- I'm Emma Pasarow and I'm in the new Netflix film,
"Along for the Ride", based on the novel by Sarah Dessen.
Today, I'm gonna read the book to get in a cozy mood.
So sit back and enjoy.
At the end of the pier, we said our goodbyes
and they headed back to the car.
I could hear them still talking
as I turned and started in the other direction
back to the gas gro,
where I was the only customer
as I filled up a fresh cup.
The cashier, an older woman with blonde hair
and a name tag that said "Wanda",
was working on a crossword.
She put it down, then rang me up while stifling a yawn.
Earlier that night, I'd taken off to be alone,
only to find to my surprise,
that company was just what I needed.
Still, I knew it must have been hard
for Maggie to come looking for me,
not knowing how I'd react when I saw her.
The easiest thing would've been to just leave me alone
but she didn't go for the easiest thing.
I was a girl who liked a challenge too
or at least I like to think of myself that way.
So, I went looking for Eli.
The bar had still an hour or so left until closing
with people and music spilling out their open doors.
Farther down into the business district though,
all the stores were dark,
but in the bike shop way in the back, a light was on.
I saw someone move
across the lit open back door of the shop,
dark hair, blue shirt.
Before I knew what I was doing,
my hand was wrapping the glass hard.
Eli looked up, his face weary.
When he came closer and saw it was me,
he didn't really look relieved or surprised actually.
"Let me guess," he said.
"You wanna learn to ride a bike
and it can't wait until morning?"
"No," I said.
He dropped his hand from the door
and just stood there looking at me.
I realized he was waiting for me to explain myself.
I stepped through the door and he shut it,
locking it behind me.
"So," he said picking up an envelope and glancing at it.
"You say you're not here for a bike?"
"No," I said.
"Then what?
You're just out walking the boardwalk
in the middle of the night?"
"I thought you might wanna talk or something."
Eli shut the drawer slowly and looked at me.
"Talk," he said, his voice flat.
"Yeah."
He was just sitting there staring at me expressionless.
"You're up?"
"I'm up?"
"I just figured...
"Oh, I get it," he said nodding.
"Right, you know now."
"No," I said.
He shook his head.
"I should have known when I saw you at the door
not to mention at the party.
Maggie isn't exactly known for holding back information."
I just sat there, not sure what to do.
I said, "Look,
I'm sorry.
I just thought..."
"I know what you thought."
He picked up a stack of papers riffling through it.
"I appreciate you wanting to help me or whatever
but I don't need it, okay?"
I nodded numbly.
I remembered how that first night,
I thought of him as haunted
before I even knew this was true.
He said, "Do you wanna know why I talked to you?"
"Yeah," I said, "I do."
"Because," he said, "from the first day on the boardwalk,
you were different.
You never tiptoed around me or acted all weird
and sorry for me or gave me that look."
"What look?"
"That one," he said pointing at my face.
I felt myself blush.
"You were just normal until tonight."
Thank you so much for joining me.
Make sure to watch "Along for the Ride" now on Netflix.