheet on the side of the window that displays all the types of ticket packages we sell at the pier. The creases around his eyes and natural, tired grin told me that this wasn't his first and certainly not his last time here. Also the fact that his two kids were jumping around and squealing about The Vortex helped show that.

"Could we please have the family value pack?" He asked me once he decided a few seconds later.

"Sure thing," I smiled, grabbing a stack of tickets and handing them to him through the opening. He gave me exact change, thanked me, and walked away with his perfect family of four.

The overwhelming, mid-July heat didn't stop anybody from coming to the pier today. In fact, it seemed like it just persuaded people to get outside so they could melt in the sun while paying for overpriced entertainment to keep their kids happy. Or it might be because they enjoy being out with their loved ones. Either way, it wasn't my problem because in another hour, I'd be out of here until Monday.

With no one coming up to my window, I spun around in my stool to check the air conditioning unit. It shut off a little while ago and I'm not sure why because it's set on a certain cycle, and when I realized it hadn't been on in quite some time and the cool air was disintegrating, worry triggered inside me. I can't rot away in here.

I had no clue what to do with it, but I started pressing buttons to make it turn back on. I was so focused on becoming my own repairman that I didn't hear someone come up to the window.

"Excuse me?" A husky voice said after they cleared their throat.

I jumped at the sound, throwing a quick glance over my shoulder at them before going back to the AC. "Be right with you!" I chirped, trying to cover up how nervous I suddenly got. My fingers started frantically pushing on buttons and knobs, not knowing what to do next.

What if I broke it? What if I never get cold air in here again? Beverly will have a conniption, she'll fire me, then my parents will-

The customer cleared their throat again, and louder this time. A grunt emitted from me and I rolled my eyes in annoyance before whirling around to face them.

My heart jolted when I saw a familiar face in front of me. Blue eyes glowing as always, lips curled into a smirk, and tan arms leaning on the window ledge.

"Hi," Brody cooed.

I breathed a sigh of relief, my lips pulling upward at his presence. "Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked in a similar soft tone. I couldn't really help it though because he turns me into a soft spoken, babbling idiot in a matter of seconds.

"I thought I'd surprise you," he shrugged simply with his signature smirk in place. The one that makes a whirlpool circulate in my stomach. That smirk.

"How sweet," I gushed over the gesture, not being able to contain the blush coating my cheeks.

"What can I say? I'm a sweet kid," he playfully boasted. "How much longer you got?"

"Another hour."

His face morphed into an adorable pout as he propped his chin up with his hand and stared at me. "Wanna just leave now and come with me instead?" He lowered his voice.

"I'd love to, but I'm not about to sacrifice my job for a guy," I said honestly with a chuckle.

"So I'm just 'a guy'?" He scoffed, mocking offense to that title and looking away from me.

"You know what I mean," I rolled my eyes with a laugh, which brought out the smile on his face. My heart skipped a beat again.

"I can wait for you, if you want, and we can hang out when you're done," Brody then offered, running a hand through his hair.

My eyes drifted behind him to where a few people started wandering over to my booth, forming a line. It was inevitable that my inner saleswoman came out, not wanting to hold any customers up.

"I'd like that," I told him, grinning like a moron. "Let me take care of these people, and I'll talk to you when the line dies down."

"Oh shit," he muttered. With an abrupt turn, he saw that there were parents and impatient children waiting to get their ride tickets, so he sent me a swoon-worthy smile and moved off to the side. The next family came up, and the line didn't stop for quite some time.

It's been ten days since I first hooked up with Brody, and within those short ten days, we've gotten dramatically close. Like I said, from the moment I first met him, it felt like I'd known him for years. He's just so easy to talk to and I don't know anyone like him.

So about that stupid tiny crush on him? Well, it's developed into a ridiculously huge, all-consuming crush by this point. He's all I can think about anymore.

Jodie and Sadie constantly pester me over what's exactly going on between us, but I never have an answer for them. Clearly we're not dating or anything remotely close to that – I'm not sure if things will ever get to that point ever. For right now, all I know is I like him a lot, and he seems to like me too.

