"If he tries to control me he's finished, won't be crying there's plenty of fishes."
Smile — Maisie Peters
"Feeling up for a bonfire on the beach tonight?"
"Who's asking?" I look at Bella, who's typing something back on her phone. I heave a sigh of relief as I kick off my soccer shoes, my feet numb from the hectic practice we just had.
It's been about a week and a half since my injury, and I've slowly been getting back into practice, and today was my first proper day back on the field since the fall.
"Micah. It's not a huge thing apparently, just the basketball team and a few more people. A bonfire and some night surfing."
My eyes perk up immediately at that. I love surfing during the day and there's no better feeling than seeing the horizon and the glinting waves under the sun, but surfing at night is an ethereal feeling, especially when there's a full moon and a sky of stars.
Bella laughs seeing my interest. "I take it Jordyn's in, Faith?"
"You know I am." She grins, before grabbing both of our wrists and whisking us away to our bedrooms to get ready, Mocha barking at our feet and following along happily.
Forty five minutes later, we've decided on our swimsuits, and I'm stepping out of the bathroom after putting on mine. Smiling cheekily to myself knowing the reaction I'm going to get from my best friends, I walk into Bella's bedroom where we're getting ready.
Faith immediately notices me entering, and does a full on double take, eyes widening like saucers.
"Jordyn, you hot piece of ass!"
Bella swirls around at Faith's comment, and immediately flies out of the chair, gaping at me.
"Where did you get this? I've never seen it before?" She demands, walking around me and inspecting the showy suit.
I look down at the one piece swimsuit, inspecting the way the black fabric of it sits against my skin and it looks like it's tattooed on to me, blending with the ink already on my body.
It definitely shows more skin than it covers, with a halter neck and a plunge neckline, with criss cross straps covering my boobs just slightly, and spreading across my stomach. It's backless too, showing off the devil horns on my shoulder blades.
"I think I picked it up one day when I was walking around the mall looking for food bowls for Mocha awhile ago." I recall, slipping off my hair tie and letting my blonde hair fall down my shoulders.
"It looks fucking amazing on you." Bella admires, giving my butt a pinch. "Jace is going to die."
"Seriously, I cannot fathom how you guys haven't fucked yet. It seems like something that's fated to happen." Faith adds absentmindedly, studying her own swimsuit, a cute triangle shaped pink bikini set, in the mirror.
A flash of guilt creeps through me, and I simply shrug indifferently. Keeping things from them has never happened before, nor have I ever felt the need to. I love them and we've always been open with each other, and we still are.
But there's something nagging at me, telling me to keep whatever complicated, weird thing Jace and I have going on from my best friends.
Thankfully, Bella demands that I help her strap on her one piece, also a sexy yellow backless suit that contrasts gorgeously against her light brown skin, and I happily oblige, happy for the distraction.
Once she's sorted, the three of us pull on shorts over our bikinis for some extra coverage until we're at the beach, and grab our surfboards before heading downstairs to the parking lot. After strapping on the boards to the roof, we set off into the night.
• • •
"Damn Jordyn, leave some of the attention for us, why don't ya?" Maya laughs as she approaches me, engulfing me in a bear hug.
I roll my eyes playfully as I pull away from her and go to hug Thalia and Malia. "Like you have the right to talk."
My eyes pointedly look at her one piece white monokini, to which Maya grins cheekily. "Fair."
Thalia throws me an approving wink after studying my outfit, before turning away to greet Faith. I look around, taking in the party we just walked into. The beach isn't as crowded as it is in day time, although there are small groups of people scattered around.
The cool wind ruffles my hair, the smell of salt and smoke drifting around. There's a huge bonfire lit a few feet away from the water, and there's a bunch of people sitting around it on rocks, mats and on the sand. A speaker blasts some Juice WRLD track, and I can see bottles of beer and joints being passed around.
The girls and I approach the bonfire, and I start seeing who's among the group once we're closer. The basketball team, and a few other girls that I see hang around the team often, probably girlfriends or hookups, and a dozen more guys I don't really recognise.
