When a Greek god tells you to do something, you ask "Anything else?"...
Flamboyant Flame
"So, you say you're a professional athlete?"
I rolled my eyes as Trita continued to flirt with the young man sitting beside her on the mahogany bench.
We were seated on the Deck restaurant's patio and the sun was starting to wane. We'd spent the entire day working on our tans, swimming like fish and flirting up a storm. Not that it helped much. I still didn't have a date, and it seemed Trita was about to score hers. I sighed and cupped my chin in my hand.
If only I wasn't so picky, maybe then I'd have a solid headstart.
I watched as Sonya mimicked my pose and rested her elbows on the table. We smiled knowingly at each other. Hopefully this guy would agree to a date. It didn't matter if I lost, so long as I could go back to Sonya's vacation home and take a long, hot shower. My bikini bottom was full of sand and it was starting to get really uncomfortable.
Trita's forced giggle erupted next to my ear and I cringed away from the loud noise. "Oh! Stop! I bet you use that line a lot!"
She had no idea how right she was. Just then, out of nowhere, a large glass of sparkling soda was poured over the young man's dark head. He shot up with fury, but his angry expression swifty changed to pure guilt as he shifted his gaze to a pretty dark-haired girl. I lifted an eyebrow and pursed my lips.
This was not going to end well...
"You jerk!"
"Mellissa-"
The young girl shouted at the ashamed boy and slapped him square across the face. All of the people on the high-level patio turned their heads and stared. Trita shot up from her seat and pointed an accusing finger at the interruption. "Wait, that's your girlfriend?"
"I can explain-" He stammered an excuse, but Trita wasn't even listening. She picked up her glass of water and threw it right in the boy's face, making him yelp and run after his girlfriend. She too refused to give him any chance to explain.
He continued to scream her name, hoping that by some miracle she'd actually turn around. She was already far ahead and storming down the steps leading to the beach, her ponytail bopping up and down like it too was full of fury.
I wiped the drops of water that had splattered onto me from my arm and stood up, signalling to the waitress for the bill. Trita just stood there, her nostrils flaring, while Sonya tried to calm her down.
I swallowed hard as I noticed all the staring eyes. How wonderful...
The waitress quickly snapped out of her trance from watching the little scene and scurried behind the counter. I sighed and picked up my beach bag from the wooden floorboards. The towel was a little wet from the escaping water droplets, but at the moment that was the least of my worries. Sonya turned to pick up her bag and I walked up to the waitress, meeting her half way to our table.
I checked the amount and quickly passed her a few notes, probably paying far too much than necessary. I just wanted to get away from the prying eyes.
"You can pay me back when we get home..." I said quietly when my friends leaned in to protest. I urged Trita to the steps. Sonya led us down the long, bamboo stairway and I glanced back up. A familiar seagull was perched on the railing of the patio, its eyes an odd shade of red. It's probably just the reflecting light of the sunset?
I narrowed my eyes, and as if mimicking my action, it too focused its strange, beady eyes at me. I quickly broke the gaze as a shiver ran up my arms. What was I doing having a staring contest with a seagull? In anyway, the feeling of anxiousness remained.
I put my hand against Trita's back, but a voice interrupted my own; "Oh. My. Soul! Are you okay?"
My eyes turned to the concerned voice. It was a young girl, our age- about eighteen or nineteen. She wore a long, pink sarong and white sandals. Her ginger hair fell neatly to her shoulders and her bright brown eyes looked worriedly at Trita's cross face.
I smiled, but was unsure of how to act. Who was she, anyway? Trita, however, never held back when it came to people. Especially strangers. She always said; 'I'd much rather be reckless in front of people I don't know, because friends have the power to say 'I told you so' everyday'.
"I'm fine. I just wish I had a chance to wring that guy's neck!" Trita was never at a loss for words.
I admired her fierceness. Sometimes, when she was all worked up, she reminded me of an angry peacock. She'd prance around and knock people off their feet, all while grooming her ruffled feathers.
The ginger extended a hand. Trita took a moment too comprehend the gesture, but as soon as she did, she took her own tanned hand and clamped it around the freckled one. Sonya and I followed.