When I looked up to see it was 5 o'clock an hour later, I practically jumped out of my seat and flew out of the ticket booth. I ran to Beverly's office to clock out and bid her goodbye, then took off before she could say much else. I'm only somewhat excited about hanging out with Brody, if you can't tell.

I met up with Brody at the entrance to the pier, where he was standing alone and gazing at something. I would've stopped to admire him and his beauty had he not spotted me.

"So what do you wanna do?" He asked, shoving his hands in his pockets as we walked side by side down the boardwalk.

"Honestly? Change out of this stupid shirt and sit in some cool air," I laughed without shame, and Brody chuckled along. After being in that stuffy booth with the broken AC unit, it'd be a blessing to go somewhere comfortably cold. "We can go back to my house, if that's okay with you."

He snapped his head over to me, gawking in disbelief as I had no idea what to say to that look. I just giggled at his expression, still starstruck over how attractive he is. "You mean I can actually go in Big Blue?" He gasped, and I shook my head with another soft laugh.

"Yes, you can come inside my house. But it's not a big deal, it's just like any other shore house," I shrugged it off, now leading the way to where I parked my car.

"Okay, right. Because any other shore house is famous and has a nickname that everyone in town knows," he scoffed, more so to himself, but I still heard it and both of us laughed again.

We kept on walking to my car, which of course had Miley Cyrus blaring when I started it. My face went bright red as I frantically turned down the volume, while Brody had a laughing fit in shotgun. I couldn't help but be mesmerized by his laugh, forgetting why I was even embarrassed in the first place. And he didn't even make fun of my music taste.

Arriving at my house ten minutes later, I opened up the garage door to pull into and saw my parents cars there. I kind of forgot they'd be home when I invited Brody back, and had to stop myself from smacking my head against the steering wheel. It's not that I don't want him to meet my parents, it's just that I didn't want them to meet this soon. Looks like it's too late for that now.

"So this is it," Brody breathed in astonishment, gazing up at my aqua blue humble abode. I led the way up the staircase to my front door, and when I realized Brody wasn't directly behind me anymore, I turned around to see him gazing at the view of the ocean. "You're kidding me. You live the dream life."

I laughed a little awkwardly, shrugging my shoulders. "I have to admit, this view is what keeps me going every day," I sighed contently, leaning on the railing beside him and staring out at the glistening water. I would have got lost in a trance, had my stomach not growled and ruined the moment. I tried to play it off, but clearly Brody heard it. He just boyishly smirked at me from the side, causing my cheeks to burn up. "My parents are probably right in the living room, just to warn you," I said as I turned the doorknob.

"You're ridiculous, they're gonna love me," he gloated, which made me roll my eyes and laugh.

I pushed open the door and the first thing I saw was my mom sitting on the couch, eyes locked on the TV, a bowl of popcorn on her lap and her diner clothes still on from earlier today. Then I scanned the premises to catch my dad in the kitchen, seated at the island, talking on his phone. His sentence cut a little short when he saw me standing with a boy by the front door.

My mom's attention quickly left the TV show she was watching to find out why my dad stuttered in his words, so she glanced at him, saw the look on his face, and looked to me.

"Hi guys," I waved to them both, bearing a big smile.

It took a second for my mom to register what was happening and when she did, she ditched the popcorn on her lap and hopped up from the couch. "Hi there!" She chirped happily. I caught the gleam in her eyes as she looked from me to Brody, trying to put the puzzle together.

"This is Brody," I gestured to him standing beside me. "Brody, this is my mom."

"Nice to meet you," Brody instantly charmed her with his smile.

Her previously curious grin turned into a look of recognition, nodding her head thoroughly. "Brody, right. It's nice to meet you too," she said, reaching out and shaking his hand. She sent a quick look to my dad, who mumbled something into the phone before he hung up and joined us.

To say my parents were acting beyond weird at the fact that this is the first time I've ever brought a boy home who wasn't one of the twins is an understatement.

My dad's dark eyes swiftly examined Brody from head to toe, narrowing in suspicion as he stood beside my mom. I was sending daggers his way not to scare him off, in hopes that he'd get the telepathic message.

