Egret's Rest has only one dine-in restaurant; all the others might have a couple of random tables just outside their doors, but they're actually just take-out joints. Good take-out joints. There are a bunch of coffee shops, too, but they don't serve dinner or big meals.
Raffaello's also happens to be the best restaurant in Summerfield, and that includes Silverview. Their prices are reasonable, and they serve virtually any kind of cuisine, not just awesome Italian dishes. We come here at least once a month when we're out having fun and get hungry for good food and are in the mood to eat at tables like civilized people for a change.
Sometimes, we come with our parents and Uncle Ian, but more often, it's just us kids and all the guys, and then we push a few tables together. When we do that, Kira doesn't sit beside me on one side of the table, close enough for me to hold her hand like she's doing now. She usually tries to be as far away from me as possible. That means I have to wait for her to send her leftovers my way and hope Barn doesn't get to it first.
Fortunately for us, it is a weekday and we manage to get a table on the balcony overlooking the cove. This is pretty friggin' awesome because I'm hot, and I'm hungry, and there's a nice breeze going out here. Raffaello's is what one would call charming, with candles on the tables and lanterns and ivy and stuff, making it very pretty... that's what the girls always say... and Barn... he always says it too. It is almost like I'm on a romantic date with Kira, except we're not at a table for two, and my sister and her boyfriend are sitting across from us.
When Kira and my sister sit near me like this, we trade things from our plates. Kira gave me half her fries, and I gave her almost all my gherkins and tomatoes in exchange. Technically, I needn't bother to give her anything because she never manages to finish all her fries and lets me have them anyway. She loves gherkins and tomatoes more than I do and I felt I should give her something, so...
"How long before I get to join the swap club," Simon asks, and suddenly, I'm glad there's a table between us because what the hell? He's not getting Kira! Besides...
"Dude!" I growl at him, making it clear to him that he is skating on thin ice, which is a pretty stupid thing to do in this heat... Actually, it would feel pretty good to get dipped in icy water right now, so skating on thin ice might not be that stupid. The misting cooling system they have going out here on the balcony is pretty good, but some cold water... "You're dating my sister!" I snap, remembering that I was in the middle of teaching my sister's boyfriend about fidelity. "There'll be no swapping, not with me or anybody else."
I put my hand on Kira's nearest shoulder, and I'm willing to pee against the legs of her chair to mark my territory if I have to. I thought Simon was a decent guy! His expression changes from amused to confused to horrified, and then he laughs, puts an arm around Deli's shoulders and pulls her closer to him. He is making some things clear to me too, and I like that.
"I was talking about food, Ethe!" he says in a voice that suddenly sounds a little high. "You guys are constantly exchanging things between your plates. Looks like fun."
Oh! Yes, he's right!
Delia did just take all those horrible fungi stuff from my plate. I told Bella, our waitress, no mushrooms, but she clearly didn't remember, or she's still a little pissed at me because I didn't want to quit school and run away to be a cherry picker in the North... I have no idea what that means.
Bella and I had a bit of a thing for a couple of days near the end of last year when I was still all messed up about what happened with Amber, and I wanted to forget about stuff and just have fun.
We were just hanging out with a crowd and might've kissed once or twice, nothing serious. When she realised that I was a grade behind hers and not finishing school with her, she said after graduation, she was going to pick cherries in the North and nagged at me to go with her. She wouldn't give up on the idea, and I eventually had to make it clear that I don't like cherries. They're nasty little fruits.
They're not, but the idea of quitting school and leaving Summerfields with her was nasty. I guess she didn't go cherry-picking either, or she came back since she's now here working as a waitress. We usually get along fine, but she's been glaring at me since the moment I held Kicks' chair for her to sit and took her hand in mine the first time.
I guess I should feel lucky that I only got mushrooms on my plate, and she didn't do anything weird to my food. The set-up here doesn't give waiters much chance to do evil things to clients' food anyway, but she is usually a very good waitress, and she knows I tip well. I'll let her have this minor revenge, though I'm not sure why she's bothered; she has a boyfriend now, and we were not that into each other; we were just hanging out.
Delia saved me from the toad seats or fairy houses or what the hell ever their actual function is supposed to be. We always give and take things from each other's plates when having meals together. We've been doing it forever, and I don't even realise it anymore.
"Here you go, Babe," Deli says, spearing a couple of mushrooms on her plate and dropping it on Simon's. Does she hate the guy?! No! He seems to be thrilled, and that is actually a sign of true love because my sister loves those demon puffs.
I notice Kira surveying my plate, and I grin, wondering what she could possibly want since I already ate all the things she would like. I basically only have some steak and fries left. I'll let her have whatever she wants.
"You have nothing I want," she tells me, blushing while trying to give me a cheeky look.
"Keep on telling yourself that," I snort, and laughing, I grab her hand when she pokes me in the ribs with her fist.