"Celine." The ginger said and Trita pointed across the small line; "Aurora, Sonya and I'm Trita."
"Nice to meet you!" I could already tell I was going to like this girl. She was sweet, but not in the annoying way. She had kind eyes and a warm smile.
"Listen, I'm sorry about Phillip. He and Mellissa, my best friend, have been dating a while, but there have been rumours going around that he's a cheat. Of course, Mel always denied them..."
"Hmp...Well, whoever made her change her mind to reconsider them certainly deserves a medal." Trita said whilst examining her nails. Sonya and I could tell she was more than just upset.
With Trita, things were always different than they actually appeared. Many people would think that her sour expression was due to not getting a date after the deal we made yesterday or because she actually liked the guy, but no...
Trita has had bad experiences with guys. One of which was when she dated the gentle and sensitive Louis Jameson. Turns out he was that gentle and sensitive all around. He'd been cheating on her with the neighbourhood tramp. The day she found out about his infidelity, she ripped his AC/DC necklace from his neck and threw it across the mini-golf field. At first he had no idea what was the matter and thought she'd gone crazy, but after she slapped him with her ring clad hand, the message was undeniably clear.
Ever since she was young, Trita's been mistrustful of guys and she refused to sink into a long-term relationship. Not too mention her parent's ugly divorce really screwed with her idea of happily ever after.
Sonya couldn't understand why of course. She believed that you learn from your mistakes and everyone deserves a second chance. Though, her view was a tad hopeful. Sonya's never really had a serious relationship, just crushes. She sternly believed in a fairy-tale love. Something Trita's pessimistic nature marks as ignorant.
My opinion on the subject, frankly, didn't matter. I'd never been much of a flirt or a relationship-kind of girl. Don't get me wrong. I found no use for flirting, but that didn't mean I wasn't extremely good at it. Even though I was picky when it came to guys, it didn't however mean that I didn't believe in true love. I was... in between views.
"Actually, it was the weirdest thing..." I shifted my attention back to Celine and noticed that her bright eyes had taken on a flicker of reminiscence.
She was thinking of something that clearly flustered her. I rested my hands on my hips and peeked a glance at Trita to see if she was calmer now. We don't want her to kick the next guy who walks past in the ass.
"We were just standing there, you know, chilling on the beach," I noticed Celine's typical bubbly sounding voice. You could clearly tell she was a regular beach goer. She was oddly tanned for a ginger.
"And then this-" She waved her hands around, her eyes moving from face to face, trying to think of the right word to use, "-guy came up to us and just flat out told Melissa that she should check on her boyfriend. It was the weirdest thing! I mean, totally random, right?"
Sonya nodded her head and I smiled thinly. The way she said guy made me regret asking the following question. Frankly, I'm not even sure why I asked the question; "What did he look like?"
Celine's doe eyes turned to me and a bright smile lit up her entire face. I wasn't really expecting that kikd of reaction. The way she sounded when she mentioned him just seemed like she was upset, and yet...
"Oh! At first, I was like totally freaked out. I mean, the dude had like two eyebrow piercings and like midnight, black hair. He looked older and kind of scary, but then I noticed how hot he was! Wow! Ridiculously smoking."
I smiled at the girl's use of words and tried to pry my hands from my hips. Suddenly, they wouldn't let go. It was like they were frozen. I felt numb as I retracted my hands and rested them behind my back to stop them from fidgeting. I frowned and looked down to the white sand.
Trita scoffed, but smiled. It's a good thing she was smiling, that meant Sonya and I wouldn't have to do that much damage control back at the house.
"Really? And you don't know him?" Sonya asked; her tone curious. She just loved mysteries and gossip. Two of her favourite things.
She was a complete Sherlock fan when she was younger. He was her first crush and I honestly couldn't even remember all the times Sonya had dragged Trita and I to those detective conventions held every year.
I enjoyed the thrill of it all, although Trita hated it. She said all the guys that attended were nerds in coats and paedophiles with pipes. I had to agree after a middle-aged man wouldn't let up asking for my number last year. So this year I planned on dressing up like Watson with a really big moustache. Sonya laughed and said that would never help to hide my 'sexiness' and then I smacked her arm for using that ridiculous word.
