tidal wave | rafe cameron

one

"callie, toss me another beer," jj says.

i look over at him from across the boat, "what's the magic word?"

"please," he bats his eyes at me sarcastically. i laugh and do as he says. he catches the can and cracks it open, taking a few large swigs.

the sun beat down on my shoulders. i could feel a slight burn starting to form on my exposed skin. the air was hot and humid, my only relief being the chill from the water. though even the water wasn't a complete remedy, as my feet kicked back and forth through the warm ocean.

kie sat next to me, talking with pope and john b as the boys fished. i had been stuck within my own thoughts for longer than i'd like to admit.

"callie," john b waves his hand in front of my face.

"hm?" i look up from the water, meeting his eyes.

"party tonight?"

"who invited you to a party?" i tease.

"come on, cal, do you even know who we are?" jj chimes in.

"seriously, don't worry about it," john b adds, "just know, the kooks have drinks, and i would like to get wasted for free."

"fine, john b, but pick up your trash next time. do you even know the amount of plastic cups these parties leave outside?" kie says, splashing the water with her feet.

"okay, ms. eco warrior, anything for you," jj bows down, pretending to be in the presence of royalty.

the boys caught a few small fish in our time on the water and decided they had enough. we headed back to shore where the five of us hung out at the chateau. i lazily sprawled out on the couch, where jj tried to kick me off, ultimately resulting in me using him as a footrest. compromise is important in friendship.

"so when are we going to this thing anyway?" i ask.

"whenever your slow ass is done getting ready," jj retorts.

"i'm not even slow," i argue.

"callie, it took you two hours to get ready to come here the other day. here." pope says, gesturing to the room we were in.

"i couldn't pick a top," i shrug.

"my point exactly," jj replies.

"okay, so how about callie tries to be fast, and we show up fashionably late," kie reasons.

"sounds fine to me," john b says and the boys agree.

"also, give her a break, you guys will never understand what it's like to be a woman," kie adds.

"beauty is pain," i nod jokingly, "and time and money."

"yeah yeah," jj waves his hand dismissively, "i won't complain though cause you look so good when you're all done up."

i laugh and pull my legs off of jj, pretending to be disgusted by him.  as the sun began to set, i headed home to get ready.  even though i had hours until we would be leaving, my friends were definitely right about my time management problem. 

i started with a shower, exfoliating and shaving.  i had been practically dying as the feeling of spray sunscreen lingered on my skin throughout the day.  although, i would rather be greasy than have skin cancer.  when i was done, i stepped out into the bathroom which was now filled with thick steam.  i wiped the mirror clean, standing in the mirror, just me and my naked body.

i got dressed into ripped jean shorts and a tiny pink top.  a basic outfit for a typically fun night of  getting drunk with my friends.  i was always excited to do something with them, but i found myself even more excited to be exploiting the rich kids for their expensive and copious amounts of alcohol.  my hair dried into its natural state of long blonde waves, though i loosely braided it as i knew drunk me would find a way to mess it up.