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THIRTEEN HIS GIRLS
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So far, Norman was doing an amazing job of avoiding the hell out of John B. Kiara had texted him the previous night saying they hadn't found any gold on The Royal Merchant. Knowing how much this meant to the boy, Norman was absolutely itching to call John B, but he couldn't. He needed his own space to figure things out. Thankfully, the perfect place to get space from John B was the mainland. Granted, he was here running errands with Gemma, Lila, and Alisha, but still. An afternoon with his friends was just what he needed -- even if most of it was going to be dress shopping for Midsummer. It was an annual event that pretty much anyone who had an ounce of money to their name that lived on Figure Eight was invited to -- which meant Norman and all of his friends were picking up their outfits at the very last minute. However, a trip to the mainland was always riveting as they watched the shoreline approach, leaning on the rails of the ferry.
"Of course the one day we have an excuse to get off the island, it's pouring rain," Lila sighed as the four of them huddled under the umbrella brought by Norman -- and held by Norman since he was the tallest. "Just once, just once I wanna have a bright and sunny summer. Is that too much to ask?"
"Considering it's hurricane season, yes," Gemma laughed, "Move to California for a sunny summer. Anyway, Rocky, you've been quiet literally this whole trip, what's up?"
"He's sulking because his crush his driving him up the wall and he can't talk to them," Alisha teased, shoving the boy gently as he offered nothing but a small, fake laugh. "C'mon, baby, you know I'm teasing. It's been a tough time for you, huh?"
He shrugged, "I'm getting by. Everyone seems to suddenly be the guy from Karate Kid when it comes to wisdom lately, so I have a lot of good advice to listen to."
"Karate Kid?" Lila asked with a giggle, "Really?"
"What! It's the first person I thought of!" Norman defended in shock as the boat docked. "Jeez, you're so mean to me, Alisha!"
Gemma laughed at their interactions, teasing, "I mean, she is your ex, she's allowed to be bitter."
"Shut up, Gemma, that lasted a day! I still can't believe James punched me," the boy mused with a small laugh as the group waited to exit the ship, "And I forgave him. I should make him pay for my nose job."
"He didn't even break your nose, dumbass," Lila laughed.
Norman was glad he was able to hang out with them all. He felt like it had been so long that he had been absorbed in the world of treasure hunts and Pogues, but really it had only been a couple of days. With them, he wasn't even thinking about how complicated everything had gotten with John B. It was nice to feel like Norman had a clear head. It was probably the first time in his life he had such luck. Maybe he had been right. It wasn't boys, it was just John B. Knowing that would make everything easier. Still, something didn't feel quite right. He sighed as they walked the rain-soaked streets, Alisha guiding them with directions to the correct store where the girls were picking up their tailored dresses for the Midsummer party.