"None of us have ever met him before, and believe me; I would've remembered him. Gosh! You just don't forget a face like that!"
"Ooh, now I'm listening..." We laughed as Trita flipped her bangs from her eyes and wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. Seriously, could anything bring her down?
I knew she was still hurt and angry, but I suppose we'd discuss that later. First, we needed to distract her and remind her that there were good guys out there, even if they might be wearing multiple piercings.
Celine's eyes sparked up in an instant. She perked up her head, but then quickly lowered it. All of us leaned forward as she whispered something in a very excited tone, "Don't look now, but..."
Before she could continue, Trita had already swung her head around. Celine just giggled nervously and averted her eyes from the figure behind me. I felt the urge to slap my face. Typical Trita... She was so impatient.
Sonya gave me a 'what now?' look and I whispered to the bold brunette next to me; "So subtle!"
Celine continued to giggle. I turned my head slightly to get a better view of Trita's face.
She was speechless...
Her mouth hung agape and her eyes bulged from their sockets. I was pretty sure I could spot some drool too. I felt an overwhelming urge to glance behind me, because if this guy's looks could make my cocky best friend go numb, then honestly I was afraid of what he'd be able to do to me. Trita had never been one to drool over a guy (maybe in front of them to fake interest) but never like this.
She was openly ogling him and not like the guy we met yesterday on the beach. The blonde surfer sparked her attention- well, his chest did- but this was on a whole new level. She was practically debating whether or not she should run to him.
We knew it had to have been the stranger Celine had spoken about a minute ago, because we could clearly see the familiar fascination that lingered in her eyes from the moment she mentioned him. She too was staring, but with more grace than Trita.
I suppose the initial shock of his appearance had hit her the first time and now it as just after-shock. Although, I can't even begin to imagine Celine's initial reaction to the young man if her familiar reaction is so completely besotted.
I shifted my head to my only hope; Sonya, but was utterly shocked to find her eyes glued to something in the near distance behind me. Her lips were parted and her sunglasses were sliding down the bridge of her nose. She didn't bother to push them back into place, because all she cared about was the 'smoking' hot guy behind me.
I cringed. Was he staring as well? Did he notice us watching him?
Oh, heavens... What imbecile wouldn't notice these subtle idiots staring?
Could he really be that sinfully mouth-watering that even my nun-of-a-friend would turn and openly gawk?
I felt the muscles in my head turn to the direction of the figure, as if they were moving on their own. My eyes turned to his and it felt like they were following a silent command.
I had no control as I turned my entire body to him and stared straight onto the face of- holy fuck.
"I'm staring at a Greek god..." I said the words before I could close my dangling jaw. A crooked grin erupted from the devil himself and I felt my knees grow weak.
His smirk was directed towards us, I just knew it. I could feel it. Did he hear me?
We're such a distance away.
Was he...human?
The thought popped into my head before I could reason with where it had came from and I found myself mulling it over more than I should have.
Those natural toned and plump lips were pulled up with amusement, his deeply tanned skin was a sin all on its own and his dark hair was luminescent in the sunlight. I examined his black shirt that hugged so tightly to his broad, muscled chest. I wanted to see more of that flawless skin; my hand ached to touch it. To lick it-
Whoa there!
I shook my head from side to side, but my eyes wouldn't -couldn't -leave his. I was glued.
Glued to him forever. I could think of worse fates. I licked my lips as my eyes travelled down his body and back up. He wore dark jeans that accentuated his tall frame. Oddly enough, he was wearing black combat boots. The beach seemed like an odd place for shoes like that, but I couldn't help but try and picture him with them, and other unmentionables, off.
Though, what frustrated me most of all, was the fact that his eyes were covered by a pair of black sunglasses. They were completely closed off from the world, creating a lustful air of mystery.
I tried to imagine every possible eye shape that would fit him and every possible eye colour, but my thoughts trailed from their path as they blissfully skipped back to his smirking lips. I felt my mouth go dry from keeping it partly open for so long. My entire body was covered in goosebumps; I couldn't decide if it was from the sudden cold breeze or from him.
