I shiver a little bit as the wind on the beach picks up, there's only like thirty minutes left of protection so I decide I can suck it up.
"This is why we wear real clothes." Jeremiah says annoyed and take his hoodie off and hands it to me. He's been wearing an old football practice shirt under it that now gets to see the light of day.
I grumble and put the hoodie on, it's still warm from his body heat. I hug my arms around myself and enjoy the warmth.
I hear him laugh. "What?" I ask insecurely.
"It's huge on you. You're getting eaten by it." He laughs some more.
I bump my shoulder into him playfully and he wraps an arm around me.
Queue internal fake gag.
If this doesn't make Belly jealous and we're doing this shit for nothing, I swear.
***
Jeremiah and I are holding hands while some of the leaders give us an ending speech. I think he sees that Belly's looking because he starts rubbing my hand with his thumb.
"A big thank you to everyone here for donating time to the cause for these wonderful little turtles. They definitely appreciate you all just as much as we do." The leader smiles.
"Have a wonderful rest of your day everyone." Another one finishes.
Jeremiah and I walk off the beach and over to his car.
"Do you wanna get breakfast?" He asks.
I look up, "What?"
"Breakfast. There's a good place a short walk from here." He offers.
"Sure." I shrug my shoulders, "Didn't eat much this morning anyway."
He and I walk down the sidewalk talking.
"The sunrise is beautiful." I admire.
"Sure is," He agrees.
"Are you a sunrise or sunset person?" I ask, already knowing my answer.
"Sunrise." He answers.
My face breaks into a smile, "Me too. Always have been."
"What about it?" He asks.
"It feels more refreshing than the sunset, I guess. Like I get to start my day off with something to be grateful for, just telling me it's gonna be a good day. Feels more symbolic than a sunset I guess." I sum up.
He nods.
"You?" I ask back.
"I just like the colors better in the morning." He shrugs and we laugh.
"So detailed." I nod jokingly.
We reach the place and walk in. We're sat right away since it's still pretty early.
"Here are the menus. Can I start you two off with some drinks?" The waitress asks.
"I'll have a hot cocoa." He answers.
She nods and writes it down before looking over to me, "And you?"
"Green tea, please." I smile.
"Gotcha, those'll be over in a minute." She walks off.
"Hot cocoa in summer?" I question.
"Hey, man, hot cocoa is hot cocoa." He says sternly.
"My bad, I didn't realize cocoa was such a sensitive topic." I laugh.
"Well, it is." He laughs with me.
***
"And here you are," She places our drinks down. "To eat?" She gets the notepad ready.
"I'll have the avocado toast." I say.
"Okay. And how would you like the eggs?" She asks.
"Hmm, sunny-side up, please."
She scribbles my order down and turns to Jeremiah.
"I'll have the french toast. And, scrambled." He answers before she can ask.
"Okay, those will be to y'all soon."
"French toast, scrambled eggs, and hot cocoa. How old are you again?" I ask.
"Hey, I'm not making fun of your tea and avocado toast, grandma." He defends.
I roll my eyes and take a dramatic sip of my tea. "Nope. My hips still feel like a seventeen year old's."
He scoffs and starts drinking his hot cocoa.
"Pretty sure I'm still potty-trained." He mocks.
I can't help but laugh.
"What?" He asks annoyed.
"You've got a serious cocoa mustache going on there." I laugh.
He huffs and wipe his face with a napkin.
"You missed a spot." I say. He wipes some more. "No, the other side." I explain, but he still isn't getting the right spot.
I put the hoodie sleeve over my hand and use it to wipe the remaining hot cocoa off of his face.
"There." I say.