Page 71 of All Your Tomorrows

“Comedy?” I asked.

He laughed. “I don’t know. What’s the opposite of a tragedy?”

I thought for a minute. “I’m not really sure.”

“See?”

The sign for the exit appeared up ahead, and I took the exit despite my reluctance. “Are we just driving by?” I asked with hope in my voice.

“Oh no. We’re stopping,” he said with a grin.

Within minutes, I’d pulled into the sandy lot and cut the engine. “Okay. We’re here.”

He ignored my pissy-ness and stepped out of the car. “Come on, scaredy cat.”

“I’m not scared. I’m annoyed,” I grumbled as I stepped out. I expected a salty breeze from the waves to whip my hair around my face, but the breeze was minimal—especially with my hat pulled down to my eyes.

Kyler met me at my door. “I want you to have good memories of the beach, not shitty ones.”

I stared at him, my eyes roaming over his face.That’s why he brought me here?

“What?” he asked, his brows slanted inward.

I shook my head. “Maybe I don’t hate you after all.”

“You hated me?”

I reached inside my backseat and grabbed the blanket, then closed the door. “Well, this seemed like a terrible idea. But now I understand.” I leaned in and pressed my lips to his. “So, thank you.”

“I haven’t even shown you what we came for,” he said, slipping his hand into mine. “Come on.” He pulled me toward the beach.

Surrounded by darkness, we walked through the sand. Before I’d discovered Rick cheating with Zoe here, I’d only ever visited the beach in the daytime when the gulls were snatching food off the sand and the sun glistened off the water. But being here at night, brought on a whole different vibe. It was peaceful. And, it was all ours.

Kyler stopped. “Mind laying out the blanket?”

I shook it out into a perfect square on the sand.

Kyler urged me down until we sat side by side. “Lay back,” he said as he took my hand in his again.

The waves crashed on the shore in rhythmic succession as I lay beside him completely at ease and content. Stars filled the sky like a real-life planetarium. It was exquisite.

With his free hand, he pointed up and traced the constellation with his finger. “That right there is Ursa Major also known as the Great Bear. If you look closely, the handle of the Big Dipper is the tail of the bear.”

I squinted up and was able to pick out the tail of the bear in the sky. “How do you know that?”

“I took astronomy last year.”

“I had no idea you were into astronomy.”

“Full disclosure? I thought it was gonna be a class about people’s signs. You know, Aries and Capricorn.”

I laughed. “Astrology?”

“Yeah. Girls love that stuff.”

“You took the class hoping to meet girls?”

He shrugged. “On the first day of class, I noticed there weren’t that many girls in the class. Then, the professor started talking about constellations, and I realized my mistake.”