No Name | Completed

Chapter 22 - You're Not Like Other Girls

"So.." I said awkwardly as I cast out my line. He did the same after baiting his own hook. He stood next to me, his large frame casting a shadow over me. Every now and then he would flick his pole up real fast.

"Where are you from?" I asked, curious. He smiled while looking at his float in the water.

"All over the place I guess," he said. "We traveled a lot so I never really had a permanent home. I was born in Abilene, Texas, though."

I gazed at him thoughtfully, admiring the way his arms looked while he held his rod. He looked so at ease, it was very entrancing to say the least.

"So where was your favorite?" I asked.

I went back to staring at my own float, but I heard him let out a long breath.

"Hmm," he thought. He leaned against the edge of the boat, his flip flops making a squeaking noise as they rubbed against the boat.

He laughed. "I've never been asked that, I'm not sure to be honest."

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye. His eyebrows were furrowed in thought as he continued flicking his pole up slightly, making his float pop up a little bit.

"I can tell you my least favorites," he said. He glanced at me and smirked. My heart fluttered a little bit.

"Okay, go," I challenged.

"I hated LA, oh man I hated it," he began reeling his float back in. "I was maybe 13 when we lived there for a couple of months while my dad was recording. I remember," he stopped for a moment while he recast his line. "I remember wondering why anyone would ever willingly choose to live there."

"Why didn't you like it?"

"I don't know," he shrugged. "Just never felt like a home to me."

He sniffed a little bit before sending me a quick smile.

"Then there was Houston, well I guess we technically lived in Katy, Texas, but Houston was a nightmare," he recalled.

"I'm seeing a trend here," I teased with a smile. "Not a big city person."

He smiled. "Actually I love New York, something about the atmosphere there that is so promising, so full of wonder. Then again, I didn't have to try and make it there, I was already somewhat successful with the band so I didn't struggle much."

I nodded in response.

After a few moments of silence he spoke again.

"My favorite places are anywhere near the ocean actually, final answer," he said, smirking.

"Beach guy huh?"

"Definitely, makes me feel so small. Like my worries are so simple when I stand next to the water," he said softly.

I glanced at him, smiling. What I wouldn't give to peak inside his mind just for a moment. He always had something so deeply thought out when he spoke.

"That's why I came here," he murmured. This time I truly looked at him. He met my curious gaze with a thoughtful one before he went back to staring at his float.

"I've been so stressed about the band lately, wondering about the future. I needed a break," he explained.

I thought back to one of the first nights I talked to him when he was about to tell me what he originally wanted to do before Jake ran up and ruined it. I wondered if that's what he was stressed about. So I asked.

"You remember a couple of weeks ago at the bar, you said this wasn't what you were originally planning to do?"

He gave a curt nod, a small curve playing on his lips.