"This is the boy Lena's been seeing recently. The surfer," my mom leaned up to whisper in my dad's ear. Except I heard her perfectly clear. I held back a strangled groan and silently prayed that Brody didn't hear that.

Now my dad nodded slowly, his lips pursing as he held out his hand for a firm shake. "Pleasure to meet you, Brody," he said gruffly. I almost rolled my eyes at his attempt at being intimidating.

"Same goes for you, sir," Brody politely shook my dad's hand.

"Are you staying for dinner?" My mom asked Brody, raising her eyebrows as she glanced between the two of us. I smiled at him and nodded my head, nudging his arm.

"Yeah, dinner would be great," he gave me a crooked smirk and confirmed it for my mom.

She was beaming now, looking up at my dad with adoration. "Will you help me figure out what to make? It's gotta be good, we don't want to scare him off," she spoke in a normal tone, not bothering to lower her voice so we wouldn't hear. I had to smack my forehead in embarrassment.

My parents walked off without a worry, going near the island in the kitchen and discussing what to make for dinner. Brody just chuckled, clearly amused by my mom's excitement, and by how humiliated I was.

"Do you mind if I go change real fast? I won't leave you alone with them for too long," I told him.

"Take your time. I'm always a big hit with parents," he waved it off, but I sensed a bit of joking in what he said because of the playful glow in his eyes.

"I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not," I voiced my thoughts, narrowing my eyes at him. After all, even though I don't believe it, he doesn't have the cleanest reputation in town.

He shrugged, sticking his hands in his pockets and glancing downwards. "The interpretation is up to you," he looked back up at me with an impish smile. I just rolled my eyes with a short laugh, then quickly made my way across the house to the stairs.

If I'm being honest, all I wanted to do was grab Brody's hand and drag him upstairs with me. But with my parents being home and having this be their first official meeting, I don't think that'd go over too well with them. They'd have my head before we could even take one step.

The other thing is, I don't want to rush it with Brody. I've never felt this way about anyone before, so I'm trying to soak it all in while I can. Knowing that he's been around the world and back with girls probably since he was in junior high, I still find it odd that he's sticking around with someone like me. One look and you can instantly tell I've had one, maybe two, close encounters with the male species. Three counting that awkward-as-hell kiss I had on New Years Eve a couple years ago, if you remember that treacherous story. Which I hope you don't.

Either way, it comes down to he's very experienced in that department, and I'm... well, not. But for right now, he's not doing anything that tells me he's in it only for the physical aspect of a relationship. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

I ran up to my bedroom and tore off my pier shirt and denim shorts. From my closet, I grabbed a basic striped t-shirt dress and threw it on over my head. The relief of taking off your work clothes and changing into something comfortable is an indescribable feeling – one that I experience way too often for my liking. But work means money, and I need that.

Only two minutes later and I was descending the staircase at too fast of a pace, almost falling on my face which is also something I do too much. I could practically picture my mom shaking her head at the thump I landed with at the bottom of the stairs.

When I came into the kitchen, I spotted Brody sitting on a stool at the island, talking enthusiastically about something with my dad who was seasoning up something on a plate. My mom brushed right past me with a stack of plates and silverware, a small smile on her face as she headed for the dining room to set it up for our dinner.

"Wow, Hawaii? That is awesome," my dad spoke with excitement, his eyes glancing up from the chicken he was supposed to be preparing to Brody.

My surfer boy just nodded his head, a nostalgic smile tugging at his lips. He began talking about surfing there and how amazing the islands were – stories I could never get tired of hearing – and I watched them both interacting with my arms crossed and a simper on my face.

I never thought that the boy who seemed scorned by my being that fateful day on the beach, just about a month ago, would be having dinner at my house with my parents and I. But I guess life is funny in that way sometimes.

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A/N - just a cute lil filler chapter for ya. like i said, shit is about to get heated so prepare for some drama heh. i don't have much else to say other than it rained all during my spring break and now it's almost over ughhhhh. well, thanks for reading. love ya lots!

photo: story aesthetic

song: roses by mackenzie bourg

xoxo, sabbbycat