After everyone got settled into their rooms, we all decided to head to the beach. Everyone got changed into shorts and we packed towels and got ready to leave. “Where’s James?” I ask Luke. We were about to leave the house when I noticed that James was nowhere in sight. “He might be out on the patio, behind his room.” Luke tells me. “Okay. Ya’ll go ahead and go. We’ll meet you there.” I tell Luke. He agrees and the rest of the group followed him out.
I walked into James room and saw him, outside on the patio, standing near the rail. I walked outside and said, “Hey. We were looking for you.” James glanced at me and turned back. “What’s wrong?” I ask him, noticing his face. I walk up next to him and turn to look at him. He continues looking out into the backyard but he begins talking.
“I haven’t been here since my brother passed away. This place has so many memories.” He tells me. “Oh, why’d you invite us here if it’s too painful for you to come here?” I ask him softly. “My parents thought it might be a good idea. I think so too, but I think it’s just that since it’s the first day back here, it’s a little tough on me.” He says, glancing at me.
I leaned on the rail and looked out into the backyard. “What was the most memorable moment you and your brother had here?” I ask him. “We came here for summer a few years ago and my parents had went out for dinner, I was out on a date, and my brother Aaron was out on a date too. After my date, I came home and I thought no one was home so I went into my room and started watching TV. I started hearing noises from the next room so I got up and went to Aaron’s room to try and figure out what the noise was.
I opened his door and I walked in. He was cornered in the room with the girl he was on a date with. She was trying so hard to get him to sleep with her. She literally was trying to rip his pants off. It was such a funny sight. I tried to help him but she punched me in the face. That girl was nuts! After a bit of a fight, we got her and kicked her out of the house. She was pissed. She cursed us out in English and Spanish. That was a really funny experience. From then on, we decided to never bring a local girl back to the house.” He tells me, smiling.
“Ya’ll were really close, huh?” I say. “Yeah. I miss him so much. Sometimes, I’ll forget he’s dead and think, ‘wait till I tell Aaron what happened today!’ but then, I’ll remember and I’d just get sad all over again.” He tells me. I didn’t know how to respond so I just hugged James from the back. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight. He put his hands on top of mine and we didn’t move.
“He’d want you to be happy.” I tell him. “I know. It’s just hard sometimes.” He says. After several minutes, I let go of James and held my hand out to him. “Come on, let’s go down to the beach.” He grabbed my hand and we walked inside. “Do you need to change?” I ask him, looking at his outfit. “Yeah, give me a minute.” He answers me.
I walked out of his room and headed into the kitchen. I got us water bottles and took a seat on a barstool. “Ready.” James says, walking towards the front door. I turned towards James and I let out a little gasp. James had on a pair of board shorts with a tank top on, showing off the muscles in his arms. He looked really good. I regained my composure and walked past him, outside. James locked the door and we began walking.
We arrived at the beach and saw Seirra, Zach, and Luke sitting on a towel. We walked over to them and took a seat next to Luke. “Hey man. Everything good?” Luke asks James. James nods. “Thanks to Ms. Elena.” he says.
Around 7, we headed back to the house to get changed for dinner. We were going to eat dinner at one of the shacks near the beach. I kept my shorts on and changed into a light blue top. I put on my light blue sandals and let my hair down. I touched up my makeup and headed into the living room, where Megan and Kevin were making out.
“Get a room.” I say , before walking back into Luke’s room. “Are they making out again?” Luke asks me, knowing who I was talking to. I nod and he laughs. “Those 2 can’t keep their hands off of each other.” “I know it’s sickening.” I say, joking. “Someone sounds jealous.” He says, joking. “And someone is delusional.” I say, punching him in the shoulder. He grinned and walked out into the hallway.
After 10 minutes, we were all ready to go. We headed down to the pier and picked a restaurant that was called Sandy’s. We went in and we were seated immediately. The place was really cute. We choose to sit out in the front of the restaurant. The waitress seated us and asked what we wanted to drink. She took our orders and her eyes lingered over Luke a little too long. Luke didn’t seem to notice.
When she left, I turned to Luke and told him about the waitress. “Oh, that’s nice.” He said simply. I looked at him confused. “Don’t you think she’s cute?” I ask him. “Yeah, she’s all right.” He shrugs. “Aren’t you going to go after her or something?” I ask him. “Nope. There’s this girl that I really like. She’s beautiful and funny and just an amazing person all around. That waitress may be cute but she doesn’t compare to the girl I like.” he tells me, closing his menu and putting it down.
I looked at him and tilted my head slightly. “Who is this girl?” I ask him. “You.” He says, looking directly at me. I blush. For the past few weeks, Luke had been trying so hard to get me to go out with him but I never took him seriously. He was always dating a new girl every week so I didn’t take him seriously. “Oh,” I say, not knowing what to say.
I turn back to my menu and try to pick what I want, but the thoughts were racing through my mind. The waitress came back and I ordered a chicken sandwich with a side of chili fries. Once she left, Luke turned to me and said, “Elena, what would it take me to get you to go out on a date with me tomorrow?” he asks. My eyes widen in surprise.
