Kayla's POV
Volleyball Camp for the munchkins was every Tuesday and Thursday so two days later I was back at the beach.
I was not a morning person and was currently attempting to untangle one of the nets, which was not helping my mood.
"Easy there tiger, we're supposed to put the nets up not manhandle them" Paige walked up behind me and I could tell she was trying not to laugh at my current situation.
"I am not in the mood for your sass this morning young lady" I scowled at her as I pulled the last knot apart.
"Well I brought you coffee from Dunkin so I would be nicer to Paige if I were you" she waved the iced coffee in my face. I snatched it out of her hand and took a huge sip. Ahh the beauty of caffeine.
"I always knew I kept you around for some reason. Oh and don't talk about yourself in the third person, it's creepy" I grinned at her, pecked her on the cheek, and finished putting up my net. She knew all of that translated to thank you, and I don't know what I'd do without you.
The day passed pretty uneventfully, until the end of course. The kids still ran around like maniacs, I still failed to remember all of their names, and Billy still tried to hit on girls ten years older than him. He didn't give up easily, and of course in the typical Jones brother fashion, his brother didn't either.
When it was time for all the kids to go home, Blake came sauntering up with his dark sunglasses and his overly gelled hair. He took his "flow" a little too seriously.
"Hey gorgeous what time should I pick you up tomorrow?" he wrapped his arm around my waist as if we weren't perfect strangers. I wiggled out from under his arm.
"Do you even know my name?" I propped my hands on my hips and squared up so I was closer to his height.
"Of course. It's Kayla?" he didn't sound very confident and it came out more like a question.
"Correct and Kayla said no the first time around, and asking her every day is not going to change her mind" I insisted.
Instead of finding his brother and taking him home he snaked his arm around my waist again.
"Listen babe we all know this is going to end with you saying yes, so why don't you make life easier on the both of us and just give in sooner?" he flashed me another toothy grin as if that would change my mind.
Suddenly a tall guy wearing aviators came up on Blake's other side and wrapped his arm around Blake's waist.
"What the hell man? Get your hands off me" Blake shoved him away.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you not like it when strangers put their hands all over you without your consent? Because it looked to me like you were doing that to Kayla so I assumed you were fine if people did that to you" the guy took his aviators off and I sighed in relief when I recognized him.
"Whatever man. I'm out of here. Billy let's go" Blake shouted as he stalked away.
"Where'd you find that idiot?"
"Tyler it's so good to see you!" I jumped into his arms for a hug.
"You too Kay! It's been too long" he smiled down at me, and I realized how much I missed him. Tyler and I became pretty close since he and Paige dated for so long. He was still one of the funniest guys I knew, but he had grown up during the past four years.
"What have you been up to? We need to catch up" I insisted.
"I think that's a great idea. Why don't we go out to lunch, so we can all catch up?" Paige came up behind us and wrapped her arms around our necks.
"Sounds great! I'll go grab Jake and we'll meet you at the Beach Shack in ten. The foursome is back together again" Tyler ran away grinning like a little kid on Christmas. I on the other hand was glaring at my best friend.
"Okay so maybe I didn't think that through completely" Paige backed away slowly with her hands up to protect her face.
"How am I supposed to have lunch with him? We can't even glance at each other without it being awkward. Just because you're all buddy buddy with your ex doesn't mean I am with mine. I am not going" I refused stubbornly.
"You have to go. Tyler is so excited, you can't bail on him. Besides if you bail then Jake will think you're still upset about the break up, even though you are I mean clearly-" Paige rambled before I cut her off.
"I get the point. Fine I'll go, but this better be short, and I am not hurt how many times do I have to tell you that?" I scowled and grabbed my bag before following Paige to her car. Lunch was going to be brutal.
For the record I wasn't still hung up on some silly break up after a high school fling. Jake and I were together for over two years and the way it ended was... well let's just say it was a complete disaster.
"Man it's good to be back. I love Boston, but nothing beats North Carolina's beaches" Tyler looked out at the ocean as we dug into our burgers at the Beach Shack.
"You should've stayed in state like Paige and I, then you'd never have to leave" Jake raised one eyebrow and pointed a French fry at Tyler. He was sitting diagonal from me, as far away as possible.
"No way, Kayla and I are the smart ones here. We get the best of both worlds. City life during the year and beach life on vacations. Right Kay?" Tyler winked at me.
"Definitely. Even after college I think I'll live in the city for a while before I settle down and start a family" I was thinking of finding a loft in Boston or New York right near whatever hospital I decide to work at.
"Speaking of settling down, did you hear my idiot of a brother got married in Vegas over New Years?" Paige rolled her eyes. I hadn't seen Paige's brother, Ryan, in years. After our fiasco of a date back in high school we tended to stick to basic conversations when we were stuck in the same room together. Paige on the other hand thought the story was hilarious and loved retelling it whenever she got the chance.
"Oh boy. How did that work out?" I couldn't help but laugh at the thought.
"They got an annulment a month later. He barely knew the girl, and you know Ryan and his commitment issues" Paige rolled her eyes. Jake let out a snort and tried to stifle a laugh.
"What's so funny?" I asked him.
"Oh nothing. Nothing at all" he was still laughing.
"No seriously, what's so funny?" I knew he wasn't just laughing at the idiocy that is Paige's brother.
"Nothing, I just find it interesting that you and Ryan didn't work out given that you both have similar...views when it comes to relationships" Jake chose his words carefully.
"Did you seriously just compare me to Paige's brother? No offence Paige" I was starting to get ticked off.
"You have to admit there are some similar commitment issues" Jake tried to rationalize his statement.
"I didn't go off to Vegas to marry some stranger. Though I'll concede that I did date some stupid people" I retorted. Two could play this game.
"If you don't think you have commitment issues then you're delusional. And you're right I am stupid for thinking you could change because clearly you're still the same Kayla" Jake took a big sip of his drink and looked at me pointedly.
"Well Mr. Perfect, it's not like that whole disaster that we called a relationship was all my fault. We both know you're mostly to blame here. You and Ryan are more similar than I thought. You're both stupid and neither one of you ever take the blame for anything." I threw back.
"Whatever helps you sleep at night princess" Jake's grin was so fake.
"Don't be so condescending. You know what would help me sleep at night? If I didn't have to see you twice a week" I grinned sweetly.
"Then quit. See if I care" Jake shrugged.
"Alright no one is quitting their job. Clearly it is too soon for this, so Kayla and I are going to go. Nice seeing you again Tyler" Paige grabbed my hand and pulled me out of there.
"I told you that was a bad idea" I pointed out as we drove home.
"Clearly. Tyler and I have a lot of work to do" Paige said vaguely.
"Paige I swear if you meddle I'll drop you on some deserted island" I tried to make her understand how serious I was.
"Kayla when you two decided to have the messiest break up in history it didn't just hurt the two of you. It messed up Tyler and my friendships with you guys too, so you sure as hell better accept the fact that we're going to fix this" Paige had an ominous look in her eye that made it clear what was to come was going to shake everything up like a North Carolina storm.
What does Paige have in store for these two?
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