Chapter 3
Ally's POV

"Ally?"

I turned to look back at Austin. Did he just say my name? His voice sounded different than I remembered. And his face wasn't what I would have expected. It was confused and his mouth hung open. I took a step towards him, but that was when I saw another guy walking towards us. Someone I had identified.

"Elliot?" I asked, surprised that he would have recognized me. Although, it wasn't that difficult to accept, seeing as I had recognized him as well.

"It is you!" he reached out for a hug, and I gave it to him.

"Hi, how are you? It's been too long," I said.

"I know. Camp seems like a lifetime ago. I was in the area, saw you, and thought that I might get the chance to say hi. I wasn't sure it was you though. You look so much older and mature."

I laughed, "Oh, thanks. You look good too."

He glanced over at Austin, who I had momentarily forgotten about. He wasn't looking at us, his back faced us. He just looked out over the water, one hand in his pocket, the other holding his shoes at his side. His blonde hair blowing in the warm breeze. I noticed the muscles on his arms were really defined.

I looked back at Elliot who was watching my face. I didn't really want to introduce the two. Not because I wanted to hide that I was hanging out with Austin, but because I didn't want to subject Austin to an awkward interaction. But Elliot's eyes held curiosity that I didn't want to feed.

"So what are you doing here?" I asked, trying to distract him after the awkward halt in the conversation.

"Oh, my girlfriend is from around here. She went to the car. Oh, there she is," he said, waving at a young woman walking towards us. She was pretty and her smile genuine. She wasn't at all jealous that her boyfriend was talking to a girl on the beach. Something I admired her for, even though I didn't even know her name.

"Hi," she said, kissing Elliot on the cheek.

"Hey babe. Ally, this is Katrina, my beautiful girlfriend. Katrina, this is Ally, an old friend from camp years ago."

"Hi, it's nice to meet you," I said, offering my hand. She took it and shook firmly. Her eyes didn't betray her smile, she was honestly happy.

"Hi. Are you and your boyfriend staying at the resort?"

I furrowed my eyebrows at the mention of boyfriend. When I notice her glance at the water, I realized she meant Austin. I blushed deeply. "No, no we are just taking a walk. We had acupuncture at the spa, but now we are just taking a stroll before driving back. Just trying to avoid traffic."

I know I didn't deny that Austin was my boyfriend, but I figured it was the reason she had been so okay with me talking to her boyfriend, so I didn't want to spoil it. Austin turned slightly and smiled at me, causing my blush to deepen even further. Now that he was involved in the conversation, I figured I had to introduce him.

"Elliot, Katrina, this is Austin."

Austin turned around and shook their hands awkwardly. I didn't know what he was thinking, but at least he wasn't being rude. Not that I thought he would, but it still worried me. He still didn't speak, but he smiled at them. I noticed that his eyes didn't match the smile though. It was a fake smile.

"Are you two staying at the resort?" I asked them, to take the conversation off of Austin.

"No, I live near here," Katrina answered, turning to me. Elliot was looking at Austin, studying him. I began to worry that Elliot recognized him. I didn't want there to be any awkward tension, but I felt it rising. Austin took a step towards me, a little apprehensively. I could tell that he was uncomfortable by the eyes on him.

"So you come here often?" I asked, still trying to be casual about all of this.

"Yeah, Elly and I walk her almost every Friday when he visits. Is this your first time here?" Katrina didn't seem to notice the awkwardness between the two guys.

"Yeah, it's a beautiful beach. I'm surprised it's not more crowded."

"It's owned by the resort, so it's usually less foot traffic. Which is why I like it," Katrina laughed.

Austin stood behind me now. I could feel his presence and his body heat. It was almost like he was hiding behind me. And I didn't blame him, the way that Elliot was still watching him was starting to make me uncomfortable too. I glanced between the two guys. Elliot seemed to be putting a puzzle together in his head while Austin tried to ignore him by staring out at the ocean, but his jaw was clenched, and I could see how tightly his muscles were being pulled.

Katrina finally seemed to notice the reaction her boyfriend was giving because she playfully slapped him on the chest, getting his attention. He turned to her slowly, still thinking hard. "You okay, babe?"

"Yeah, sorry. It's just… Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked Austin.

I gasped quietly. Would Elliot know? He didn't live in Miami, so the likelihood of him hearing about the incident would be small. But the rumor mill ran deep, and I didn't know who Elliot still talked to.

I turned to see Austin looking over Elliot, trying to pretend to recognize him. I laughed on the inside at how well he was able to play off the lack of speech. I decided to take pity on him and answer for him. "Oh, you both play basketball. Maybe you played against each other at some point."

Elliot seemed convinced that that must have been it because he nodded with a smile. Austin shrugged and looked back at the ocean, clearly still uncomfortable. "Well, it was nice meeting you Katrina. And seeing you again, Elliot. I think we are gonna get going."

"Okay, see you!" Elliot and Katrina waved.