His hair was the blackest of black and his chin and strong jaw was covered with thin stubble. His hair was thick and it looked so soft. On his left eyebrow he bore the two piercings. I never thought I'd find a man wearing piercings so damn attractive, but the sad truth was that I don't think I'd ever find anything as good-looking as what was staring me right in the face.
Even though he was dressed more casually, his leather jacket did add some roughness and it looked absolutely delicious. He looked like he'd just stepped out of the spa. In fact, he looked like Adonis. He was beauty personified.
And I wanted it all.
The devil dropped his smirk and pushed his lips into a subtle line. He could easily be one of the seven deadly sins. I couldn't quite decide which one just yet, because there were too many feelings banging and crashing around in my chest for me to choose. Either he was envy, for making me jealous as my two best friends openly gaped at him, or he was lust. I hoped for the latter.
I immediately closed my mouth as a group of chattering young girls walked down the wooden stairway. The five girls were a bit younger than us, but dressed far skimpier. The bleach blonde in front stopped in her tracks, making the black hair and the brunette bump into her. She gaped with her mouth open and tried to sublty point a manicured finger at the devil.
I felt like snapping it.
The rest of the girls followed her finger and stopped muttering; their faces drawn up in desire. I felt my cheeks heat up as I realized that not more than a few seconds ago I'd looked that desperate for his touch. I averted my eyes and pushed back the envy that spawned inside my veins.
Without thinking, I shifted my eyes back to his face.
He was frowning; his body turned in my direction. I felt my own lips turn upside down as if they were synced with his. I couldn't help but wonder why he was angry. Then, his head snapped away from the group of giggling girls and I realized that he was in fact not mad, but annoyed.
Another rush of blood flooded my cheeks. Was he irritated by us staring as well? How could he be? Surely he must be used to this? He's gorgeous! I mean, how many modelling contracts does he get offered per year? Probably a hundred...
No wonder Melissa didn't ask any questions about the man's credibility. When a Greek god tells you to do something, you ask "Anything else?"
I ripped my eyes down as he directed his back in my direction. I just couldn't. I couldn't handle it. I felt flushed and... unlike myself.
"Guys, we need to go." I grabbed Sonya and Trita's hands; their palms were wet. I turned my back on the man and for the first time, I felt an overwhelming urge to run. To get as far away from this beach, that man, as possible. I had to go. We had to leave. There was danger here.
"Celine." My voice was panicked. The girl didn't seem to notice, her eyes were glued to the black-clad figure.
I could feel that smirk engulf me like a shadow. What really just made me lose it at that point were the eyes I saw at the corner of my view.
Red like blood...
The seagull; it was staring. Like a hungry wolf.
"Celine!" I gripped the girl's arm, making her shake a bit and snap her brown eyes back to me. She was momentarily surprised and then a blush clouded her cheeks.
I spoke with a silent urgency, I didn't want to alarm her, but something was terribly wrong. "Sorry, but um... I just remembered that we need to be back at the house before six," This was a lie. "So can we walk you back to your place?" I felt guilty for leaving this delicate defenceless girl here, alone- with him.
I could feel the smirk evaporate off my back and into the purple and pink sky. The sun was setting faster than I'd hoped. We had to hurry. I just knew we had to hurry. Darkness brought a certain form of obscurity.
I trusted my gut more than most people; and currently it was screaming at me to move.
I gladly obliged.
"Um...Yeah, that would be great. It's a bit chilly now? It'll probably rain tonight." I glanced up. She was right; the puffy clouds were moving in quickly, ready to soak the earth. I forced a smile and inclined my head forward. "Lead the way."
Celine gave one last hopeful look at the figure behind me and started to walk down to the beach. I quickly towed the other two along, but not without hearing a few cusses.
"What the- Hey! I was imagining him naked!"
I sighed and rolled my eyes at the candid brunette. "The problem exactly..."
Trita gave up struggling and clasped her arm around mine. She looked back every few seconds, to see if the devil was still watching us leave. I knew he was.
Sonya had directed her eyes onto the sandy ground; her cheeks were flushed with embarrassment. I could only imagine what she was thinking. I preferred not too. My thoughts weren't exactly a saint's either.
