The Possibility of Us

17. Attack of the Spider

Valentina peered out the car window at the large amount of people on the beach. It was a particularly hot day and the heat in the car was slowly suffocating her. She didn't have the keys, if she did she would've blasted the air conditioning.

However she was looking for a certain unusually tall boy amongst the sea of people. She didn't lie when she told him there's a cat on the beach. She just didn't know if it was his or not.

The click of the car doors sounded as Matt came back in, adding a burst of hot air into the already suffocating car. He turned to watch her with raised eyebrows. "You looking for someone?"

She bit her lip. "Maybe." Was her vague answer.

He narrowed his eyes. "Is it a boy?"

Valentina tried to act nonchalant as she leaned back in her seat. "No." The redness on her cheeks betrayed her though.

"Do I know him?"

"Maybe."

"Who is it?" By now, her brother was leaning over the seat with narrowed eyes and she pushed him back with exasperation.

"I'm not telling you. Go sit back in your seat before you faceplant on the floor or I accidentally high five your face." Matt grinned and waved a hand towards the beach.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Call it insecurity or shyness but she was scared to meet him. What would his reaction be? She wasn't exactly well liked in school. That's why she was homeschooled instead.

Seeing her hesitance, Matt sighed. "Come on Valentina, it's not like he's going to light you on fire or something. Besides, you're beautiful sis. Don't let some old bullies tell you otherwise. They can go fall into a ditch and die." The last part earned a small laugh from her. Despite her older not being home, it's small moments like these that help bring them together.

Matt smiled at her laugh. "Now go out and flirt off your ass." He practically shoved her out the car, almost resulting in her crashing against a pole and knocking out a few teeth in the process.

"Shouldn't you be all overprotective and say 'you will not date until you're thirty'?" She asked him as he reclined the passenger seat. He gave her a smirk.

"Nah, you're so antisocial, it'll probably do you some good to go out with someone. Besides," His smirk widened. "I still need to put the threats I've come up with in use."

Valentina facepalmed and walked away from her cackling brother. She hid behind a large group of people passing by and casually looked around. Several mothers gave her weird looks which she grinned a bit too widely and waved. 

Keeping an eye on the smoothie store a further down the street, Valentina ran towards the spot where a fluffy ball of fur had disappeared to. 

Her fingers twitched as nerves took over. It was normal for her to be nervous right? For heaven's sake, she was the one who devised this brilliant plan, which doesn't seem so brilliant right now, just to catch a glimpse of how he looked like. Oh, Valentine you're fucked.

Spying the cat who was laying in the shadows watching her with beady little eyes, she looked around. It was practically open in this area except for a few trees and bushes. And he would be here any second.

"Shit shit shit. This was a stupid idea." Valentina dove under a bush. Thank god it was big enough for her to fit. Just in time too as a deep male voice sounded out. 

"Beanie? Damnit where are you?" The sound of sand flying could be heard. Valentina scrunched up her face as her heart pounded. A small movement caught her eye and she turned her head. Her face paled. If it was one thing she's afraid of, it was anything with spindly legs. She brought her hands up to cover her mouth. 

"Gotcha!" A small meow was heard followed by a loud laugh. Making sure to keep at least a ten inch space between her and the spider, Valentina peeked out between the leaves and immediately ducked back in. Her face flushed red and she squeezed her eyes shut. She was acting like a creep.

The cat or Beanie, jumped out of his arms and ran towards the bush where she was hiding. "Oh, no no no no..." 

Beanie let out a small meow and peered at her. She tried waving her away as a pair of black vans appeared in her line of vision. Even more panicked, she frantically shooed at her with wild hand gestures. However, she just blinked at her. The spider chose that moment to land on her extended arm. 

She screamed and shot out of the bush. Shaking her hand furiously, the spider still clung on. "Get it off! Get it off!" After a few more shakes, the spider fell off. She sighed in relief and paused. Shit.

Without another thought, Valentina high tailed it out of there. Hopefully, he didn't recognize her voice. Not to mention, she even embarrassed herself in front of him. 

Something pointy and furry tackled her from behind. She let out a squeal and turned around to see Beanie sitting with her extremely fluffy tail wrapped around her legs. She blinked at her. 

"Running away so quickly, Tater Tot?" She looked up and met icy blue eyes. They were so light that it made her look quickly away, feeling intimidated. Her eyes traveled down his figure instead, avoiding his eyes.

He was tall, just like how Josh described it. Dressed in a white hoodie and khaki shorts, his figure towered over her. A mop of chestnut brown hair whipped around on his head as the sea breeze blew. Dark eyebrows, a sharp nose, and full lips accentuated his face. He was handsome. 

A small smile played at the edges of his lips. "Ah, so I guess I am really that mind-blowing."

Shaking out of her reverie, she scoffed. "Dream on, Dumbo."