Normal Adolescent Behaviour

Chapter Nine

Mikhail started to explain, but was soon laughing too hard to get out the words. "She tried... And I..." was all she got as Mikhail fell back with laughter.

Alexis couldn't help but laugh with Mikhail as he rolled around, clutching his stomach. As she turned her attention to Julia, Julia was scowling, but Alexis could tell she was trying not to laugh herself.

"The usual happened..." Julia managed, but her scowl broke into a grin before she composed herself again.

Alexis placed her hands on her hips. "Julia..." She started in mock chastisement. "Were you trying to be funny?"

Julia pouted out her bottom lip, nodding solemnly.

"... And did it backfire again?"

Julia continued her nodding, but after pause they both burst out in laughter.

Ryder smiled to himself in remembrance, before looking back to the shore. Ryder was leaning back, his weight propped on his elbows, his knees up, and a book lay forgotten on his stomach. His shorts slipped from his knees, exposing more bright ink of his leg sleeve, as the wind played through the hair of his thigh. He was wearing his dark Ray Bans, and he closed his eyes and turned his face up to the sun. With a startle he opened his eyes as the book was pushed from his stomach, and Alexis lowered herself to sit atop his waist. Ryder smiled up at her as he placed one arm behind him to cushion his head, and the large palm of the other he rest against her waist.

"Well hello there." He said flirtatiously, admiring the fact that Alexis' nipples were slightly visible through the thin cotton of her shirt.

"Hi." She whispered as her eyes danced across his face, and up to his head as she leaned over him, her wet curls falling over her shoulder in a curtain. "It'll never make sense to me, why you guys wear those things in this heat."

She was referring to the moss green beanie that held back his curls. "Because it's stylish." He said with fake condescension, his hand flitting by his face as if he was throwing hair over his shoulder.

Alexis let out a burst of laughter. "You're ridicul-ah!" Ryder rolled over, pinning her body with his own against the blanket. As her hair fell back around her head, Ryder noted that the damp tangles had been half way to making her shirt see-through.

"Don't you like it?" Ryder asked, rubbing his head against her cheek playfully. Alexis was still giggling and he could feel each laugh ripple through her body. His tank top fell away to reveal more of his chest, and the tattoos there.

Alexis reached a hand up, pushing the beanie off his head, where it fell to the sand, and she ran her fingers through his hair. "I like it like this." She said, pulling on the strands for emphasis. Before she could say anything else, his lips were on hers and she arched her back so their bodies could meet. His large hand came up to hold her face to his, and he tugged on her hair, causing her to moan into his mouth.

"Alright you two..." Mikhail's voice broke into their thoughts. "... It's family day." He said jokingly, but the two still broke apart.

Ryder removed himself so Alexis could sit up. He was flushed with longing as he flashed Alexis a full-toothed, goofy grin, his hair standing at all ends. Alexis rolled her eyes with a smile pulling at her lips, as he grabbed the hat in question and tucked his curls back into it. Both Alexis and Ryder turned their attention to the group with obedient smiles on their faces.

The others rolled their eyes at the exchange, smiling to themselves.

"Considering we've got Ashley off the board for two goddamn seconds..." Julia started, giving Ashley a pointed look. "Shall we take out the Sun Wench?"

Veronica let out a burst of laughter. Landon's boat had been named Wendy when he had first got it. But the previous summer, Julia had gotten unfathomably drunk and renamed the boat Sun Wench, her logic being that the boat needed a second chance just like the rest of them. She had also decided, in her inebriated state, to then paint the new name over the old, 'because they were all too drunk to remember to do so when they were sober'. This was the first time they had taken out the boat since the renaming, and Veronica was quite surprised Julia still remembered.

"What?" Julia asked stubbornly, in acknowledgment to Veronica's laughter. "I think Sun Wench is a much more fitting name. As you can tell." Julia waved a hand down the length of the boat, smiling like a child at their first finger painting (the childish, shaky lettering not far off from a finger painting). Julia turned her attention to Alexis, who was shaking with silent laughter.

"Oh my god," She managed after the fit of giggles had subsided. "I totally forgot about that."

"I didn't." Landon said seriously, standing to his full height. "It's written all down the right side of my fucking boat." His face broke into a heart-stopping grin as he reached over, messing up Julia's hair before putting her in a headlock, and placing a kiss on the top of her head.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Julia said, as she fought Landon off.

"Shall we?" He asked, offering her a hand.

"We shall." She said with a smile, placing her hand in his own so he could pull her easily to her feet. Once standing, the blanket fell from Julia's shoulders, revealing the navy bikini she wore, the bottoms small enough to reveal most of her perfect ass. Landon pulled her close to press his lips sweetly to hers as the others stood.

Landon removed himself from Julia to climb into his truck, starting the engine he towed the boat around their laid out towels and blankets, pulling around so he could back the boat into the water. While Landon did so, Alexis stripped where she stood, removing the warm fabric from her skin to replace it with the still damp bathing suit. With the tall, 4x4 lift of the truck, Landon was able to ease the boat trailer quite far into the water, even without a boat ramp. Landon smiled to himself, before he had even thrown the truck into park, Alexis was there, waist deep in the water, undoing latches to free the boat from the trailer. Alexis was always good about helping Landon with any form of mechanics, one of the reasons why he loved her helping out at the shop. Landon jumped from the cab into the water, walking around to start on the far side. As the rest of the group stood on the shore, Ryder waded into the water, swim shorts, tank top and all, to climb into the boat; he lifted himself easily up the side, taking his place behind the wheel. As he felt the boat lurch free of the trailer, Ryder started up the engine, his eyes were shaded by his sun glasses, but he glanced over his shoulder as he backed the boat from the trailer, maneuvering the large vessel easily. Ryder turned the boat around, pulling the back end of it as close to the shore that he could, the others were already wading into the shallows as Landon drove the truck out of the water, and back onto the beach. Alexis climbed up the small ladder first, the others following. As Landon climbed the ladder, Ryder slowly pulled the boat out, and once everyone was seated, he revved the engine taking their group out into the depths.