1: The Meet Cute

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NEW YORK CITY

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KARA's POV:

"I can't believe you're getting married to a man you barely even know, you've only known him for 3 months!" I said, stomping off to the kitchen with my dirty plates.

"But I've never felt this way before, honey. This time it's for real, I just know it," mom followed right behind me.

"That's what you said about the last-- I don't know how many men, Lacey."

"You're walking on thin ice right now Kara. And I am not Lacey, I'm your mother," She said rather sternly.

Yeah maybe I'll call you that when you start acting like one, I thought to myself, but I wouldn't say it out loud of course. No matter how much I disagreed with my mom's decision to get married— I would not hurt her feelings like that.

Mom was only 16 when she had me. She had to drop out of high school to become a single mother. My father was never around from the beginning. He'd sent checks from time to time, but he had never appeared in my life.

Since then, she struggled to raise me on her own in New York City. Mom managed to get her GED and attended college, and eventually she became a flight attendant. I learned many things from watching my mother's life story. Number One: I must be a strong and independent woman who could stand on her own two feet. And Two: men cannot be trusted. Period.

My mom had many, many boyfriends. She had dated doctors, lawyers, bankers, waiters, personal trainers, married doctors, married lawyers— you name it. I couldn't keep track. But none of these men ended up staying around. And watching so many men broke my mother's heart so many times, I had made a decision; I focused myself in my schooling and vowed to practice abstinence until marriage.

I believed I made the right choice. I graduated as valedictorian from the prestigious Stuyvesant high school, earned a full ride to Columbia University, and I never got my heart broken— not even once.

Funnily enough, I thought that I would be able to spend my last summer before college peacefully with my mom. I thought of getting a part time job to make some extra cash, I thought of visiting the library, or maybe the museums or watching some Broadway play. But all that plan went down the toilet when Lacey suddenly announced that she was getting hitched to a man named Peter, whom she met while on a layover in Hawaii.

I only knew three things about this Peter guy. One: he's a widowed man in his mid 40s. Two: he owns a business down in Hawaii— something related to boats. And three: he has a son.

"Mom, are you sure about this? I mean, I get that you date a lot. But this is a marriage, not just some Sunday picnic at Central Park."

"Kara, baby," she said, taking my hand. "I know my track record hasn't been very clean. And I know you're worried about me. But honey, I have been waiting for sooo long for a man like Peter to come into my life. He makes me very, very happy."

I looked at the sincerity in my mother's face. My heart gave up. Like it or not, my mother was the only family I ever had. I knew I had to support my mom's decision, no matter what.

"So you're really gonna get married, in August?" I said finally with a defeated sigh.

"Yup. It's gonna be a sweet little wedding in Hawaii, just some family and friends."

"And you're moving to live with him there?"

"Yes."

"Which means, when I go back to New York for college in September, I'll be living on my own?"

"Baby, you're 18, you're in college, and you're the greatest daughter I know— you'll be fine," she smiled brightly as she cupped my cheeks.

"It's not me I'm worried about" I scoffed as I started doing the dishes.

"I'm gonna miss living with you, you know." I added, in almost a whisper.

"Me too," she replied. "That's why you need to come with me to Hawaii and help me plan my wedding. Come on baby. It'll be fun. You've never been to Hawaii, it's so nice there, full of sunshine, and the beach, and the boys—"

"Mom," I cut her off.

"Okay, not the boys. But Hawaii: the beach, the sun, the ocean, you'll love it. And it will be our last summer together before you move on to college,"

"And you move on to your new life,"

"Ah come on, baby. Come to Hawaii with me," she threw her arms around me and spoke as if she was a five-year-old kid. Sometimes I wondered that maybe I was the mother and Lacey's my child.

"Fine," I sighed. "But I'm not gonna be enjoying this."

Mom screamed in happiness and hugged me tighter. I simply rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"Oh, the things I do for my family."

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HAWAII

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Throughout the whole plane ride to Hawaii, my mom would not stop blabbing about how great things are in Hawaii, how great of a man Peter is, and how excited she is for the next chapter of their lives. I gave my mom the occasional nod, but I was mostly quiet, unimpressed.

To be honest, I was a bit hurt that my mom made it look so easy to just leave thousands of miles away, leaving me on my own. First my dad left, and then my mom... I'm gonna end up forever alone in this world, aren't I?

Darn you abandonment issues.

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My soon-to-be stepdad, Peter, picked us up at the airport and Lacey could not stop ogling him. I didn't get her fascination with him. He was just your typical 40-something year old man who wore polo shirts and khakis. But, he seemed nice enough.

I let my head rest by the car window as we drove off. I saw a glimpse of the ocean, the rows of coconut trees, and how the sun was radiating this orange hue. It was beautiful, and it wasn't even time for the sunset yet.

Okay, I have to admit it, Hawaii was beautiful and warm. But I had promised myself that I wasn't gonna be enjoying this. So yeah. I would just be quiet and stay out of everyone's way. I couldn't wait for this summer to be over.

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"We're here!" Peter's voice woke me up from my daydreaming. We arrived in front of a homey-looking two-story house, with all kinds of trees and flowers growing in the front lawn. My eyes scanned the whole house and they stopped in front of a small garage on the side.

The garage door flew open, and there emerged a guy, about my age, or maybe a bit older. He was shirtless, only wearing some board shorts that hung lowly on his hips. His body was lean but muscular, with tattoos everywhere. He had that perfect tan, and his hair was dirty blonde and messy. He looked up to see Peter, then Lacey, and then his eyes stopped at me.

He caught me looking at him, and I automatically froze awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"And this is Ryder, my son," Peter exclaimed.

The air suddenly felt dry and I just realized that I had been holding my breath for some time now. Breathe woman, exhale!

"...Or you can call him Ry for short," Peter added.

"Hey," Ryder said, still not breaking his gaze from me.

"Hi Ryder! I've heard so much about you, nice to finally meet you, this is my daughter, Kara," Lacey walked over and shook Ryder's hands.

It seemed that my body had forgotten its entire motor skills. Say something dummy! Say hi back! I yelled to myself, but there were no words.

"Ry, come help the girls with their bags," Peter yelled from the back of the car as he busily started moving our bags.

"Sure thing," Ryder replied shortly.

I couldn't bring myself to say anything, yet my eyes followed his every move.

He raised an eyebrow at me and let out a small laugh. As he walked out towards the back of the car, Ryder gave me a wild smile. That boyish smile. I knew that smile. That smile meant trouble.

Oh fudgesicles.

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To Be Continued.