And here's the next chapter for you amazing readers:)

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The words glared up at him. Startling black in his messy scrawl on the crisp white sheet of paper. Brady had never written a note to someone before in his life like this. Sure, he'd pass the occasional note in class to his friends during school, but he wanted this to be meaningful.

He sighed, running a hand through his messy blonde hair as he ran his eyes over the words for the seventh time. Would she buy it? Maybe it was too much… He should probably just let her anger die down before talking to her again. Giving her a freaking note like some school boy with a crush would most likely end up with it thrown back in his face.

Why was he even putting this much of an effort into it anyways? Brady began to pace back and forth in his room, glancing once in a while out his window at the setting sun.

What to do, what to do…

He already got the replacement book for her, which was sitting on his bed in perfect condition. It was the same one as the ruined one she held in her hands earlier that day. Though, this book was actually dry and the spine was still in place. The small paper that was causing his uneasiness was still sitting on his desk.

He'd never done something like write an apology note to a girl before. Then again, he never really had the need to. And McKenzie was someone he just met, no less!

But, there was something about her that made Brady want to see more of her. He longed to see her smile. He bet on his surfboard that it was beautiful.

Taking the chance, he grabbed the piece of paper, stuffed it in his board shorts pocket, and hurried out the door before the sun could completely set.

Much to his surprise, the day began normally. Though it shouldn't have surprised Brady much, he still expected something to happen. When he dropped off the book and note to John the previous night to give to his granddaughter, Brady could only hope she would read it and accept his offer. He was up and at Big Papa's before the sun fully rose over the ocean.

After the craziness of yesterday, he needed some normalcy.

John was at the back of the building, probably talking to a friend about his surfboards. Brady was left alone in the shack to sand a few longboards, glancing once in a while at the television in the corner that was showing commercials about a 60's movie marathon coming up in a few weeks. He almost stopped to watch more intently when the bell chimed at the entrance.

'That's weird,' he thought absently. Usually the shop didn't get too many random customers in the early morning. And if anyone came in, they usually had something to pick up. Double-checking the clipboard on the table, Brady noticed nobody was scheduled to enter.

'Oh well,' he shrugged, walking out of the workshop to the main shop. "Hi, can I help you?" he greeted automatically.

A dark-haired girl whirled around to face him. "Oh. Um, hi?"

Brady nearly choked on his spit in his surprise. McKenzie, the same girl who glared at him with such hate the day before, the one he totally pissed off as soon as he met her, was standing in the middle of the shop.

"Mac-" he stopped himself. "I mean McKenzie?"

He tried to straighten up a little, attempting to show her he could be polite and proper; not mindlessly running into everyone and ruining treasurable possessions every step he took.

"Hi," she answered without meeting his eye.

Brady swallowed down his uneasiness. He had no idea if he should smile or just be civil. So far, she wasn't yelling or anything, so he took that as a good sign.

"Are you looking for your grandfather?" he spoke up, not knowing what else to say. That had to be it. She was probably just trying to find John, which was the only explanation as to why she even entered the shop.

"No, actually," she laughed quietly to herself. "I came to see you."

"Me?" he wondered in disbelief. He wiped his hands on a rag before placing them both on the counter to lean in closer, eyeing her inquisitively. "How come?"

There was no way. It had to be a joke or something. Twelve hours ago, she was glaring at him with her piercing dark eyes. Now she was coming to see him?!

"I, uh…I wanted to thank you."

Brady studied her. She was biting her lip and darting her eyes around, looking uneasy and nervous as she uttered her words. It was so obvious she wasn't used to thanking people and apologizing in her own way. He internally whooped for joy at her admission.

Even though he had a pretty strong guess as to what she was thanking him for, he still asked.

"You know…the book?" Her hands gestured around adorably.

"It was no big deal," Brady shrugged. There was no way he wanted her to know how crazy he made himself over the whole ordeal. He was now only pleased at the outcome.

"It was to me," Mack answered, honesty lacing her voice. Then something extraordinary happened. Something Brady had been waiting for.

She smiled.

It lit up her whole face, making her cheeks glow and her doe eyes sparkle. Of course, one of the simplest things a human being could do caused Brady's pulse to speed up rapidly.

She leaned in, draping her crossed arms over the counter to bring their faces a little closer.

At her question about the book, Brady embarrassedly confessed to his late afternoon visit to the bookstore to get her precious book. She smiled warmly at him. Honestly, Brady wasn't sure how many of her breathtaking smiles he could take in one day.

"That was the nicest thing anyone's ever done for me. Thank you, Brady."

He smiled up at her through his lashes, since his head was previously bent low in coyness. "I didn't think you knew my name. I figured you'd call me Shirtless Boy forever."

McKenzie gaped up at him. He watched humorously as she tried to stutter out an excuse. "No! It's not- well I just…"

"Chill," he reached out to place his hand on her smooth forearm. "It's fine, Kitty Slippers."

He finally felt normal and back to his regular self, enough to tease her.

"Kiity Slippers…?" she began in confusion, before disbelief spread over her features. "Oh, shut up!"

He couldn't help the laugh that escaped from his throat. McKenzie was actually a really cool girl. He knew there had to be a chill personality beneath her proper clothes and tough demeanor.

"Mack?" John entered from the backdoor.. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, hi Grandpa!" Mack greeted. "I'm just thanking Brady for bringing my book back."

"So you two are…" he trailed off. Brady knew John was aware of their predicament. When he dropped off the book and note the night before, he had to explain to the elder man what had happened between them.

"We're fine," Mack assured. He caught her eye from the corner of his.

"Well, that's good," he answered in relief. "Brady, son, would you go to Freddy's house and give him this wax case for his longboard for me? I need to finish sanding the one in the workshop."

"Sure thing, John," he was glad to help him out. He leapt over the counter, turning to wait for the white-haired man to return with the equipment. He had been sanding surfboards all morning, and was thankful for any job outside the shop.

He turned his head to ask McKenzie about what she was doing later. Now that she didn't hate him, maybe she'd want to hang out or something. He figured he could show her around town.

Suddenly, he noticed she was walking toward the door, looking apprehensively at the sand outside.

"Hey, are you leaving?" he wondered. He didn't want her to leave. He found her presence insanely comfortable for an unknown reason.

"Yeah, I'm just heading back to the house," she answered, pointing a thumb over her shoulder out the door.

"Oh, okay. See ya, McKenzie," he waved. 'Sucks,' he thought, slightly put off. He still felt the relief of her acceptance of him flooding his body.

"You know, Brady," McKenzie spoke up. She stepped closer to him. "You make a really bad first impression, and an even worse second one."

Brady winced. He really didn't have to be reminded at how bad he screwed up with her. He hoped they could start over; a fresh start. Obviously, she was going somewhere with this and he was probably going to get in trouble with her again.

She was suddenly close enough that he could inhale her fruity scent. She placed a soft hand on his bicep and he couldn't stop the tenseness running through his muscles at the light contact.

"But," she started. "Your third one wasn't too bad."

He gaped. 'What?'

She whirled around, heading back toward the front door.

"Oh, and you can call me Mack!" she called over without turning around. Brady was left staring at the place she once was in surprise.

"She's quite a girl, isn't she, son?"

Brady didn't remove his gaze from the door Mack just walked through when he responded to the smug John standing at the counter.

"She definitely is."

Yay they're friends-ish! I hope you liked this chapter:) I apologize for my slow updates but I'll try to get faster. Things are just pretty hectic around here and my wifi is all messed up, too!

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