"You're doing it wrong," I tell her, copying Simon's arm-draping move to pull her towards me, but I'm doing it a little too enthusiastically, and she almost ends up in my lap. I don't mind, but she apparently does.
"Hey! Get off me!" she growls, which is not the right response. "What?" she demands to know when I frown at her.
"We have the example right there," I explain, indicating Deli and Simon, who are watching us with wide grins, clearly enjoying the show. "We're supposed to copy them."
"Oh, good!" my sister laughs, rubbing her hands together like she's about to be given a pot of gold. "Do this then," she says, throwing back her head to look up at Simon; the guy obviously knows her signals by now because he bows his head and gives her a long, sweet kiss that is freaking me out a bit because seriously, that is my sister and I don't need to see this! I'm about to throw something at them to cool them down... probably squirt them with some of the secret salad dressing - Raffaelo's speciality - I always bathe my fries in. Kira saves the sauce by giving Delia a kick under the table, making her jump with an: "Ow!"
"I thought we were here because you're hungry," Kira says, frowning at me as if I was the one putting on that disturbing kissing show. It wasn't me, it was her best friend and the guy who dates her. "Not to play some weird-ass version of Simon Says!"
"It was Deli who said-" Simon starts, but wisely decides to shut up when Kira turns those fiery eyes away from me to glare at him instead.
"Don't glare at my Simon," Deli tells her, playing with Simon's fingers still dangling over her shoulder, and Kira turns those soul-destroying beams of her on my sister instead. I actually liked it when she was glaring at Mr Best Boyfriend Ever. As much as I enjoyed the five seconds she was glaring at Simon, I think I get the message clearly here, and I don't like it.
Kira doesn't want any romance with me.
I've stupidly been fooling myself that things were starting to become real between us just because she didn't try to kill me once when I kissed her today, and she even seemed to like it a little bit. Things might not be going as well as I thought they were. We might not be making any progress at all. There's a huge chance that Kira is really just trying to help me because she's kind and cares about me. Everybody might be wrong. She is not in love with me... and never will be.
I pick up my fork, no longer all that happy about the pile of fries lounging in the pink sauce, waiting for me to eat them. What am I actually trying to do here? Force a girl who clearly doesn't love me in a romantic way to develop romantic feelings for me? That's not cool! Seriously, when have I become so needy? Maybe I should just go pick friggin' cherries in the North. I just don't know North of where exactly.
"Fine," Kira suddenly huffs, hopping with her chair until it is right next to mine. I'm stunned when she leans against my side and puts one of her hands on my chest, giving me the kind of pats I often see her give Lazy-Bones when she thinks he is feeling sulky. Hell, she might think I'm a dog in need of some TLC, but I'll take it.
Before she can change her mind and scoot away again, I drop my knife and fork on my plate and wrap my arms around her, hugging her tightly. This is nice! I don't even care that Delia is giggling and Simon is giving me knowing grins. Yeah, yeah! I'm a happy dork. Whatever!
"This is really uncomfortable," Kira mutters after a long moment, during which she actually nestled into me a bit. I think her chair is starting to slip out from under her, and I don't think she'll be open to sitting on my lap. I might also be starting to enjoy this cuddling business a little bit too much; besides, my fries are getting cold. Cold fries are not awesome.
"Yeah," I agree, my voice sounding slightly hoarse, "and I'm hungry." I carefully let her go, pushing her chair a few inches away to help her get closer to her food. I'm really loving this outing. We're eating, chatting, joking, and now and then, I get to take Kira's hand for a few seconds and hold it tightly, enjoying how soft her skin is against my calluses.
She hasn't threatened to do some kind of kinky mating ritual involving the ketchup bottle and my nose even once. Probably because tonight, I'm not teasing her or trying to drive her up the wall. We're acting like real friends for a change. We've always been close, and we've always been friends, doesn't matter how much Kira denies it. If this last-ditch attempt at finding love together doesn't work out, I believe our friendship will be strong enough to carry on... I hope...
If I cannot have her love, I at least want her friendship.
"So, this weekend," Simon says, putting his soda glass on the table and taking Delia's hand when she puts it on his thigh. "I know the whole history part, but what actually happens during the celebrations?"
Kira makes a soft, strangled sound, and I glance at her to see if she's choking, but she's not; she's staring at her plate as if something there just jumped up and spat in her face. Frowning, feeling concerned about the sudden tension in her features, I watch her take a sip of her juice, and when she realises that I'm looking at her, she tilts her head and gives me a wobbly smile.
What was that about?!
"Well, Friday, there's a big fair with stalls and competitions and games and nonsense," Delia explains. "Saturday, there's a boat race during which people try not to get stranded or wrecked in the cove the way the founding fathers did, and then there's a dance in the evening. On Sunday morning, there's a church service on the beach and loads of food, and just socialising. Monday, we build tiny boats, and that evening, we set sail to our dreams and have a massive fireworks display at night. The end."
