The Boyfriend Project Read online

  “So I know this may sound silly,” I began, “but this is my vacation for the summer. I was thinking of going souvenir shopping this afternoon. Anyone up for that?”

  Fletcher looked like he was trying to blend in with the woodwork. I had a feeling he was not one for browsing shops. Avery looked at him, then looked at me. “I was thinking of napping.”

  The sun could zap your strength but I’d already gotten in my nap.

  “I’ll go,” Jeremy said.

  I knew he was just doing it to be a good boyfriend. I shook my head. “Never mind. It was just a thought.”

  “You don’t want to be with me?” he asked.

  His question took me totally by surprise. Where had that come from? “No. I mean, yes, no.” I shook my head. “Of course I want to be with you, but I know you’re not into shopping.”

  “I’m into hanging with you, so that works out. Besides, what else do we have planned for this afternoon?”

  According to my itinerary, this afternoon I’d planned to gather seashells that we could use for craft projects, but even as I thought it I realized how totally unexciting that sounded. Not to mention, no one really cared about my itinerary. “Okay, then, yeah. Let’s go.”

  Avery said she and Fletcher would clean up. Jeremy and I were in charge of supper.

  Leaving the dogs behind, Jeremy and I walked along the hard-packed sandy road. Tall grass and dunes on one side separated it from the public beach. I’d grabbed my wide-brimmed hat and tossed on a lacy top to shelter me from the sun. Jeremy had put his T-shirt back on and added a baseball cap.

  Seagulls squawked and swooped down. The sky was an incredible blue, hardly a cloud in sight. And my boyfriend was holding my hand.

  “Guess you know what we’re fixing for supper,” he said as we walked past a grocery store.

  “I brought a box of rice and beans because it was easy to transport, but now it seems boring.”

  I felt his gaze land on me. “You’re really worried about being boring.”

  I shrugged. “Didn’t you think things would change after we graduated from high school? That there would be this big moment of wonder, discovery, and expansion?”

  “I figure that will happen in a few more weeks when we head off to college.”

  “I guess I’m just impatient, but I do know I don’t want beans and rice.”

  “How about some danger?”

  I looked over at him. “Excuse me?”

  “Cooking with fire, down on the beach at sunset. Hot dogs, roasting marshmallows.”

  I grinned. “I like that.”

  “We’ll stop at the grocery store on the way back.”

  I leaned against his arm. “We’re a good team.”

  “The best.”

  We reached the souvenir shop. The large, weathered wooden building was almost completely open on one side. We went up the steps, walking past barrels that contained seashells for sale. For anyone who was too lazy to bend down and pick one up off the beach, I guessed.

  “So what are you looking for?” Jeremy asked.

  “Just browsing really.”

  “I see a cooler at the back. I’m going to grab something to drink.”

  “Okay.” He wandered off and I walked over to a rack of T-shirts. I found a muscle shirt that was kind of stretchy. I wondered if I should buy it for Jeremy for the gun show. Maybe. I’d think about it.

  I walked by a carousel stand that had small license plates displayed on it, the kind kids bought to go on their bikes. Each one had a different name. I noticed WARREN was next to ADAM. How had that happened?

  I moved WARREN to reveal ALICE. People were so careless when they put things back. I put WARREN in his place, noticed another out of place. . . .

  “What are you doing?” Jeremy asked.

  “These are all out of order.”

  “Kendall, babe, that’s not your job.”

  “It’ll just take me second.”

  He took the plate I was holding and slipped it into place so MARY was now hiding NANCY.

  “But, Jeremy, if a girl named Nancy is looking for a license plate she’s just going to see two Marys. She’s not—”

  “You need to let this go.” Folding his hand around mine, he began leading me outside.

  “It’s chaos and it’s supposed to be orderly.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It’s just a cheap souvenir.”

  “It might matter to someone.”

  Stopping, he faced me. “Go fix it.”

  “It’ll just take me a second.”

  Took me more like a hundred and twenty, but he was sitting on the steps waiting for me, drinking a cherry-flavored water, when I was finished. I crouched beside him. “I know I should have been able to walk away. . . .”

  “It’s okay.” He extended his bottle. Taking it, I gulped down some water before handing it back. He finished it off and tossed it into a nearby garbage can. He shoved himself to his feet. “Come on, let’s go grocery shopping.”

  Taking his hand, I couldn’t help but think that I was so lucky to have him.

  Chapter 16

  JEREMY

  I didn’t know why Kendall needed to have so much order in her life. I figured some of it might have to do with her father’s death. It had to be hard growing up without your dad—even if your dad tended to be a jerk like mine. In spite of everything, I did love him. Just didn’t like him a whole lot.

  Although based on things Kendall said, I knew she had liked her dad. A lot. She really missed him. So I tried to be understanding when it came to her need to control everything, because she hadn’t had any control over his dying.

  As Kendall and I went through the tiny grocery store, a couple of times I noticed her reaching to straighten something, then pulling her hand back. We quickly grabbed what we needed—including roasting skewers that had a picture of people near a campfire—and headed back to the beach house.

  We waited until near dusk before hauling everything down to the beach. Fletcher and I gathered driftwood and built a fire. After, Kendall and I sat on a blanket with her back to my chest, my arms around her as the sun set. It was pretty amazing. As night fell, a quiet hush seemed to come with it. Only a few people remained. I didn’t figure they’d be staying much longer, but they weren’t bothering us.

  After skewering the wieners, we held them just beyond the reach of the dancing flames.

  “This was such a good idea,” Avery said. She examined her wiener, then slid it into a bun and took a bite. “There’s just something about roasting hot dogs over a campfire that makes them taste better.”

  “It’s the danger,” I said. “The fire. It’s why guys like to cook outside using a grill. The kitchen is too tame.”

  “And yet so many chefs are guys,” Avery pointed out.

  “But you’ve seen the knives they wield, right?” I asked.

  She laughed. “Yeah, some of them are pretty wicked looking.”

  When everyone had their fill of hot dogs, Kendall broke out our dessert. “This reminds me a little of Girl Scout camp,” she said as she skewered a marshmallow.

  “So should we start telling creepy stories?” Avery asked.

  “No,” Kendall said as she plucked the gooey mess from the skewer and popped it into her mouth. “I won’t be able to sleep.”

  I slipped my arm around her. “I’ll protect you.”

  She gave an exaggerated shudder. “You’ll try, but the guy is always the first to go.”

  “Nah,” Fletcher said. “The guy is usually the danger, the one you least expect.”

  “Oh, thanks,” Kendall said. “No more marshmallows for you.”

  He shrugged. “No biggie. I’ve got my root beer.”

  “Doesn’t anything upset you?” Kendall asked.

  “Not the small stuff.”

  I’d really only gotten to know Fletcher after he started dating Avery. He was a year older than us, but in some ways he was a lot older than that. I’d only recently learned he’d ha