Phoenix
Scar was still knocked out this morning when I woke up, so I thought a run along the beach sounded like a good idea. I would have invited her to come but knowing her like I do, I would rather keep my life and let her stay sleeping peacefully.
I threw on some shorts and a t-shirt before heading downstairs. There wasn't anyone around, so I guess everyone must still be sleeping. It wasn't terribly late in the morning, so I wouldn't have guessed anyone would be up anyway. Hell, I should be sleeping in, but my mind was wide awake, and the best thing to do to clear my mind is either play baseball or go for a run.
As I got outside, I went through the playlist on my phone while walking down the path to the beach. I took in the smell of the ocean and the fresh air around me. It wasn't too terribly humid or hot yet so it was just right for a quick run before it was unbearably scorching.
When my feet sunk into the sand, I looked up from the phone screen as my mouth fell open at the sight in front of me. Sam and Vee were sleeping in the middle of the beach. Her head was rested partially on his shoulder while his hands were sprawled out around them both in the sand with his mouth hanging open.
My brows slowly furrowed in confusion while I walked towards them, softly tapping Sam's arm with my shoe. "Hello? Hey, wake up, you two," I spoke up loudly.
"Huh, what?!" Sam jolted awake, accidentally pushing Vee's head off of him, making her face plant into the sand.
Vee instantly opened her eyes, trying to wipe off the sand that was all over her face. "Bleh," She spat in disgust. "What the hell, Sam," She said before sitting up with an confused look on her face.
I looked down at the two of them with a raised brow. "Well, good morning, sleepyheads."
Sam scratched his head and yawned. "I can't believe we fell asleep out here all night," Vee suddenly smacks his shoulder. "Hey, watch it! That's my good arm."
She rolls her eyes. "Your last words to me last night were "don't worry Vee, there is no way I could fall asleep in the sand" before you did, in fact, fall asleep in the sand."
I couldn't help but let out a laugh at her impression of him. It was pretty spot-on, actually.
"Well, technically, you fell asleep in the sand too," Sam pointed out as she gave him the look that I think every woman has that never fails to straighten a guy out within seconds. "Please don't kill me. I have so much more to live for," He squints, preparing for the wrath of Vee before he opened his eyes to see her forming a smile.
"I'll let it slide this once since you were there for me last night when I really needed it."
My eyes went back and forth between the two as the corner of Sam's mouth curved up.
"I got you, Vee. I'll always be here for you."
I clear my throat. "Ahem," They both break eye contact and look up at me. "Oh, you guys can see me now. Good, good," I spoke in a joking tone as they both chuckled.
Vee shook her head. "I should get inside and get ready for the day," She hopped up to her feet.
Sam did the same. "At least you already smell like the beach for the beach day today."
"Good point," Her shoulders shook from laughter as she looked back at us. "I'll see you guys at the house."
"Yeah, I'm right behind you," Sam spoke up before I grabbed his shoulder, pulling him back.
"Not so fast," I said as he turned around.
His head tilted to the side. "What?"
My forehead creased. "What do you mean what? Why were you and Vee having a sleepover on the beach last night?"
"It's not like I planned it. I went to grab some water last night and spotted her sitting out here alone in the middle of the night. Being the friend that I am, I went to check on her and found out she was on the phone with Jesse," Sam went on to explain.
"Jesse? What the fuck did he want?"
Sam let out a sigh. "I didn't hear the whole thing, but she filled me in on it all. He was just spewing some bullshit and acting like a complete dumbass. I seriously don't think that idiot has an ounce of remorse for being a complete bastard. He did have every excuse he could manage to throw at her, though. God, I wanted to drive over to him and get a few more punches in again."
I shook my head. "If you ever feel like doing that again, let me know so I can tag along," He and I both chuckled. "So, what exactly were his excuses?"
Sam went on to tell me a bit about what he said, and it only infuriated me more.
"Something changed about him, or he's going through some fucking early ass midlife crisis because he's only digging himself into a damn hole that once he gets to the bottom, no one will be left to help him out of it. The fact that he could so easily mess up what he had with Vee on top of just send a massive fuck you to us in order to get in with the most self-centered people on the fucking planet."
Sam nodded. "As far as I'm concerned, the fucker can go be miserable all he wants as long as he doesn't bring one of us down with him. If this is how he plans to go, then I'm glad Vee got out when she did, so she doesn't have to deal with his bullshit anymore."
"Seriously though," One of my brows slowly raised. "So, there isn't anything going on with you two, is there?"
Sam's forehead creased at my question. "With who?"
"You and Vee," I wondered as he quickly shook his head.
"What? No...no," He insisted. "We're just friends. Besides, she and Jesse just broke up."
"And now you're having sleepovers and little moments on the beach," I added.
Sam began to roll his eyes. "I was just being there for her as a friend, and no moments were being had."
A slight smirk appeared on my face. "Okay, if you say so."