I took Austin's hand and headed back to the truck. I released his hand when we got to the stairs. I turned back to him and said, "I'm sorry that I didn't step in sooner. I didn't know what to do. And I want you to know that I wasn't trying to hide who you are because I'm embarrassed to be seen with you. I did it because I figured, you didn't need to be put on the spot. I hope I didn't overstep. And I'm sorry that I didn't deny that you're my boyfriend, I just didn't want to explain why we were here together. It was all just…"

Austin put his finger on my lips to stop me from talking. He was laughing at me. I rolled my eyes and walked up the stairs. When we got to the truck, I asked, "Are you hungry?"

His eyes lit up and he nodded. Was this boy ever going to speak?

"Okay, I'll let you pick somewhere, and we can get dinner. That way we still kill some time and avoid traffic. Is that alright? I don't want to pull you away from anyone, if you had plans tonight," I said, giving him an excuse to back out. But also asking between the lines if he had to get home to someone.

He grinned and shook his head. He drove off and headed to a small diner off one of the small beach roads. I didn't know how he knew where it was, or why he chose to go here, but he didn't even hesitate. He pulled up along the side of the road and got out happily. Like he had earlier at the resort, he opened my door and offered me his hand. I took it without hesitation and offered him a smile.

The diner was cute and old timey. There was a jukebox playing an Elvis Presley song, neon lights lighting up the room, and the waitresses wore poodle skirts. When Austin and I walked in, an older woman approached us with a huge smile on her face. "Austin! I haven't see you in a few weeks. And you brought a date! That's a first. You can have your regular booth, and I assume you want the usual pancakes?"

Austin smiled and nodded next to me. My mind was still reeling from the word date. I guess it wasn't my place to feel uncomfortable, because I hadn't denied that he was my boyfriend earlier. I hadn't realized she had turned to me, until Austin nudged me.

"Hmm? What?"

"I asked if you knew what you wanted, or if you would like a menu, dear?"

"Oh, I'll have pancakes too, please?"

The woman laughed, "You've got a good one here, Austin." She winked at him and went to give the order to the cook.

I blushed deep to my roots as I sat across from Austin in a booth. I figured the dinner would be quiet, due to his lack of voice. And I was right. But for some reason, I found it peaceful. It was nice sitting in silence. And I tried to put my finger on why it felt comfortable to be in Austin's presence, but I couldn't quite understand where my head was at. I knew I should be afraid if the rumors were true. But there hadn't been any proof, and after the incident, he seemed to shut down. None of it made sense. So I was content believing that Austin was a good guy, and not the monster everyone believed him to be. It made me smile as I ate my pancakes.

I glanced up to see him watching me. My smile fell slightly. "It's nice sitting in silence," I confessed.

He gave me that quizzical look and waited for me to continue.

"Trish always talks about gossip and unimportant things. She never lets me give her an opinion unless it's to agree with what she is saying. She fills all the quiet with unnecessary chatter. And it's quite a change being with you. It's nice," I informed the handsome blonde sitting across from me. Yes, he is very handsome.

He gave me a smile before putting more pancakes in his mouth. I had hoped that me saying that would have opened the floor for him to say something, but I guess, me saying that I liked the quiet, didn't give him permission to be loud. I sighed softly.

"How was everything, dears?" the waitress asked, looking at us with a smile, her eyes dancing between the two of us.

"It was delicious," I answered.

"Any desert today?"

"Oh, I'm alright. The syrup was enough sugar for me tonight," I laughed.

Austin nodded in agreement and handed the waitress a card. She took it and went to swipe it.

I looked down at the napkin in my lap that I was playing with. "Thank you for dinner. And for the appointment today. And for being cool about the whole Elliot thing. And for driving. And for showing me that silence is not overrated. And for.."

"Ally."

My head shot up so fast, that I felt it whip my neck a little. My eyes felt huge as I stared at the boy sitting across from me. He had only said my name, but the sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine. The one word. Four letters. It was enough to make my head spin in emotion. From surprise to happiness to confusion to want. I wanted him to say more, but the waitress had come back with the receipt and his card.

That was all I got out of him. As we drove back, we fell into silence once again. He was smiling, which I took to be a good sign. I studied his face in the setting sun as he drove. He really was good looking. I had always thought so. Even in middle school. He wasn't just handsome or cute, but he had sex appeal too.

As we got closer to the main part of Miami, I began to feel sad that the day was coming to an end. I had woken up this morning determined to yell at him for making the appointment without my consent, but now, I just wanted to thank him and the way the world works for putting this together. I gave him instructions on how to get to my house. And as he pulled in front of my house, I looked at him once more. I still didn't want the night to end. It was barely 7 o'clock, but I figured I shouldn't push my luck. We were back in the middle of it, where everyone knew him. He had grown more and more tense as we traveled back. And I couldn't help but think that's because he didn't feel welcome here.

"Thank you for today. I really did have a good time. And if you every want to do something like this again," I said, a small smile forming as a finished, "just tell me."
He smiled at me and playfully stuck his tongue out at me, making me laugh.

"Goodnight, Austin."