Trita pulled her head around again, but to her utter dismay, the man was gone. I knew, because the cold air had disappeared, like a heavy burden from my shoulders. I sighed with relief.
"Damn! That was the most precious, sexy gift anyone could give the female race! And you," I felt her finger poke my upper arm, "-pulled me away from it! I could've tried something."
"Like what? You don't just go up and talk to a guy like that." Sonya spoke up, her green eyes flashed with envy. I couldn't understand how they felt absolutely no terror. Yes, there was lust and want, but there was also dread and fear when I looked at that man.
He wasn't some high school boy with a misunderstood delinquent streak. This was a real danger.
"Why not? I mean sure, you'll probably crap your pants as soon as you get close, but I remember how Melissa thanked him. She was weak in the knees when he left and she had to sit down for a while, but she pulled it off." Celine spoke with a certain airy tone, a sickening, love-sick smile plastered onto her face.
I cringed, imagining being face-to-face with him.
Trita grinned; "All guys are easy; you just need to know how to push their buttons."
I interrupted Trita's lecture on the male species. "Let's talk about something else."
"Fine. Where are we going? I thought we were on our way home?" Trita tossed her head around, looking for something familiar to point out where we were, and perhaps to spot some sign of the yummy specimen.
"We're dropping Celine off at home." I said as I examined the clouds.
"My house is right there; over the next hill. The house we're renting is by the beach cove; excellent for catching a good wave rushing in."
"You guys are surfers?" Sonya asked Celine with a broadening smile. She always wanted to learn how to surf.
Celine's eyes lit up; "Yeah! Do you surf?"
Sonya laughed; "No! But I'd love to learn."
"No prob! My bro can take you out tomorrow if you'd like? Or whenever you want. How long are you guys here for?"
I smiled, pleased that we were off the topic concerning him. I felt more at ease as we walked down the dim-lit beach. The white sand had a beautiful glow at dusk and the sun was busy being sucked up by the horizon. It slowly moved to its end, taking all the light and leaving us with darkness and night.
I felt a small flame of unease as I watched the glowing red ball disappear.
It would be dark soon. We had to hurry.
I quickened the pace.
"Yeah, and then there was the time we were swimming close to a shark! That's a story and a half!"
"No way! Seriously?" Sonya asked, her face scrounged up into concern, Trita, however, looked impressed. "Wicked! Did it try to bite any of you?"
We laughed as Celine started to explain how they managed to distract it with fishing bait, but her story was interrupted by a loud male voice from up ahead. "Cel?"
We looked up to find a young man jogging towards us. His tanned frame was muscled, but more lean than ripped. I smiled politely and guessed that this was Celine's brother. Their eyes looked so similar. The same warm, comforting brown.
"Oh! Hey..." The young man suddenly noticed us and I saw a faint glow of recognition flicker in his eyes. His smile broadened, but his cheeks flushed a bit. I tried to keep the smile on my impatient face.
"Well, look who it is..." I was startled by Trita's amused tone.
I hadn't considered that she would know him. I tried to pin-point his face to a name or a place, but nothing sprang to mind. I watched in confusion as Sonya blushed.
Celine exchanged a few glances between us and spoke up; "You guys know each other?"
"Actually," Trita began to speak before the young man had a chance, "We sort off 'met' yesterday on the beach, but I believe your blond friend was the only one in the mood for a chat."
I paused. Ah, yes! That's where I know him from!
He was part of the four surfer boys watching Sonya and I wrestle. I smiled, my amusement very evident. As I recall, he was one of the three boys who'd stood to the side, while their one friend tried to get lucky. He'd stood next to the cute, dark-haired one and had shot flirty glances at Sonya. I nudged her with my elbow and he quickly blushed. Sonya pretended not to notice.
"Uh..." The boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head and tried to formulate a sentence, "Yeah, Chris is a bit...um...out there. Sorry about that."
"Nah, no worries. Flirting never hurt anyone." Trita smiled like a cat.
I coughed awkwardly and realized Trita was trying to make him uncomfortable. I played along. His blush doubled in colour and his hands started to fidget with his blue, swimming trunk's string. Sonya begged with her eyes for us to stop.
