Chapter
Brynn
My attempts at journaling had failed. My commitment to daily hikes had died on the vine. Aside from that one bout of organizational inspiration, my house remained a mess. My summer of self-improvement was a total bust unless you counted one area of achievement I was excelling at.
If we kept up our pace, Rett will have fucked me in every shop in town before the summer was over.
Turns out I can achieve goals if I set them. I just need to be... properly motivated.
I grinned as I sat down on the park bench in the town square. It was one of those late July days where the cicadas buzzed in the trees in a rising and falling cadence that sounded like heat itself. I'd taken to meeting Rett here after work here most evenings so we could get right down to the business of... goal achievement.
Some places proved easier than others. Bob and Lou's Diner, with their nice, sturdy locks on the bathroom door was the easiest by far. Scoops Ice Cream Stand? That had proven a bit of a challenge with no public restroom and swarms of tourists always milling about. We'd sat in our booth, frustrated, until Rett took matters into his own hands and plunged his fingers down the waistband of my shorts.
After some back and forth, we decided that counted towards our tally.
Today's aim was Mrs. Feathergill's Antique Shoppe. I'd already scouted it out and found that the dressing room was surprisingly spacious. Rett had mentioned something about wanting to try a new knot.
I was very excited.
I leaned back on the park bench and closed my eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun settle about my shoulders like a comforting blanket.
But even in the peace of the moment, I couldn't keep my foot from tapping anxiously against the ground. Rett should be here, any minute. Even now, with my eyes closed, I could conjure his face in front of me, the echo of his voice in my ears praising me as I pushed myself to the very limit.
If I wasn't careful, I was going to start making some noises that were distinctly inappropriate for a public place.
The sound of children's voices filled my ears. Reddening, I opened my eyes and watched as parents started pulling up to the daycare across the street.
I smiled watching the happy reunions. Kids hurtled across the playground to arriving parents while harried-looking workers hustled to keep track of who was leaving with who. I spotted Autumn's flame-red head amidst the fray and was unsurprised to see that she was still smiling even after what had to be a long and stressful day.
I was surprised to see that I recognized Adelina — Grace's mom, the waitress at the country club — hustling Grace into a beat up old Chevy, all the while surveying her surroundings like she was looking out for something.
Or someone.
I wondered what she was looking out for. I raised my hand and waved in greeting.
When she saw me, Grace's face lit up. I saw her mouth something, and grab her mom's hand.
"Oh boy," I said to myself, seeing Adelina’s pissed off expression. But Grace was already dragging her mother across the street towards me.
"Hi Miss Reese," Grace sang out.
"Hi there Gracie," I said, standing up and then going down to my knee to give her a hug. "I've missed you! How has your summer been going?"
"Good!" she said, twisting and turning on her feet. "I made a giraffe with Mrs. Granger today."
"A giraffe, huh? What letter does the word giraffe begin with?" I prompted her.
"G!" she said, smiling and showing that she lost her bottom tooth.
I looked up and greeted Adelina. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to hold you up, I just wanted to say hi," I told her when I saw her stormy face.
"Yeah, well." Her eyes darted around again. "We need to get going. You never know what kind of creepers are around."
I narrowed my eyes. "It's a pretty safe town," I started to protest. But then I remembered that my own house had been broken into. Granted they hadn't taken anything, but it was still pretty unnerving so I bit my tongue before I started babbling away like a hypocrite.
"Yeah, I guess it is," Adelina said. "But you can't ever be too safe."
"No, you can't," I said, parroting her. As I said that, I saw Rett out of the corner of my eye, striding towards me with a purposeful grin on his face and I realized that yeah, you actually could be too safe. And I didn't want that any more.