The Other Guy by Cary Attwell Read Free Book Online

being in love. Why isn't my heart melting at the sight of you? I can't work like this ."
Nate let out a bark of laughter. "What was that? I sound like I'm on a hellish cocktail of steroids and flu meds."
"That is exactly what you sound like," I said, shrugging to counterpoint the snicker that pirouetted out of my throat.
" Smile ," he ordered, as he raised the camera again.
I did, maniacally.
The camera clicked, but I wasn't sure the picture would come out very well, given how much he was shaking with laughter at my stupid face, and watching him convulse set me off, too.
It was, all things considered, a pretty good day so far.
We hopped back onto our scooters once we managed to control ourselves, and rode on, checking out a temple on the way and a couple of tiny villages, eating things that caught our fancy and drinking out of coconuts as big as our heads.
As the day waned, Nate hurried us along back toward our resort so we could watch the sun say goodbye. We dropped off our rented scooters, incurring no extra charges thanks to Nate's careful inspections earlier that morning, and carried on toward the beach on foot.
"You've probably seen your fair share of sunsets in your life," Nate explained, as we followed the well-worn pathways of beachgoers before us, "but I promise you haven't seen one like this."
"Okay," I said, not all that excited about a sunset but going along anyway. He hadn't steered me wrong yet, after all.
I took off my shoes and socks the minute we hit the beach, the soft, warm sand filling the spaces between my toes with a luxurious welcome. We still had a little bit of time before the sun dipped beneath the waves, so we sat in silence, as we'd had the night prior, watching the sea approach and shy away again.
The sky was beginning to take on a pinkish hue, and Nate unpacked his camera happily. I scooped sand over my feet until they were buried to the ankles, and wiggled them out again, waiting.
As the sun began its descent in earnest, I saw Nate's point. If I had been better at science, I might have been able to articulate exactly what was happening up there, but all I could do was admire, slack-jawed, the sky in all its glory, purple clouds like shadows of uncharted islands in a bubblegum pink ocean.
"Holy crap," I said.
"Well said," Nate murmured, his face an intent mask as he alternated his gaze from the ocean and his camera's viewscreen.
Once her performance was over, the sun simply dropped out of sight underneath the waves, and dusk crept in with the evening breeze.
Nate lowered his camera and smiled at me. "Hey, thanks for coming out with me today."
"Oh, yeah, of course. Thanks for inviting me," I said, feeling suddenly awkward for no reason. "It was fun. It's nice to have a travel buddy."
The smile didn't leave his face, but he turned away toward the ocean again. For being so expressive, he was remarkably unreadable.
"Yeah," he said to the darkening horizon. "I'm glad we met."
"Me too," I said.
Something sweet and sour twisted in my chest. I couldn't find words for it; it felt like a first date I'd been on once, when we'd had an effortlessly great time and then we stood at her doorstep undoing it all while we said our goodnights, tangled up in indecision and faltering, nervous to go forward and reluctant to leave.
Was that what this was?
I was dancing on the edge of something new, though maybe not completely new, if I had to be honest with myself, and I wasn't sure what I would do if I fell, if falling was an option, if falling was something I was actually meant to do all along.
Afraid to find out, I scrambled to my feet as casually as I could to make my great escape. Nate looked up at me expectantly; I suspected I was getting very predictable.
"Think I'm going to have an early night," I said, not quite meeting his eyes.
"Okay."
What else could I expect? Did I want him to try to stop me? "Okay," I said, picking up my forsaken shoes. "Try not to fall asleep out here."
"Yeah, thanks," Nate chuckled