"Ay!" Kai gets to his feet when he spots us, striding over and wrapping each of us in a hug as the rest of the group throw greetings our way. As I pull away from Kai, I spot Jace sitting on a mat, shirtless and swigging a beer. Looking at him reminds me of the kiss we had at my apartment, and suddenly my lips tingle, almost aching for another.
He meets my eyes over Kai's shoulder, before his gaze slips down the length of my body. When Jace looks back up at my face again, he throws me a subtle nod of acknowledgement. I simply raise my eyebrows at him, looking pointedly at the black baseball cap that's nestled backwards on his head, even though he's nighttime and he clearly doesn't need it.
Our silent conversation is interrupted when Kai thrusts a White-Claw onto my hands and starts introducing me to the new faces, and I go along with it. By the time I've said hello to all of them and I'm ready to take a seat, all the extra places have been taken by the girls.
Spotting me looking around for a seat, Nathan waves me over. "Jordyn!"
Grinning gratefully at him, I walk over and plop down next to him on a green beach mat and he holds up his beer glass for me to clink my can against. "How's it going?"
"Not too bad," I answer, taking a sip. "You?"
"This season has been kicking all of our asses." Nathan sighs, running a hand through his chocolate coloured hair. "It's been hard, but we're pulling through."
I nod in understanding. "Isn't easy being a college athlete huh?"
"Not at all. Wanna drown out the sorrows by getting drunk?" He flashes me a huge grin before reaching over to the cooler box.
"You bet."
I lose track of time as we drink the night away, although the athletes, including myself, limit our intake, and decline joints. We're in the midst of season, and the last thing any of us need is failed drug tests or alcohol poisoning.
When Kai jumps to his feet and announces that we can go surf now that the tide is calmer, I'm excited. Assuring Faith and Bella that I only had two White-Claws and I'm not drunk, I grab my board and I'm about to follow Ty and Jace into the water along with a few more people from our group when Kai stops us all.
"Hold up! I brought a little something."
We watch closely as he picks up a small bucket from our pile of belongings, and a big brush. I squint to read the label of the bucket in the firelight. GLO-IN THE DARK PAINT.
"Smear your boards with this, it'll look killer!" Kai informs, setting the bucket down and prying the lid open. "It comes off with soap later on, so no worries."
A few minutes later, once we've all smeared glow in the dark paint all over our boards, we wade into the ice cold water. Our boards illuminate the dark water, making it look almost magical. The moon is full and bright today, providing more than enough light for us to see around.
Everyone disperses to catch waves, but I remain seated on my board, taking in the vast night sky above me. The stars seem to stretch on into oblivion, never ending. It's fascinating.
"Beautiful, huh?" Jace's voice catches my attention, and I look over to see him sitting on his board just a few feet away from me, but instead of looking up at the sky, his eyes are on me.
I clear my throat, trying not to fixate on how his bare chiselled body is glistening with water under the moonlight. "Yeah."
"The one who catches the least waves buys drinks next time, what do you say?" Jace flashes a grin at me, and I can make out his dimples even in the dull light.
My competitive side blossoms. "You're on."
Twenty minutes and ten waves later, I'm exhausted. I paddle towards the shore, laying on my board as I use my arms to swim. Jace swims over, bursting with energy and a cocky grin.
"Ten to fifteen. I win."
I throw him a scowl, brushing my wet hair away from my forehead. "Yay, you can count. Your elementary teacher will be proud."
Jace barks out a laugh and I huff, kicking my feet down the water becomes more shallow and I'm able to stand. Tucking my board under my arm, I start walking out of the water, Jace mimicking my actions. A few of our friends are still in the water, their boards streaking like glowing lights in the water as they surf.
A hoot sounds from our group as we approach them and the bonfire.
"Y'all look like a scene out of baywatch." Ty laughs, gesturing to the two of us, wet and in swimsuits, holding our surfboards.
"Ha ha." Jace laughs mockingly, as he sticks his board upright on the sand. I do the same, before grabbing the towel Faith is extending to me, and drying my hair off.
Ian, I think, one of the guys I was just introduced to today that's not from the basketball team pulls out a small transparent baggie which I immediately recognise as weed. Don't get me wrong, I like getting high every now and then as much as the next guy, but I'm not stupid enough to do it in a public place.
