"A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." – Proverbs 15:1
The drive to Doheny Beach was slow but scenic, with PCH winding its way over cliffs and past ocean views. Cole drove the entire way with his window rolled down, relishing in the feeling of the cool sea breeze running through his short curls. It kept him fresh and alert while a certain surfer girl in the backseat kept glancing at him through the rearview mirror.
They had acted as normal as possible in the water, pretending like nothing had happened between them. And nothing had, really—at least, nothing of consequence. But they both felt it. Fortunately, no one in the gang suspected anything...except Blaine, of course. But when didn't he suspect something?
Through his peripheral vision, Cole saw Alana glance at him in the rearview mirror. She was curled up in the backseat listening to her iPod, but something told Cole her thoughts were focused elsewhere. He could only hope that The Plan hadn't backfired.
"Cole!"
"What?" he snapped.
Koa held up his hands in surrender. He leaned forward in the passenger seat to get a better look at the side mirror. "Relax, man, I just wanted to point out that you missed your turn."
Cole's grip loosened on the steering wheel. "Sorry," he muttered, flipping on his blinker and making a U-turn. He pulled into a small parking lot on the right-hand side.
"We made good time," Blaine piped up from the backseat. "We still have three hours to go before sunset."
"Time to whip out the longboards!" Koa declared. He grinned at the sight of small, glassy waves breaking next to a jetty.
"Good thing I brought my longboard," Alana said. She yanked her headphones out of her ears and stuffed her iPod in her backpack. She didn't make eye contact with anyone as she hopped out of the van onto the asphalt. Cole took a deep breath and slid out as well, hoping that the evening would go better than expected.
He glanced up at the sound of a loud motor. It turned out to be Maya and Jake in the campervan. As soon as she parked the massive vehicle, they hopped out and walked over to their friends. Not feeling like socializing, Cole busied himself by rummaging through his beach bag. His fingers automatically found his phone, and he frowned when he realized he had turned it off.
"Oh, right," he murmured, remembering how Taylor had been blowing up his texts over the past few days. He sighed. How desperate was she? And what was motivating her to get ahold of him, anyway? She had never been this clingy.
"—there's a McDonald's and a few other places just up the street, remember? We passed them on the way here."
"Why don't we just wait until it gets later? It's not even six o'clock."
"We're all pretty hungry. We skipped lunch again."
"That's what the snacks are for."
"Well, maybe some of us want real food."
"Fast food isn't real food."
Cole groaned at Jake and Maya's voices, which were rising in pitch with every sentence. "Guys!" he exclaimed, rounding the corner of his Volkswagen and coming within sight of them. "What's going on? Are we getting more food?"
"Jake here thinks we need to get something to eat," Maya said. "I'd rather go surfing."
"Yeah, like we haven't been surfing every single day for the past two weeks." Jake rolled his eyes.
Cole couldn't help but chuckle at their petty argument. "Trouble in paradise, eh?"
Maya pursed her lips and avoided making eye contact.
"Look, why don't I go and get something for all of us to eat?" Cole suggested. "I'll bring it back to the beach, and you guys can come in from surfing and chow down whenever you want."
Jake and Maya glanced at each other. "If you're up for it," Jake said with a shrug, "that'd be awesome."
"Yeah, I don't mind." In fact, it would give him some time to plan a strategy for Alana. He twirled his keys around his finger. "I'll be back in a few—after we unload the boards, of course."
The rest of the gang helped unstrap the surfboards from Cole's surf van. After explaining where he was going, Cole pulled out of the parking lot and headed back down Dana Point Harbor Drive. He cruised through the intersection, scanned for restaurants left and right, and decided his safest bet was to get something from McDonald's like Jake had suggested.
No sooner than he pull into the McDonald's parking lot that he realized a familiar red sports car was idling in front of the entrance. He sucked in a deep breath and tried to whip his Volkswagen around for a quick escape, but slammed on the brakes against his better judgment. What was he doing? Trying to run away from his problems? Cole had spent enough time working on his attitude to know that wasn't the best option.
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Okay. He figured he might as well deal with her right here, right now, and get it over with. He swerved into a parking spot and hopped out. He was running out of patience for the girl who had followed him down the coast. If all went to plan, this conversation would be over and done with quickly.
Taylor, who was sitting in the driver's seat of her cherry-red sports car, finally looked up from her phone. Her eyes widened when she saw Cole storming towards her. She turned off her engine and slid out, her demeanor suggesting she hadn't come to hassle him like the last time. Now Cole was the one who was going to do all the hassling.
