Stairways | A Surviving Summer FanFiction

Part 74 - Espresso

"I drove Wren down. She's going surfing with Ari." he replies, and you groan internally; surfing with Wren is not your ideal Sunday morning. "Are any of these yours?" he asks, motioning to the boards he was hiding behind.

You glance along the rack. "Yeah. The one at the end." you say, gesturing to your old spare board - it's at the end because it hasn't been used in months. Baxter reaches the board and pulls it out three quarters of the way.

"It's nice. Better than what you're riding now." he says.

"I like my board." you reply, sounding slightly more offended than you actually feel, and you hope he doesn't think he's insulted you.

"Yeah, well you've got talent getting on the State Team riding that thing." he says casually.

It sounds like an insult, but it's anything but. Your brow furrows. "Thank you?"

"You're welcome," he replies, wandering round to the other side of the counter, so you're both on either side. "I could get you a board." he says simply.

"From the shop, or...?"

Baxter just shrugs.

"So, where's Wren?" you ask, trying to avoid an awkward silence. You really don't care where Wren actually is.

"Getting her surf gear out of the car," he replies, turning towards the direction of the car park, then back at you with a pause. "You ready for training tomorrow?"

"Yeah. I think so. I mean, I've never been on a State Team before."

You expect him to offer some sort of encouragement or something that draws on his experience on the Queensland State Team, but he just nods.

"Hey, Bax, can you get my board off the roof? It's stuck." you hear the jarring voice of your beloved team captain heading towards you, and you quickly busy yourself by grabbing the kettle and beginning to fill it with water.

Baxter sighs, and without any trouble he makes his way towards the car park. You keep your eyes trained down as the kettle slowly fills, feeling Wren's presence too heavily as she seems to pace around the club.

After placing the kettle on the stand, you lean back against the counter top awkwardly, avoiding Wren's gaze. Just as the kettle boils, letting out a high-pitched whistle, Baxter returns carrying Wren's branded Subtropix board under his arm.

"Here you go, sis." he sighs, handing it over to her.

Without even saying thank you, she takes it and leans it against the wall as she pulls up her wetsuit from her waist to her shoulders. "Have you seen Ari anywhere?" she asks, the question is posed to her brother, although you can't help feeling like there was something in there pointed at you. She knows you're listening. She knows that she's the one seeing Ari soon and not you.

Baxter shakes his head and points his gaze at you in question, and you just shrug as you pour boiling water into a mug. You wonder what's taking Poppy so long.

"Right well, I'm heading out so it doesn't go flat, if you see Ari let him know where I am." she orders to her brother, who nods again dismissively.

"Isn't she just a ray of sunshine this morning," he mutters under his breath, and you nearly laugh, but you purse your lips. "You fancy making me one of these too?" he gestures to the cup of coffee you're pouring milk into.

"Sure," you say, surprised. "Need a pick-me-up?"

"Yeah," he replies, leaning forward on the countertop so he's immediately opposite you, only ten inches or so away. "Early morning, driving Wren around to her boyfriend."

"You could say no." you offer, eyes down, focusing on pouring another cup of water.

"Could I?" he replies, then shrugs. "Can't disobey our captain now, can I?" he replies, but that can't be the real reason. Baxter doesn't seem like the sort of guy to lay down and let his sister boss him about.

You push forward the mug of coffee, this time you meet his eyes, and his don't move away. They're not skittish like yours. Bax takes the mug in his hand gazing at it for a moment.

"How do you say 'coffee' in Portuguese?" he asks, seemingly genuinely interested, although you can't think why.

"Café." you reply.

"Café." he repeats, mimicking your accent affectionately. "Sounds nice."

You're about to respond, but at that moment, Ari comes bounding into the club, grabbing his board from the rack and barely sparing either of you a glance.

"Your girlfriend's looking for you." you say, breaking eye contact with Bax and look down at your own cup of coffee, stirring sugar into it as Ari grabs one of his boards. He stops, board under his arm, seeming to assess the situation as he looks between you and Baxter.

"Yeah, thanks." he replies, looking slightly confused just as Poppy comes downstairs.

"You ready Y/n?" she says, and you nod, thankful for the way out of the awkward situation.