Gotta Lose 'Til You Win

It was my seventeenth summer and I was in charge of my parents’ library of a bookstore for the duration of it.

The sun was rising slowly over the surf as the town woke up for the day.

The quaint little café on the corner was emitting sweet smells of baked goods and fresh coffee. The post office truck was delivering with mail to the residents. The city workers were off to the highway.

I had gotten there early to set everything up. By seven thirty, the bookstore was already open and waiting for the summer rush.

Rather than sit in the shop until eight when it opened, I decided to hangout on the back porch of the shop, sipping my coffee and reading in the rising sunlight.

That’s where I first saw him.

He was jogging down the shore at an easy pace and waved as he passed me.

I waved back without really taking a good look at him.

About twenty minutes later, he came back around and stopped at the edge of the platform. He leaned his arms against the railing as he tried to catch his breath.

“Hey, there,” he said in a deep voice.

I lifted my sunglasses and set them on top of my head. I set down my book before giving him the once over.

The best way to describe him was a ragamuffin with muscles.

His dark hair was disheveled and uncut. His board shorts looked like they hadn’t been washed in forever and his white tank was covered in grease and small holes.

His eyes, however, were the most absolutely brilliant shade of green as they looked up at me.

The young man saw my eyes trace over him and looked down at himself. “Sorry, I didn’t plan to be meeting any beautiful young women on my run,” he said with a sheepish grin.

I frowned a little. “Are you trying to hit on me?”

He looked at me a little weirdly before smiling. “Of course I am; who wouldn’t?” he replied, trying to break the ice a bit more.

I rolled my eyes. “Hold it. Name and age?”

“What?” he replied, confused.

I sighed. “Name and age? You know? That thing you were given at birth that people call you? And how long it’s been since that time?” I explained slowly, not all that tolerable of this boy anymore.

He shook his head and grinned a little. “The name’s Bradley Shepherd and the age is twenty,” he replied.

I smirked before lowering my sunglasses. “Adriana Kingston. Jailbait,” I replied, picking my book up again.

He tilted his head in confusion. “What?”

I sighed. “Are you normally this stupid?” I retaliated.

He didn’t answer.

I put my book down again and leaned on my knees. “Jailbait, as in under the age of eighteen and thus, you shouldn’t go after me because you’ll go to jail, stupid,” I explained, exasperated. “Besides,” I started picking up my book again, “I don’t date.”

“Well, I’ll be the one to change that,” he said with a mischievous grin before jogging away.

I looked after him with a perplexed expression before standing up. “Good luck with that, Mr. Shepherd!” I yelled after him.

He turned around. “I’m taking that as a challenge, Miss Kingston!” he called with a grin before turning back around and waving.

I stared after him and watched as he rounded the corner. “What a strange man.”

I smoothed out my dress before heading into the shop. I unlocked the front door and headed back to the register.

The rush began around nine and lasted until closing. I forgot about Bradley in that time and didn’t think about him until he ran past the next morning.

I didn’t look up, but waved as he called out.

On the way back, he sat on the steps instead of leaning on the railing.

“So, Adriana Kingston,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s the name, don’t wear it out,” I replied, not looking up.

“Why are you so cold to me?” he asked as I looked up.

I blinked a few times.

He had a new haircut, which showcased his eyes and his clothes were clean.

He continued on like I hadn’t just checked him out. “I just want to know the girl behind that pretty stare,” he smiled, quoting a Rascal Flatts song.

I couldn’t stop myself from smiling softly.

“Ah, so you listen to country!” he exclaimed with a grin.

That caused me to frown. I turned back to my book.

“Oh, c’mon, Adriana, loosen up,” he said, chuckling.

I lowered my book. “I’ve only known you for less than two days; I’m not going to open up to you all of a sudden.”

Bradley sighed. “Well, I’m going to keep trying. Talk to you tomorrow, Adri,” he said, standing and waving.

I watched him again as he ran down to the corner. “He’s damn cute, but so stubborn.”

Over the course of the next six weeks, Bradley wore down my defenses to the point where I anticipated his visits with coffees in hand. We sat down across from each other and told everything about our lives.

He learned about my past and why I wouldn’t date anyone. I learned about his family and why they moved. He learned about my little brother, Leon, and I learned about his late older sister. We learned about each other’s parents.

One day, we were sitting on the steps, watching the sunrise.

He turned to look at me and smiled mischievously.

I returned his look. “What?”

“Do you want to go on a date with me?”

I studied his forest greens carefully before nodding.

“Sweet success,” he shouted, jumping up and throwing his arms in the air. “She said yes!”

I giggled at his antics and stood up. I pulled his face to me and kissed his cheek. “Calm down, Bradley,” I whispered. “You’re making a fool of yourself, bud.”

He grinned and pulled me into him. “Only because you made me happy,” he replied.

I smiled and hugged him back.

We agreed to meet at the steps at seven and go from there.
____

A little before seven, I arrived at the shop.

I played with different parts of my outfit in my nervousness.

When he finally walked up, I had worn a path into the sand.

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” he said, kissing my temple.

“S’okay,” I replied, hugging him.

Bradley released me and held out his arm. “Shall we, m’lady?” he asked.

I laughed and took his offered arm. “Let’s.”

We joked and talked like we always did on the way there and even when we made it to the pier. We walked around for about an hour, playing the games and snacking on pretzels and cotton candy.

“Let’s go on the Ferris wheel, Adriana,” he suggested as we stood at the edge of the pier.

Fear flashed in my eyes. “You know that I’m scared of heights!”

Bradley pulled me into him. “I’ll be there the whole time and keep the fear away,” he promised, kissing my temple again.

I hesitantly agreed before we set off to the line.

We got to the front of the line and got on the blue cab with number thirteen on the side.

As the cab lurched to life, I closed my eyes and bend down.

Bradley squeezed my hand and pulled me upright. “You have to open your eyes to see the sunset, Adriana,” he whispered gently.

I gripped his hand tightly as I opened my eyes.

“Look at me, not outside the cab, Adri,” he whispered.

I focused on the forest as he focused on the sea.

We reached the top before I knew it.

Bradley grinned before pulling me into his lap and turning us around to face the sunset. He spoke softly still as to keep my fear away. “I love you, Adriana Jeanne.”

I looked at him in shock. “Brad?”

“That’s why I kept after you; your challenge proved to me that I needed you to push myself,” he whispered.

I turned to the sunset, unafraid. “I-I love you too, Bradley James,” I said, hesitant of saying it again for the scars that were still present.

“I won’t hurt you, Adri,” he promised.

“I know,” I replied, placing my forehead against his.

He kissed me for the first time in the glow of the setting sun.