He pulled the food out of the bag, passing her the carton containing a hotdog, then the cardboard pouch full of fries. Popping a straw in each soda, he pushed one toward her, then lifted the other to his lips.
“The food looks a little sad,” he said, prizing the lid of his carton up. “I think it’s gotten too cold.”
“I’m not that hungry anyway.” She picked up a fry and slid it between her lips. “Actually, it’s not too bad,” she told him, picking up another. “And apparently I’m hungrier than I thought.”
She was looking over at the Silver Bay resort. “Did you ever go in there when you were a kid?” she asked him. “I can remember getting dared to when I was in eighth grade, but I was way too scared to do it.”
He picked up a few fries and swallowed them down fast, followed by a mouthful of soda. “You did the right thing. It was a famous make-out place when I was in high school. No ghosts, but plenty to be scared of.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “Did you go there to make out?”
He shrugged. “Can’t remember.”
For the first time since he’d seen her, tear-stained in her car, a genuine smile broke out on her face. “Fibber. I bet you were king of the make out sessions.”
It was his turn to raise an eyebrow. “King?” he repeated, shaking his head. “There’s no king of make out sessions.”
“But you went there…”
“A couple of times. Until I got my driver’s license.” He pushed the box with the hotdog away. Unlike the fries, it was already stone cold. “After that it was all about the car.”
“Were you a player when you were a teenager?” She lifted her eyes up to meet his. “What am I asking? Of course you were a player. You were on the football team, weren’t you?”
“I played football, yes,” he said slowly. “But I don’t think I was a player in any other sense. I had a steady girlfriend for most of senior year.”
“You went to Angel Sands High, right?” she asked him.
“Yeah,” he replied, trying to work out where she was going.
“I did too, I think I was friends with your sister. Caitie?”
Lucas smiled. “Yeah, that’s right.”
“I don’t really remember you from high school,” she said, finishing the last of her fries. “And since you’re two years older, I’m betting you don’t remember me at all. But I do remember the football team, and all the craziness of Friday night football.” She pursed her lips around her straw and sucked up some soda, then released it, keeping her eyes on his the whole time. “You guys must have felt like you had it all. The girls wouldn’t leave you alone.”
“Are you talking about my dating history because you don’t want to talk about your date tonight?” he asked her.
“How did you guess?”
He shrugged. “Just lucky.”
“Unlike me.” She leaned her elbow on the rock, turning her face to look at the ocean. Her profile was lit by the moon, making her skin look almost porcelain in the soft light. It was impossible not to look at her, not to admire the slant in her nose and the fullness of her lips.
Impossible not to wonder how soft they’d feel against his.
“Did he call you to let you know he wouldn’t be there?”
She shook her head, her gaze still fixed on the water. “No, there was nothing. No phone call, no message, he didn’t even bother cancelling the reservation. He just didn’t show up.” Her tongue darted out and she slowly licked her lips. He wondered if they were as salty as his. “And when I went to message him on the app, he’d disappeared. Ally thinks he might have blocked me.”
“But why?” Lucas was nonplussed. “Why would he go to all the trouble of arranging to meet you and not show up?”
“I have my theories.”
“What are they?” he asked.
She turned to look at him, her expression neutral. But he could see the hurt in the clouds of her eyes. Right then he would have done anything to take it away.
“I think maybe he turned up and got a glimpse of me and decided I wasn’t good enough for him.” Her voice broke as she finished her sentence.