"Her heart was just broken, and I'm not looking to a rebound. She needs to heal from the pain Jesse caused her before..." He stopped.
"Before what? You make a move?" I teased as he punched my shoulder.
"Shut the fuck up. I won't be making a move."
I softly chuckled. "I'm just joking around. We all need to be there for her but just know that sometimes you can't control your feelings...sometimes they appear out of nowhere, and it's nearly impossible to ignore. I, for one, should know that."
Sam sighed. "We're just friends, and that's that. Scar's been making you watch too many shitty romance movies lately, hasn't she? You're starting to sound like a girl."
I narrowed my eyes, huffing out a sarcastic laugh. "Just wait till you find that one girl... you'll fucking do whatever the hell she wants just to make her happy, even if it means watching the Notebook five hundred times. That's when you know you found the one. When their happiness is what matters most."
"Was that a quote from the Notebook too?" Sam joked as we both laughed. "No, but in all seriousness, I don't think she's out there, man. I tried the whole relationship thing once before, and I ended up fucked up in the head."
"You sure that's not just the norm for you?" I asked him in a teasing manner. "Jokes aside, whoever it was wasn't the one I'm talking to you about, but there will be a moment when you realize it. You probably won't see her coming, but when she does...that's when I will get to tell you I told you so. Everyone deserves happiness, including you."
Sam gave me a genuine smile. "How did I just end up in a therapy session with you?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, but just call me Dr. Phil from now on."
"Get the hell out of here," Sam laughed as I put a headphone in my ear.
"Just remember what I said," Were my last words before he went back towards the house, and I finally was able to start on my run.
~~
After I was finished up, I made my way back into the house where Luke and Jackson were sitting around the table as Wolfie and Aunt Sawyer were making breakfast.
"Good morning, Nix," She spoke sweetly.
I smiled, walking over to the fridge for water. "Morning."
Jack grimaced. "You smell like a fucking rotten fish or something."
"Hey, we know you guys don't talk very clean but can you at least try to make it seem like we didn't raise a bunch of awful mouthed sailors once in a while?" Wolfie spoke up, flipping a pancake.
"Sorry, let me try again...Nix, you smell like the rotting corpse of some type of sea life."
Once I twisted the cap of the bottle, I turned towards him. "That's because I accidentally stepped on washed-up fish while on my run," I chugged the water. "I hosed off my shoes outside and let them air dry.
Luke chimed in. "You didn't want to hose yourself off maybe too and stay outside? You brought the stench with you."
"No, because then I wouldn't be able to do this," I lunged for them towards the table as they flew out of their chairs.
"Get the fuck away from me with your fish-smelling ass," Luke yelled out before running out of the kitchen.
Wolfie sighed, shaking his head as Aunt Sawyer came up to wrap her arms around him. "Well, what did we expect, babe? Us parents with the mouths of a sailor ourselves were always bound to raise younger sailors."
"Remember when we would help dad with the cars when we were younger, Nix, and when he got frustrated, he would say, "what the shit," Jackson came back inside, followed by Luke.
I nodded with a smile. "Then one time at dinner when you I think five years old, Mom was trying to get you to eat your carrots and then told you that you couldn't go outside to play until you were done, so you said, "what the shit, mom."
Jackson nodded. "Mom about disowned both me and dad that day."
Everyone started to erupt in laughter.
Aunt sawyer chimed in. "Oh my, you kids have made it so life never had a single dull moment."
Before I went upstairs, I washed my hands quickly, grabbing a couple of pieces of bacon and a water for Scar so she could take her medicine without an empty stomach.
Once I walked into the room, she was still fast asleep, so I placed the bacon and her pills on the bedstand just in case she woke up while I was in the shower.
I took a fast one, hoping to get rid of the gross smell that lingered on my body from the run. After I was done, I dried off, wrapping a towel around my lower half, and walked into the room.
"Holy shit," Scar spoke up from the bed with a smirk on her sweet lips. "You should go back and then walk in again, but this time without the towel."
I raised an amused brow. "After marking off two things on the list just last night, I thought you would want a break."
"Baby, it's because of last night that I'm ready to check off the next thing on the list," Scarlett bit her lip as I walked towards the side of the bed she was on. "Plus, the bacon gave me some energy."
She glanced down at the empty paper plate and half drank water bottle before my eyes found hers, letting out a small chuckle. "I'm happy you enjoyed it."
"I did. Thank you, Nixie," She spoke in a soft voice.
The back of my hand gently brushed against her cheek before sliding behind her neck. "You're welcome, Shortcake," I said before slowly leaning down until her plump lips were on mine.
My tongue slid between the seam of her mouth as a soft moan escaped her. She parted her lips just before I pushed through, and our tongues fought for dominance until she happily gave in.
Her hands slowly ran up to the top of the towel that was still wrapped around my waist as she pulled away for a moment, looking up at me with eyes full of need and desire. "So, what was next on that list of yours?"