"Yo, put that away." Micah swats his arm. "I heard rumors of undercover cops crawling around these areas looking for dealers."
"Bullshit." Ian snickers, slicking back his greasy dyed blonde hair. He's a stoner, it's clear from the permanent bags under his eyes and the hallowed out cheeks.
Micah frowns, but doesn't say anything, turning away to continue talking to Bella. I plop down next to Faith again, stealing a swig of her beer.
"I'm kinda cold." Bella rubs her bare arms, letting out a shiver. "Faith, did you grab our coverups from the car?"
Faith shakes her head as she takes her beer from me. "Nope. You wanna go get it?"
"Yes please," Bella gets to her feet, dusting off sand from her body. I'm about to say that I'll come with, because it's not the safest idea to wonder into a parking lot alone, when Micah stands up as well.
"I'll come with." Micah offers, and I ease back, throwing the car keys to Faith.
The three of them walk away, and I have the mat to myself, so I lay down on my back, tuning out the music and the chatter of the people around me. The bonfire is dying slowly, but the flames provide me just enough warmth.
After staring into the sky for a few minutes, my eyes droop close, enjoying the soft ocean breeze and the sound of the waves. I feel a body drop down next to me, and twist around to see Nathan, laying on his back next to me with his arms tucked behind his head.
"Killer moves out in the water." He flashes me a grin.
I chuckle. "Thanks."
Nathan doesn't respond, falling silent as he looks over to me, and his eyes slowly trace down my body, studying my suit.
"Nice swimsuit." He clears his throat, rolling over so he's on his side facing me, our bodies so close that I can feel the warmth of his skin.
"Glad you like." I say, my tone dripping with sarcasm, and he laughs, shaking his head at me. After a moment, he reaches over, slipping his finger under the strap of the halter neck around the nape of my neck, adjusting it because it's moved out of place.
"Better." He mumbles, his tongue running along his bottom lip. Before I can say anything or put some space between us, Ty calls for Nathan.
"Alright, enjoy stargazing." Nathan winks at me, before rising to his feet and walking off towards Ty. My eyes follow his retreating figure, and I look away, right into Jace's eyes.
He's sitting on the sand a few feet away from me, staring right at me already. His body is still, and his knuckles are tight around the beer bottle he's holding. I would've assumed that he was angry about something if it wasn't for the blank expression on his face.
Shrugging it off, I look away, fluttering my eyes close again. I nearly doze off, when a distant, faint sound of sirens jolt me up. I sit up hastily, and everyone in our group has gone rigid and quiet, looking around for the source.
"Fuck!" Kai yelps, pointing to where the beach meets the road, where two cop cars have pulled up. Three cops hop out of the car.
"Holy shit, they're gonna search us for sure." A girl whose name I don't remember rushes up to her feet, and so do I, panic flooding through my body. I can't get caught, even if I didn't smoke, that wouldn't matter. They'll kick me out of the fucking team.
"Guys, run!" Ty yells, and everyone takes off in different directions. Overrun with alarm, I hastily grab my phone and my surfboard and make a run for it.
"Hey!" I hear one of the cops yell, but I don't look back, sprinting as fast as I can through the sand, trying not to drop my board. I'm passing a huge rock when an arm juts out and grabs me, pulling me behind the rock. I thrash, opening my mouth to yell when a tattooed hand clamps over my lips.
"Fuck, stop squirming! It's me."
Jace.
Panting, I tug away from him, careful not to step out from behind the boulder. Jace is holding his board too, bare chest heaving from heavy breaths as if he ran just like I did. When I meet his eyes, they're stiff. Guarded.
"Fuck. We can't stay here." He curses, peering over the top of the rock. I have no idea what to fucking say as he looks around, and pauses. I turn to the direction he's looking at, and up ahead, there's a lifeguard tower, one of the old fashioned kind that looks like a small house, dark and unoccupied by the looks of it.
"It's abandoned." Jace whispers, as if reading my mind. "We can wait it out there, they won't think to look that far."
I nod mutely, and don't object as he grabs my hand and tugs me into a run as we rush over to the tower.