Five minutes before I was supposed to meet Ty at Club Ocean for dinner, I was finally ready for it.

Well, ready as I'd ever be. This meant I'd managed to find something acceptable to wear at the store (a long sarong with flower patterns plus a simple black top), my eyeliner was somehow not a smudgy mess anymore after some q-tip magic, and I arrived just in time not looking like a complete train wreck. 

Club Ocean had undergone a complete transformation compared to what it looked like at night. There were tables everywhere now. Light flooded the bar through big, open windows, some music played quietly in the background, and it only smelled faintly of old beer. The place was mostly filled with food scents now.

It was still crowded, but not nearly as crowded as I was used to from the club. I spotted Ty in the corner, hanging out with a couple of other guys I hadn't seen before, except for one at the climbing wall. 

I hesitated, wondering if I should approach them or wait, but Ty made the choice for me. He looked over and grinned widely.

"Hi Char, over here!" 

"Oh okay," I muttered to myself, feeling more than a little self-conscious as I walked over, but none of the other guys were really looking at me. There were only some brief glances and some once-overs, before most returned to typing on their phone.

"Everyone, this is Char. Char, everyone," Ty introduced me. 

"Uh, hey," I greeted them, tugging at my sarong. The 'pretty' clothes still felt alien on my skin.

I got a chorus of polite and murmured greetings back, but it didn't feel like the kind of moment where I shook everyone's hand individually or something, so I didn't. Nobody was making an effort to talk to me. I paid it no mind. To be honest, I was happy to be left alone. 

Ty jumped up and rubbed his hands. "Anyway, good that you're here, Char. I'm starving. Let's order some paella, right?" 

"Right!" I smiled and followed Ty to a free table near the bar and took a seat opposite him. Despite the other guys still being in the same room not that far away, I instantly felt more comfortable being away from them. 

"Sarah!" Ty called out to some girl behind the bar, who immediately scurried over with a beaming face.

"Can we have two plates of our special seafood paella, a coke and..." Ty looked at me, "what do you like?" 

"Just water, please," I meekly replied, especially because Sarah lost her joyful expression the moment she turned to me. 

"Coming right up," Sarah said. She disappeared into the kitchen. 

The way she'd looked at Ty and the way she'd looked at me was a difference of day and night, and I wondered what was going on there. Not that I was going to ask.

"How was your day?" Ty asked. He was sitting upright in his seat giving me all his attention, like he actually cared about what I said. Not what I was used to from handsome-and-I-know-it guys like him, and it still caught me off guard how friendly Ty was every time. 

"Good," I replied, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "After climbing I went shopping for a while. Then I came here." 

I skipped the part where I worried and sat nearly hyperventilating on the couch because I was about to have dinner with Ty. 

"How about yours?" I remembered to ask just in time. 

"You know, same old." Ty shrugged. "Climbing, the beach. Hey, I saw your sister and her friends but you weren't with them."

"No," I said. "I'm not really into the beach. My skin's not really suited for it."

Christ, that was only the most boring answer ever. I mean, it was always a good idea to be yourself on a date, but maybe I should be myself a little less.

Ty just smiled, however. "Yeah, I understand. You're probably right anyway. Being in the sun all day is terrible for our skintypes. Causes skin cancer and such."

"Oh," I said, unable to keep the surprise out of my voice, which made Ty laugh.

"That's right. I know these things. I'm not just a pretty face," Ty joked. "I'm going to college after the summer."

"Really? Cool. Where are you going?"

"Not sure yet." 

Ty shrugged. Then he pointed in the direction of the ocean through the open window. 

"The sun's setting in an hour or so," he changed the topic. "That means we can go outside for a walk. After dinner." 

"Yeah, sure," I easily agreed. 

Sarah showed up with two steaming hot plates of paella for us a few moments later. We talked about innocent stuff during dinner - climbing techniques, paella recipes and the best desserts of club Ocean. 

"We're missing the sunset!" Ty suddenly called out while we were discussing whether or not to ask for the dessert card. He jumped up and grabbed my arm to pull me up, too. "Let's go." 

"Wait, shouldn't we pay the bill first?" I protested, though I allowed Ty to pull me to my feet. 

"Don't worry about it, Sarah knows me." Ty winked in Sarah's direction. 

Sarah did not smile back. I caught a glimpse of her unreadable expression before following Ty outside. He led me to a wall between where the beach started and the streets ended, hopped onto it and then took a seat. I followed him a little slower and a little more carefully. 

I nearly jerked up when I felt Ty's hand on my shoulder, pulling me closer to him. It was really, really difficult to relax and enjoy the beautiful sunset with my heart hammering in my chest. 

Ty didn't seem to realise I was tense, however. He playfully tugged at my hair again just like last time inside the club. "Now I know what this colour reminds me of. The colour of the sunset here."

"Oh," I dumbly brought out, after making eye contact with a smiling Ty for like one millisecond because he was way too close. 

"Hey," Ty said, giving my shoulder a gentle shake to get my attention. That made me look up at him again.

He was still so close. My face was on fire. The same shade as the sunset and my hair. Then Ty leaned in and softly pressed his lips to mine.

It wasn't just a peck this time and the heat spread from my face to my entire body. I could hardly believe Ty had kissed me and the club, and I could hardly believe he was doing it again.

Ty pulled back a little. "Hey, it's going to get cold now the sun's gone. Let's walk on." 

I nodded breathlessly. 

Our walk was more quiet than our dinner, with Ty occassionally pointing out cafes, restaurants and shops he liked and I should visit before leaving.

We weren't walking back to Club Ocean. I'd noticed that pretty fast, but I didn't comment on it. I'd just assumed Ty had wanted an evening walk before returning there. 

When we left the shopping street I started wondering where we were going. When Ty stopped in front of an appartment complex, things finally clicked.

"Oh, Ty, I don't know about--" I stammered while he opened the door.

He cocked his head to the side. "Know about what?" he asked.

I opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish, trying to find the right words. "This is your appartment, right?" 

"Right," Ty confirmed.

"I...uh..." I swallowed. "I don't know if I should go up there yet."

"Oh," Ty replied, stretching the word. He scratched the back of neck. "Gotcha. But don't worry. I'm not going to expect all kinds of things from you now. Just a drink and a chat and then I walk you home. Okay?"

Ty smiled kindly. He didn't seem at all annoyed by my reluctance.

"Okay," I agreed hesitantly. I still wasnt one-hundred percent convinced this wasn't a bad idea, but I ignored the feeling and followed Ty into the elevator. 

After all, I reminded myself, a summer romance plus teaching Paisley a lesson was exactly what I had wanted.