Once Upon A Summer

03

Kaylee continued to walk with Emerson, asking questions to try to get to know him. Every now and then, she would take a bite of her food as she listened to his answers. She had hoped to know him a bit better so she felt less idiotic to follow a total stranger to god knows where. Kaylee knew that he said he was taking her the beach but for all she knows, he could be taking her somewhere else and she's never see the light of day again. Just in case, she texted Julian about the situation to which he was, of course, no help. He just texted back:

My person ♡: well is he at least cute?

Kaylee realized then that she was even more of an idiot because she never actually looked at him before. If he did end up being an axe murderer and she somehow survived, BuzzFeed Unsolved would be all over the case because she wouldn't even have a description of him. Kaylee studied him for a moment noticing his soft yet structured jawline. She noticed he hadn't shaved in a few days because she could see a shadow growing on his face. Kaylee turned back to her phone and texted Julian back

Kaylee: well, he kinda is actually. He kind of looks like Francisco Lachowski but not really?? I'm not sure how to explain it. I'll get pics if I can
My person ♡: you better!!! Love u cherish u

Kaylee put her phone back in her pocket and cleared her throat.  "So.. have you lived in Milton your whole life?"

Emerson shrugged. "Not really. I moved here from north Mississippi when I was around seven. So I grew up here but I ain't really from here."

Kaylee gave him a nod. "Oh cool. My mom got a nice job here and she wanted me to come too so I did. Is there any good places I go to like hang out and stuff?" She asked him as she walked. She did not want to spend her entire time in her house so she hoped he would help her find some good places to go.

"Well, you've got Bay Saint Louis which is about ten minutes from here. In Bay, you've got a community called Old Town which is also by the beach. It's pretty nice there. They've got plenty of shops, cafes, bars, and stuff. Every second Saturday of the month, they have a festival type thing. They have live bands play and people walk around, have a good time. It's pretty nice. It's always busy as hell around that time though because people like to go." Emerson explained waving his hands around as he spoke.

Kaylee hummed. "Maybe I'll go one day. It sounds plenty of fun" she said with a grin. She noticed the beach ahead of her and she got excited. She was about to take her shoes off so she would not get sand in her shoes but Emerson stopped her.

"Woah Woah Woah. Hold your horses there, California. I wouldn't take those shoes off if I were you. You should also watch your step as you walk in the sand. There might be used needles or broken beer bottles lying around here." he told her chuckling.

Kaylee looked at him and scoffed. "You are kidding, right? It's another one of your jokes? Who fucks up their beach like that?" she asked desperately.

Emerson laughed and slapped his hand on her shoulder, jolting her a bit. "Welcome to Mississippi." He teased and started to walk on the beach. "If you think that is bad wait till you see the water."

"The water looks fine to me. Nice and blue. It is no Florida or California but it doesn't look bad?" She said, unsure of herself. Emerson could barely contain the smirk as he led her closer to the water. "See it's not that ba-" she stopped talking once she saw how horribly brown and disgusting it looked. "Oh my god. I.. I see what you mean now." She stammered. She could not believe her luck once again. Kaylee was planning on spending her summer at the beach but from the looks at it, she's not doing that. "What do you guys do when you want to go swimming at the beach or just hang out at the beach then?" Kaylee asked him, turning to look at Emerson.

Emerson shrugged once more. Kaylee noticed he did that a lot when he wanted to play something off. "We go to Alabama or stick it out here. I don't recommend getting in the water but with a nice blanket and some food, you don't really have to worry about the glass and stuff." He informed her chuckling once more. "So shall we go back to your car?" He asked.

Kaylee nodded which started the trip back to Ward's for her car. They asked each other questions as they walked through it didn't seem to take as long to get back as it did to get there. Maybe because Kaylee was less anxious to see the beach so the time seemed to go faster. Emerson stopped once they got to her car. "So there you have it. I hope you enjoyed the tour but I have to go to work soon. I can be your official tour guide to all things on the coast here at Mississippi if you'd like with only a small charge of food every now and then." He teased with a cheeky grin though he was serious about the tour guide thing.

Kaylee hummed. "Maybe I could use a tour guide to show me where to go and where not to go." She agreed and pulled out her phone. She typed in her password and opened contacts before handing him the phone. "Here put your number in."

Emerson gasped dramatically. "California, are you hitting on me? You barely know me." He teased giving her a smirk. He grabbed the phone nonetheless and put her phone number in.

She couldn't help the scoff that left her lips and she rolled her eyes. "First, that is a typical man thing to do to assume I'm hitting on you. For shame, yee yee boy, for shame. Second of all, I barely knew you and I followed you here to the beach so I'm making all kinds of bad decisions today aren't I?" She retorted back at him causing Emerson to laugh

"Touché, Walsh." He replied before handing her phone back. "I put my number in there as a tour guide to help you find me easier. But I gotta go now so I'm not late for work. See you later, California." He said and turned to walk away.

Kaylee had always said bye before she remembered that she told Julian she'd get a picture. "Wait! Can I get a picture of you right quick?" She blurted out before she even thought of it. Emerson raised an eyebrow at her and stared at her strangely. Once she realized how that sounded she blushed a little and cleared her throat. "I mean.. I like to have contact photos for my contact because it just looks weird to me without it so maybe  if you don't mind, send me a picture you like or I can take one now?" She lies smoothly to recover herself.

Emerson hummed in agreement. "Alright, you can take your picture." He agreed and did a quick pose for her as Kaylee snapped the picture. Kaylee gave him a small smile and thanked him before he walked away. She got into her car and sent the picture to Julian. She did not bother looking at his reply. Kaylee just set her phone down before laying her head on the steering wheel in agony. Not only did she just embarrass herself just then but her plans for the summer were wrecked once again.

This was going to be the worst summer ever.