Chapter TEN

I woke up hot and covered in sand. Mateo's jacket was covering us like a blanket. For a moment, I forgot where I was. But he looked so cute, fast asleep, his mouth half open. My hair was a mess. My stomach growled. But I didn't feel even half as bad about this as I had about waking up in Thatcher's bed.

My phone was buzzing. A lot.

UM, WHERE ARE YOU? YOUR CAR WAS AT THE VENUE WHEN WE LEFT, BUT YOURE NOT AT THE HOUSE?

ELENA, CALL ME.

Both texts were from my dad. Shit.

MATEO AND I WENT BACK TO HIS APARTMENT TO SLEEP. ON MY WAY HOME SOON, I texted back quickly.

No one had to know that I had slept all night on the beach, with Mateo. It didn't seem like something our parents should find out about. I already didn't like how much I enjoyed being with Mateo. Now that I was sober I knew very well what it meant. But still, my heart didn't slow down.

As I got up, my head was pounding. Again. Literally, I was not going to drink again for a long time. I found my shoes down the beach a bit, and put them on, then went back over to wake Mateo. I touched his face. I moved some hair out of his eyes. I wished he was someone else. Someone I could kiss. His eyes opened slowly and he grinned when he saw me.

"Hey." His voice was so sleepy.

"It's 8A.M," I said, keeping a straight face.

"We actually slept out here," he commented, sitting up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. My dad was just texting. So, I have to..."

Now Mateo was on his feet, brushing sand off his pants. I noticed something in his pants, which he adjusted quickly. His hair was mess, too. Now he was avoiding eye contact. We were both quiet for a minute. My dresses was wrinkled a bit and felt weird on my body. One strap kept falling down my shoulder.

"You have to go?" he finally asked, looking at me with the strangest expression.

"Uh, yeah. I should hang out with my dad a bit before I..." I let my voice trail off again.

"Do you have to go home today?" he wanted to know.

We were standing a few feet apart. The space between us felt too huge. It felt too heavy. My heart was pounding. How had I become so invested in this person who I had just met? On Friday, I had been dreading going to South Haven alone. Now I was considering staying longer than I'd planned.

"Well, I guess, not really," I finally answered.

"So stay." He was pleading with me, now.

"Mateo."

"What? I just want... more time." He stepped forward. "Don't you?"

"For what?" I asked, staying where I was. "What would we do?"

"Are you serious right now?" he asked back, then laughed. He stepped even closer. I smiled, shaking my head. "Anything. We could talk. Or eat. Or I could just stare at you."

"That's it?" I asked, teasing him. Flirting was okay, right?

"No. But... I don't know what's in your head right now. What are you thinking?" he asked, looking too serious all of a sudden.

"I'm thinking that I'm starving," I said, after only a moment. "And that I'll call you? In a bit?"

He smiled, then put his number in my phone. "You'll call me?"

I nodded. "Yes."

At my car a few minutes later, I leaned back against the door and smiled at him. His dimple appeared when he smiled back. He had his suit jacket draped over his arm and he stepped back and then forward again. We were like nervous freshman who didn't know what to do or say to each other.

"I could come... to the house," he suggested. His mom's house. My dad's house.

He knew I wanted that. He knew I wanted more. But he still nodded when I told him to go home. I liked him even more in that moment, knowing that he respected me enough to agree to leave.

"I'll call you. After I have breakfast. With our parents."

I knew it should feel weird saying that. It did sound weird. Maybe if I said it out loud, he would realize it was weird. But my head kept telling me that he was not my brother. Of course I knew that. He was just Jenna's son.  He was just a guy.

He put his hand on his chest. "We can hang out later?"

I nodded. He nodded. And then he hugged me, but it was not a friendly hug. My face was buried in his neck and my heart was pounding into him. I liked how he smelled, even after sleeping on the beach all night. I wanted to press my lips against his neck. I wanted to let him hold me forever. I pulled away before he was ready.

"Okay. See you soon?" I asked.

"Yeah," he smiled.

I typed  my dad's address into the GPS and started the car. I looked over at Mateo's truck as I pulled out of the parking lot. My heart felt big and open. My stomach was doing cartwheels. My brain was reminding me that this was okay.  I felt like I was high.

Make You Mine  by Public was playing on the radio.

Put your hand in mine. You know that I want to be with you all the time. You know that I won't stop until I make you mine.

I was humming along to the song and still thinking about Mateo. I was wondering what would happen later. I was thinking about how even if we watched a movie and had lunch together, it would be better than nothing. 

I was driving through an intersection only a few minutes from my dad's house when everything went black.