That sums it up, but Delia didn't make it sound as awesome as it really is. I love Founders' Day weekend. It is the most fun festival Summerfields has all year.
"You joining the guys and me for the boat race?" I ask Simon, disappointed when he gives a nervous laugh, looking from me to Delia and back as if he's asking for permission or encouragement; I'm not sure which. He probably thinks it will be dangerous, like when we skateboard surfed, towing each other behind our bikes. Burlap snorted and shook his head, told us he had the emergency services ready on speed dial and made himself comfortable in the shade by the side of the sloping road near the waterfall. That day, Simon also gave this nervous laugh and said he'd keep Burlap company.
That wasn't dangerous. Sure, we lost some skin... A scrape here, a bruise there, and Jet somehow burned his shin on my bike's exhaust pipe... not badly, just enough to make him yelp once really loudly. We thought at first it was a yelp of joy... it wasn't.
"Oh, it's a legitimate sailboat, Sy," Delia says, laying her other hand on his forearm. "They just pimp it out to fit whatever weird-ass theme they come up with every year."
"Pirates, Deli, it's called pirates. We're pirates every year... because we like being pirates, and that is our job," I explain, knowing I don't have to because she knows that. She's just messing with me. Jet and Barn are two of the most skilled sailors in Summerfields, and Lurch, Burlap, my dad, and I are their crew. We're in the race to make it a bit more challenging for the "founders" to get into the cove. We don't do anything dangerous since there are kids on some of the participating boats. Delia sees me narrowing my eyes, but she just giggles and shrugs, continuing her explanation.
"It's not as dangerous as it sounds, and there's never a race if the weather is bad. Besides, Barn and Jet are really good at sailing; they'd live on the sea if they could. They're always out on Jet's boat. And the coast guard and emergency services are on standby. There's never been any deaths or serious injuries in all the years they've been doing it."
We live for this yearly race, and we've all been trying hard to ignore the fact that it might be our last since Jet and Lurch are hell-bent on leaving Egret's Rest once we finish school.
"Okay, thanks, Ethe, count me in," Simon finally says, and I am surprised to see his eyes sparkling. He really wants to do this!
"Awesome!" I grin. Our crew issues are sorted! My dad said he's not up to doing it this year. He might not even make it to the festival; he is too swamped with work, which is a huge bummer. I was hoping we would at least get to have some fun together at the festival since we've just been barking and snarling at each other for months now.
"Do you two take part too?" Simon asks the girls, and they shake their heads, laughing.
"No thanks, we're not stupid," Kira scoffs.
"Hey!" I growl at her. She's going to make Sy change his mind! I'm surprised when she leans over and gently pats my arm.
"I leave the weird things to you," she tells me, giving me a sweet smile, and now it is my turn to scoff at her. Is she for real?!
"You really don't, Kicks," I grumble, a little angry again now that I remember the upsetting things she gets up to. "Just last week, you got stuck in a hole and came home all scraped and muddy. I still get nightmares about what could've happened to you."
I really do! The idea of her getting hurt out there in the wilderness doing who knows what really freaks me out. When she gets inspired, following some bug or animal around, she becomes careless. If she fell down some hole, we might never find her again, and she could die all alone with broken bones. The thought makes me feel ill. I think I should start going with her always. I could take her pictures for her, and she wouldn't have to get into weird and dangerous positions to take them.
"It was just my foot that got stuck," she says, frowning at me as if she really doesn't get my concern at all. "It was wet and slippery after the rain, and I had to pull hard to get it unstuck, and that caused me to fall on my butt and... I slid downhill a bit."
"You got stuck in a hole and rolled down a mountain!" I exclaim, glaring at her.
"Just my foot and it was a hill!"
If she doesn't even see the danger she was in I'd be a terrible boyfriend if I don't go with her and make sure she's safe climbing trees and playing in the mountains. Why can't she see that she could get badly hurt? She once came home crying with a sprained wrist and had to wear a supporting cast for weeks!
Just her foot?! It was a hill?! I guess that was also just her wrist and not the one she needed to write with, so it didn't matter!
"You're not going into the hills alone again," I grunt, really upset now. "End of story!"
"Don't make me end your story!" she snaps, and the hand she still has lying gently on my forearm suddenly thinks it belongs to my sister, and she pinches me. That is the second time today! Is this her new favourite activity now? I press my lips together, matching her scowl with my own. I can out-glare her if I have to. I've done it before... but the setting sun is hitting her hair just right, teasing orange and red rainbows in the brown. Her eyes are bright and filled with life, and those cheeky lips of hers are just killing me with their sweetness.
I grab her abusive hand, pulling it to my mouth. "All my stories end with you, Kicks," I smile, kissing the tips of her fingers. I know I'm being corny, but I learned a few things from Simon's stupid poem and how he's been treating Delia throughout dinner.
"Oh! Wow! I just fell in love with my brother!" Delia squeals, her squeal turning into happy laughter when Kira and I turn our heads to glare at her.
♂♀