“Luke,” I begin, but he interrupts me. “Come on Elena. Just one date. Please? I promise if you don’t have fun tomorrow, then we could end the date early and we don’t have to ever talk about it.” He kept on begging. I was still a little hesitant to say yes. “Elena, I have never begged a girl this much. Right James?” Luke says, turning to James.
James was talking with Zach so he did not know what we were talking about. “What? Huh?” he said, looking at Luke. “I’ve never begged a girl out onto a date, right?” he repeats. “Yup. Who’s refusing you?” James asked, smirking. “Elena. I’ve been asking her out multiple times but she keeps saying no. I’m so close to getting on my knees and begging.” Luke said jokingly.
The smirk from James face dropped when he heard Luke say my name. “If she says no, then she means no.” James says, his mouth in a hard line. I looked at James’ face and I couldn’t read his facial expression. His face was impassive. Luke ignored James and turned back to me. “Just one date?” he begged.
I looked from Luke to James and back to Luke again. I finely broke down and agreed to the date. “Fine, just 1 date.” I say. Luke’s face broke out into a huge smile. I looked at James and his face looked annoyed and mad. “Elena, can I speak to you in private?” he asked me, getting out of his seat. I nodded and got up. I followed him and we walked away from the restaurant.
He stopped walking and turned to look at me. “I don’t want you to go out with Luke.” He says, sounding angry. “It’s just one date, nothing else.” I tell him. “I know, but I still don’t want you to go out with him.” He says. “You can’t go out with him tomorrow.” “Excuse me, but since when were you allowed to tell me who I can and can’t date?” I ask him, getting mad. “I’ll go out with whomever I choose.” “Elena. Luke is trouble. He’ll try to get into your pants and once he realizes you don’t do that, he’ll just leave you.” He says, his anger subsiding a bit. “James, I’m a big girl. I can handle myself, but thanks for the warning.” I say exasperated.
I turn and go back to the restaurant before James could say anything. When I got to the table, our food had arrived. I took a seat and began eating. James returned shortly and took his seat. He looked at me but I ignored him.
For the rest of the night, I avoided talking directly to James. We returned home and we all decided to watch a movie. Everyone got into their PJs and headed to the living room. I was about to leave my room when James entered the room and closed the door. I just looked at him and waited for him to say something.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you.” He says to me, while leaning against the closed door. I sat on the bed and looked at him. “I was just trying to warn you. Luke might be my best friend, but I see the way he treats girls.” He keeps explaining. “James, I’m really happy that you care about me but I can handle myself.” I say.
“I know. Truce?” he says. “Truce.” I say nodding. “Let’s hug it out.” He says, opening his arms. I got up from the bed and hugged him. It was a quick hug. “Come on, they’re waiting for us.” I say, opening the door. We walked into the living room and took our seats. I sat in between Luke and James. I put my legs on top of Luke and leaned against James. We started the movie and began watching.
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The next morning, I woke up around 9. I looked over at Luke and noticed that he was still asleep. I quietly got out of bed and went to the bathroom. I used the bathroom and quietly walked back into the room. I was walking back to my side of the bed to get my phone when Luke spoke. “Morning Elena.” He said, his morning voice raspy. “Good morning. Did I wake you?” I ask him.
“No. Are you going to make breakfast?” he asks me, sitting up from the bed. I looked over at him and noticed that he was shirtless. He had a good body. It wasn’t as nice as James’ but he was pretty buff. I quickly checked him out before I answered. “Yeah. I don’t know what but I’m going to make breakfast.” “Do you want some help?” he asks. “Yes. That would be nice.” I say, smiling.
“Okay. I’ll go wake James.” He says. I frown and narrow my eyes at him. “Just kidding. I’ll be right there.” He says, laughing. I roll my eyes and head to the kitchen. I opened the fridge and saw a carton of eggs and a package of bacon. I pulled those out and headed to the pantry. In the pantry, I found some pancake mix. I pulled that out and set it onto the counter.
“So, this is all we got?” Luke says, entering the kitchen. “Looks like it. We need to go grocery shopping.” I tell him. He nods and opens the fried. He pulls out the milk and turns back to me. “I’ll make the eggs and bacon and you make waffles.” He orders me. “Yes sir, mister chef.” I joke. He rolls his eyes and hands me the milk.
We begin cooking. He finished the eggs and bacon before me. “You should go wake everyone up.” I tell him, pouring the rest of the batter into the waffle maker. “Okay.” He said. He went into the pantry and began looking for something. “What are you looking for?” I ask him, curiously. “You’ll see.” He says. “Found it!” he says, walking out of the pantry holding a can. “What? You’re going to spray them awake?” I say, laughing. “Nope. This is an airhorn.” He says, waving the can.
I look closely and recognize the horn. “You’re about to piss off everyone.” I say, smiling. “They’ll get over it.” He says, walking towards the hallway. He walked to the beginning of the hallway and turned and winked at me. He then took off running down the hall, yelling and blowing the horn. He ran up and down the hallway 2 times before Beth opened her door.