"Taylor," he growled, "you better give me a straight answer. What are you doing here?"
Jake strapped his leash around his ankle and glanced at the incoming waves. They were small and glassy, perfect for a quick longboard sesh. He glanced to his left and gave Maya a cheeky grin. "Still sticking with the shortboard, I see?"
Even though she knew she would have a hard time catching waves, Maya had opted to take out her shortboard. Unless the waves were very, very small, she would always stick with her shortboard.
Jake knew she had been in a strange mood for the past couple days. Since the day they visited Paradise Cove, his feelings for Maya had blossomed. He just couldn't take his eyes off her. He had to touch her; he had to be with her every minute. He didn't know if Maya felt the same way, especially since she was preoccupied with worrying about Alana. That was the only reasonable explanation for her behavior, wasn't it? Jake had thought over all the possibilities, and he was certain Maya was anxious because of Alana's injury and her episode at the Wedge.
But then why would Maya be angry at him? Jake hoped he hadn't done anything to personally offend her. They had squabbled a few times over stupid things, like clothes and food, but their relationship couldn't be stilted because of that, could it?
"Hey," he said softly, lightly touching Maya's arm. As the rest of the gang dashed into the ocean, he scooted closer to Maya. "Want to talk?"
"We can't talk here," she said curtly.
Jake sighed. "Why not?" he asked, biting his tongue to keep himself from adding, "Why are you doing this to me?"
"We just can't. Not with our friends here."
"Of course we can. They're too busy watching the waves."
He moved closer, but to his surprise, Maya took a step away. "Not now, Jake," she said.
His heart fell. "Maya..." He stared into her brown eyes, wishing she would look up at him. "I'm sorry if you don't feel as strongly about this as I do. I'm sorry if we're moving too fast, if we're pushing our relationship too hard."
She finally glanced at him, puzzled. "You think we're moving too fast?"
Now it was Jake's turn to be confused. "Well...yeah. Isn't that why you're upset with me?"
A ghost of a smile flitted across her face. "I'm not upset with you, Jake."
The words were like music to his ears. "Then why...all of this?" He gestured to the space between them.
"I'm nervous. I don't know what our friends will think of us."
"You mean, if they find out?"
Maya nodded, and Jake's lips formed into an O as he realized what was going on. "So that's why you've been upset. You think we shouldn't keep this a secret any longer."
"Do you think we should tell them?"
Suddenly, Blaine yelled something from the water, causing both Maya's and Jake's heads to snap up at the sound. "Hey!" Blaine shouted. "You guys coming out?"
"We'll be right there," Jake called back. Turning to Maya, he gave her a reassuring smile. "Look, I don't see a problem with telling them. I know they already suspect something anyway."
"'Suspect' is an understatement," Maya said with a roll of her eyes.
"But they don't know for sure. I think it would come as a bit of a shock if we told them we were full-on dating."
"But we're not full-on dating, remember? We're just giving this a try."
Jake was flustered at his careless blunder. "Right. I mean, they would be shocked to find that we were—"
"Hey." Maya placed a finger over his lips, shushing him. "Jake, listen to me. Do you want to date? Do you want us to be a couple?"
It took every ounce in Jake's body to hold back the words, "Of course!" from his mouth. He glanced down at the warm sand. "Like you said, this is a risky move. I think we should tell the gang first."
"If we tell them," Maya corrected. "When would be a good time? What would we say? Talk about an awkward conversation."
"Yeah." Jake looked out towards the water, trying to conceal the emotions bottling up inside him. "I guess we should go. They're waiting for us." He glanced back at Maya before standing up. "After all, we don't want them to suspect anything, do we?" The question came out short and clipped.
He brushed the sand off his wetsuit and grabbed his longboard. Before he took a single step, Maya suddenly grabbed his arm. "Jake, wait."
When he turned around, he was stunned to see a few glistening tears in her eyes. "Whoa, what's wrong?" He immediately dropped his board to wipe the tears from her cheeks. "Hey, don't cry. Please don't, Maya."
"I'm sorry," she murmured. "I feel like such a mess. I don't want to tell the gang because it could ruin everyone's friendships, but at the same time I—" She suddenly paused.
"You what?"
"I like you, Jake." Maya placed her hands on both sides of his face, her thumbs brushing against his lips. "I really like you."
"But you don't love me?" he joked.
"I think it's a bit too early for that." She laughed softly. "But seriously, Jake—ever since we went on our first unofficial date that night at C Street, I realized my crush for you wasn't just a crush. It was something more. I don't know where we should go or what we should do with our relationship—or even if you feel the same way—but I'm so scared of telling our friends."
