Late Nights & City Lights (Connor Franta / O2L)

Chapter 27

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

“Are you sure you want to do this?”  Gina asked uncertainly.  We stood in front of her full-body mirror, putting finishing touches on our looks.  “We could just stay in and watch movies all day and eat until we’re fat or something.”

“Gina,” I said as I slipped a red tank top over my head, “I’ve got less than two weeks left in LA.  Am I going to let some boy ruin my time here?  No.  We’re going to go out, have fun, maybe meet some hot guys, and get tan.”

It had been three days since I had left the hospital—and Connor.  Jc had texted me to let me know that Connor had returned home, but I hadn’t replied.  I didn’t know what Paige had said to the boys about my sudden disappearance from the hospital, but whatever it was had worked.  Connor had not tried to contact me.

Gina let the topic drop.  “So what are our plans for today?” she asked as she swept her mascara wand over her dark eyelashes.

“Well I figured we’d hit the beach for a few hours then grab dinner somewhere,” I replied.  I looked at her through the mirror.  “Are you seriously putting on makeup to go to the beach?”

“Yup.”

“You do realize you’re either going to sweat it off or it’s going to wash off in the water, right?”

“Allison,” Gina said in a sweet yet condescending tone, “there’s a reason I wear waterproof mascara.  Besides, since your plan includes meeting hot guys, I’ve got to look my best.”

“But you’ve already got a hot guy,” I reminded her.  “Like a super-hot guy.”

“I know.”  She grinned.  “That doesn’t mean I can’t still look.”

I shook my head.  “You’re unbelievable.”

“Tell me something I don’t know.”

Once Gina and I were ready to go, we packed up our beach totes and hopped in her car.  The drive there wasn’t nearly as long as usual, which I was grateful for.  When we arrived, we found an open spot and spread out our towels.  Once situated, I sprayed myself with a light coat of sunscreen—my tan had improved so drastically over the past three months that I barely got burnt anymore—and stuck my headphones into my ears.  I turned on the Ed Sheeran Pandora station and laid down, ready for a much needed day of relaxation.

Gina and I spent about two hours lying there on the beach.  Every now and then we would turn over to our other side or jump into the ocean to cool off, but for the most part we were stationary.  At one point during the afternoon, I returned to my towel from having taken a dip in the cool waters when a football bounced across the sand and landed on my stuff.

“Sorry about that!”  A guy called as he jogged over to retrieve it.

I picked it up and tossed it back to him.  “It’s no problem.”

The guy smiled.  He was hot, with tanned skin and dark curls that fell in front of his bright blue eyes.  Not to mention the clearly defined six-pack he had.  “Are you two here by yourselves?”

“Yeah,” I replied.  By this point, Gina had become aware of the guy’s presence and she removed her ear buds to listen in on our conversation.

“You should come hang with us,” he said, jabbing his finger back at the group of guys waiting on him.  I glanced back and Gina and she shrugged as if to say, “It’s up to you.”

“Sure,” I said with a smile of my own.  “Sounds like fun.”

Another smile.  “Awesome.”  He waited while Gina and I stowed our phones in our bags so they wouldn’t get stolen.  “I’m Danny by the way,” he offered as we started walking towards his friends.