“What the fuck?” she said, glaring at Luke. Everyone opened their doors and basically had the same reaction. “Breakfast is ready!” he yelled, before running back into the kitchen. “I’m going to kick your ass if you do that again!” I heard someone yell. Ofcourse, that caused Luke to blow the horn again. Seirra fast walked from her room to the kitchen and began chasing Luke.
They ran around the living room, dining room, hallways, and finely back into the kitchen. I was standing there watching them when Luke grabbed my waist and put me between him and Seirra. “Woah! I’m not in this.” I said, raising my hands. “You’re lucky she’s holding me back.” Seirra says, turning and leaving the kitchen. Luke laughed and let go of me.
We put all the food and plates on the table. We set out cups and took out the juices that were in the fridge. Luke and I grabbed what we wanted to eat and took seats on the barstools. We started to eat because we got tired of waiting. After a few minutes, everyone else began coming from their rooms. They all threw Luke annoyed looks before grabbing their food.
Once everyone was full, they forgot their anger at Luke. After breakfast, we decided to head to the beach and hang out there until lunch time. We would go out for lunch and then head back home to hang out by the pool. I returned to the room and began unpacking the suitcase that was in Luke’s room. Luke came in and also began looking for his bathing suit.
I found my pink one-piece and walked into the bathroom. I quickly changed and walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around my waist. I walked over to my suitcase and pulled out the shorts I wore yesterday. I dropped my towel and put on my shorts. I packed up my towel into a beach bag and left the room.
We all finished getting ready and headed to the beach. We went to the same beach that we went to last night. We got to the beach and noticed that it was pretty crowded. We found a big space near the pier and we began to put down our towels. We put down the towels and then we sat. “Sunscreen?” Luke asked me, holding the bottle. “Yeah, thanks.” I said, grabbing the bottle.
I put sunscreen on my legs, arms, and face and returned the bottle to Luke. “What about your back?” he asks me, taking the bottle from me. I just shrug. “I’ll do it.” He says, rolling his eyes. I try to object but he has the lotion in his hands in no time. He begins to rub his hands together and moved to kneel behind me. He puts his hands on me and I stop talking.
He was supposed to be putting lotion on but instead, he massaged the lotion into my back. I felt like I was in heaven. He had such strong, muscular hands but his touch was so soft. I glanced at James and saw that he was frowning. He saw me looking at him and he turned away. “Thanks.” I said when Luke finished. “My pleasure.” Luke said grinning.
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After lunch, we headed back to the house. We swam in the pool for a bit playing marco-polo. Around 7, I started to get ready for my date. I returned to Luke’s room and began looking through my suitcase for clothes. “Where are we going?” I asked Luke when he walked into the room. “It’s a surprise. Dress comfortably.” He said, looking through his suit case.
I pulled out my ripped shorts and paired it with a turquoise colored blouse. I pulled out my black strapless bra and make up bag and grabbed my stuff. I decided to go into Seirra’s room to get dressed. I went to the living room and asked Seirra if I could use her bathroom. “Sure.” She said. “Can you come to the room so I can show you my outfit?” I ask her. She sighed and got up from where her and Zach were sitting.
I went into her bathroom and quickly changed. I walked out of the bedroom to show her my outfit. “You look good. I like your shirt.” She says when she sees me. “Thanks.” I say, grabbing my make up bag and going back into the bathroom. As I put on my makeup, Seirra came into the bathroom and sat on top of the counter.
“Where is he taking you?” she asked me. “I don’t know. He said it was a surprise.” I tell her. “Oh. Do you think Luke is going to change the way you feel about James?” she asks. “I don’t know. Luke is a nice guy but James is James.” I answer. She nods and I continue putting on makeup. I put on eyeliner and masacara. I put on a thin layer of pink lipstick and then put clear lip gloss on top.
I fluffed up my air dryed hair and looked at my reflection. “What if he tries to kiss you?” she asks me. I look at her and pause. “I hope he doesn’t.” I answer. She hopped off the counter and we walked out of the bathroom. I went back to Luke’s room and grabbed my blue sandals and put them on. I decided against taking a purse so I grabbed my chap stick and phone and put them into my pockets.
I walked out into the living room and found Beth and Clark watching TV. “Nice shirt.” Beth says, glancing at me. “Thanks.” I say, walking into the kitchen. I went into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get a water bottle. When I closed the door, Beth was in the kitchen. “So you’re going out on a date.” She says. “Yup.” I say, taking a sip of water.
“Where’s Luke?” I ask her. “Right here.” He answers, walking into the kitchen. I looked at him and he was wearing cargo shorts with a white button up shirt. “Ready?” he asks me, looking at me once over. “Yeah, let’s go.” I answer him. Luke smiled and began walking towards the front door. Beth and I followed him out of the kitchen. “Have fun. And don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” Beth said to me as I walked over to Luke.
“That means I can do a lot of things!” I joke. Beth pretends to glare at me while she sits down next to Clark. Luke opened the door and let me out first. We walked to his car and he opened the passenger door for me. “Thanks” I said, climbing into the vehicle. Luke entered the driver’s side and he turned on the car. “Ready?” he asks, looking at me and smiling. “Yes sir.” I say, smiling back.