"Maya, listen to me." He kneeled down on the soft sand. "I like you too. I'm not sure if this is love either, but I'm absolutely positive that there's no more 'seeing if this will work out.' We made a deal to try this relationship back at Paradise Cove, but I think we're beyond that now. We will work out. Telling our friends is just a roadblock we have to figure out."
"You really think so?" Maya's tears had stopped running, and she gently let go of Jake's face. "I was kind of hoping you'd say that."
"What? The part where I said I liked you or the part where I promised we would work out?"
She smiled. "Both."
"Then you know we have to tell them sooner or later, right?"
"Yeah." She sighed and glanced down at her hands, which were now folded in her lap. "What are we going to say, though?"
Jake smiled cheekily. "That you're my girlfriend."
"Jake, you haven't even asked me!"
"Then will you be my girlfriend?"
"I'm not sure if that even counts." She laughed and rolled her eyes, but the way Jake was staring at her confirmed his question. He wanted to pursue their relationship. He wanted them to be a couple more than anything in the world.
"Yes," Maya said softly. "But only if you'll be my boyfriend."
Jake snorted. "I think that's a bit rhetorical."
She rolled her eyes again and picked up her shortboard. Jake copied her movements, and they walked to the water's edge together. "So when should we tell them?" she asked.
"When the moment is right." Jake squeezed her hand. "And I'm only going to ask you one more time—are you sure you want to bring a shortboard?"
Maya's reply was a splash and a stubborn, "No way!" They both laughed and hopped onto their surfboards. They knew there was nothing better than the feeling of peace and contentment—especially when glassy waves and good relationships were added to the mix.
But mostly glassy waves.
Cole could not believe he was having this conversation right now. "What are you doing here?" he demanded, the veins in his neck bulging.
Taylor suddenly looked very, very small. "Look, Cole, I can explain—"
"You know why I haven't been answering your stupid texts?" he fumed, slamming his hands down on the hood of her car. "It's because you can't take a hint. I left on this trip to have fun with my friends and go surfing, but here you are, ruining it with your desperate attempts to get me back."
She opened her mouth, only to close it when she didn't know how to respond. Cole could see the emotions flickering across her face, ranging from surprise to anger to bitterness. "You know what?" she exclaimed, finally finding the right words to say. "I've spent all this time following you because—you probably guessed this already—I want you to come back."
"And you thought I couldn't figure that out?"
"I thought you liked me!"
"I did," Cole stressed. "But we've been through this before. We're not a couple, Taylor, and we never have been. There's nothing going on between us."
She glowered at him. "Cole!"
"It's true. So do you mind answering my question like I asked?"
They stared at each other for a full six seconds before she finally sighed and dropped her gaze. "Fine," she muttered. "I'm here because I want to see you. And I was kind of hoping you would want to see me too."
"That's not all, is it?"
She raised her eyes and glared at him. Speaking through gritted teeth, she added, "And I wanted us to get back together."
"Is that it? You seriously like me that much, after all we've been through?" Cole was getting fed up with Taylor's lame excuses. There was something else she wasn't telling him, but he couldn't put a finger on it.
Taylor's face bottled up in a mixture of emotions. She clenched her fists at her sides, gripping her phone so tight that her knuckles turned white. "Fine!" she exclaimed. "I've had enough. I can't do this anymore."
"I can't either," Cole sighed, exasperated. "If you won't tell me what's going on, then just—just—leave."
"Maybe I will." Taylor fixed one last glare on him before ducking back into the safety of her car. Cole could make out the faint glimmer of a tear in the corner of her eye as she sped out of the parking lot, fingers shaking on the steering wheel. He watched her red sports car disappear down the street until it was completely out of sight. Then he let out a deep breath, running a hand through his salty hair.
She wasn't coming back—that much Cole knew for sure. But now that both of their emotions were drained, he felt an odd sense of remorse. He had planned to come out hard, and he'd definitely accomplished that, but had it really been worth it? Taylor had looked heartbroken when she drove away.
Cole felt horrible the more he thought about it. He knew he shouldn't have yelled at her. He knew he shouldn't have pressured her into running away—even after she had followed him down the coast.
Cole groaned as he pushed open the door to McDonald's. A wave of air conditioning hit him smack in the face as he shuffled over to the front counter. You want Alana, his thoughts echoed, yet it was Taylor's troubled face he saw in his mind's eye.