Neighbor Dearest

“Where are we going?”

“Someplace where we can both blow off steam. It was where I’d planned to take you after lunch anyway.”

“You’re not gonna tell me?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“You’re just full of surprises today, aren’t you?”

While he didn’t respond, his face turned uncharacteristically red in reaction to my attempt to address the kiss. He just kept driving.

Forty-five minutes later, we were in Santa Cruz, and I’d figured out where he was taking me.

I grinned. “We’re going to the boardwalk.”

“I haven’t actually been back here in years. You?”

“Not since I was a teenager.”

“My dad used to take Tyler and me here all the time. Many of the best memories from my childhood took place here.”

“What made you want to come here today?”

“I don’t know exactly. I just knew I wanted to come here with you.” His admission gave me butterflies.

After we found a parking spot, I vowed to try to shake off what happened back at the burger joint.

“What do you want to do first?” he asked.

“Well, I’m starting to get my appetite back.”

“Let’s go get you fed, then.”

Damien let me choose the food, and I picked one of the concession places right on the boardwalk. He ordered pizza while I opted for a giant corn dog on a stick that looked obscene. Some angel of perversity must have been laughing down on me because this thing even had a sprouted tip that looked like a crown. It was unfortunately not the best choice for today, given the sexual awkwardness that was still lingering in the air around us.

After we carried our food over to an empty bench that overlooked the Pacific Ocean, I was hesitant to even put the thing in my mouth with Damien watching me. It just seemed wrong. Way to go, Chelsea.

“I don’t know whether to lick this or bite it.” I laughed.

“Out of everything you could have chosen, you had to order a giant dick?”

“This would only happen to me. Can you like look away or something while I take a bite?”

“No fucking way. I want a front row seat to this.”

“Seriously, this has got to be up there as one of the strangest days of my life.”

“Whatever are you talking about?” he joked.

“Thank you again for that diversion at the burger place.”

“The pleasure was all mine,” he said sincerely.

“It brings me great satisfaction to know that instead of making a fool out of myself in front of him, I had the upper hand today. He left believing that I was happy and had moved on, even if that’s not the case. It was the best possible scenario.” As Damien just continued to stare at me, letting his pizza get cold, I had an epiphany when I said, “You changed the story.”

His mouth curved into a grin. “Yeah. I guess so.”

“Seriously. This could have been the most devastating day. I could’ve humiliated myself or lost my words in front of them, but instead, I didn’t have to deal with all of that. I’m at an amusement park instead.”

“About to eat a giant dick,” he added.

“Like this?”

When I exaggeratedly flicked my tongue slowly along my corn dog’s obscene crusted tip, Damien looked away. “Okay…um, fuck. That’s too much.”

“Sorry.”

“The fuck you are, you evil bitch.” He laughed.

Holy shit.

When I looked down, his erection was apparent.

“Wow, it doesn’t take much, huh?”

“Not today, it doesn’t.”

I reached my corn dog out to him. “Corn dog, meet Horn Dog.”

He handed me his pizza, took the corn dog and ate it.***After lunch, we hit the amusement park, and every effort was made to combat the remaining sexual tension between us as we rode nearly every single ride in the place. Well, we went on every ride that didn’t involve heights; I couldn’t handle those.

It had felt so cathartic to intentionally crash into Damien on the bumper cars. I would mentally shout at him with every collision.

“This is for saying you only want to be friends.”

“This is for bringing that redheaded whore back to your apartment.”

“This is for kissing me today.”

Each crash into him felt better than the last.

“We can’t leave without going on the Giant Dipper,” he said.

“No way. I don’t do roller coasters.”

“Come on, Chelsea. I’ll hold your hand.”

Was it sick that I was considering it just so I could touch him again?

“I really don’t want to.”

He stopped walking and faced me. “Can I tell you a secret?”

“Yes.”

“One of the last memories I have of my father was riding that coaster with him. We came here the week before he died. That’s part of the reason why I wanted to come back. I hadn’t been able to return here since. I felt it was time. Coming back here was on my bucket list, but I didn’t want to do it alone. I wanted you with me, because you comfort me, Chelsea.” He pointed up to the giant coaster. “Tackling that thing is sort of the final step today. I really don’t want to go up there without you next to me. So, see…I might need you to hold my hand just as much as you need me.”