"Oh!" Celine suddenly jolted up, "How totally rude of me... This is my bro, Theodor." She pointed a delicate finger at the blushing boy, "Bro, this is Sonya, Trita and Aurora. Funky names, eh?"
Theodor immediately relaxed as Sonya gave him a large toothy grin. I glanced sideways to the end of the horizon. The sun was gone.
"Listen, you guys wanna stay? We have marshmallows and a cosy fire!" Celine asked, clearly seeing the attraction between her brother and Sonya. They were smiling at each other like no one else was there. The look on Sonya's face was genuine young, child-like excitement- not womanly lust that was clearly evident on her face a few minutes before and directed to someone, or something, that I still felt wasn't completely gone.
I sensed Trita pull a face at the soppiness of it all. I thought it was rather endearing.
But they'd have to wait for tomorrow.
The sun was long gone. The moon was showing its face sooner than I'd hoped and the clouds were bubbling like a furnace of smoke. The grey and purple signs of a storm were inevitable.
The danger hadn't passed. It was still very present. Hiding, watching...
A chill ran up my spine and around to my temples as a trembling shot of thunder rang out from the dark blue horizon. Twilight was passing quickly and we were far from safety. Perhaps we should stay? Maybe it was just safer to stay here?
No. Then we'd have to walk back home in the middle of the night.
"Thank you-"
"But we can't stay." I interrupted Sonya's eager reply.
I felt a twinge of guilt for letting her down, but I'd rather let her see another day than some guy's eyes up close. I was shocked as I heard Trita agree with me, "Yeah, sorry, but we really should be getting home. It's already dark and her parents are waiting for us. Thanks though, we'll definitely see you guys tomorrow."
Trita winked at the siblings and I flicked my hair over my shoulder and turned side-ways, indicating that we really were on our way.
Sonya's face fell with disappointment; I pursed my lips, hoping she won't give away Trita's lie. Instead, she softly smiled at the two pairs of brown eyes and said; "Yeah, they're right. I would've loved to stay," Theodor's eyes lit up, "But it's getting dark and I told them we'd be back soon."
"That's cool!" Celine smiled warmly, "Just let me know about the surfing lesson."
"Surfing lesson?" Theodor asked, his eyes flickering with a new found courage, "I'd be happy to teach you. Just say the time and place."
I wanted to chuckle as he smiled broadly at the platinum blonde a few feet away from me. She stood still; shocked. Trita checked her waterproof watch.
I'm not sure if it was the guilty feeling in the pit of my stomach or the urge to play matchmaker that made me grab Sonya's cell phone from the side of her tote beach bag. "What's your number?" Theodor gave me a startled expression, but quickly realized it wasn't for me, but for Sonya.
I swiftly typed in his number as the first drops of rain started to fall. I wiped the screen clean with my thumb as a small drop fell on the centre. I returned the cell to Sonya's clammy hands. She smiled, but I knew she was glaring at me on the inside for being so direct.
I sweetly smiled and we greeted them one last time.
Our feet pounded against the now damp sand as we raced back to Sonya's house; the rain was heavy and cold. The wind had picked up quickly and blew the palm trees like paper. I repeatedly wiped the fresh drops from my eyes as we rushed up the steep sandy hill towards the cul-de-sac. The lamp-poles were dimly lit and the pavements were splattered with water. A constant sound of rushing drops echoed from every side and the grumbling thunder continued to below from far beyond the clouds.
A stroke of lightning hit the horizon, like a flaming, silver blade. I wiped away a stray strand of hair from my wet cheek and we started to slow our pace as we neared the house. The smell of fresh rain filled my nose and I smiled. It truly was the best smell on earth.
We stopped as we reached the white canopy outside the large house. We were soaking wet. The water dripped from our clothes and onto the dry cement as I shook out my hair. The cold breeze was less, but still very much present. Sonya clutched onto her arms and hugged herself, "Horrible idea..."
Her teeth clattered against each other. I wrung out my hoodie that I'd slipped on; "Well, I wasn't going to hide out somewhere and hope this storm blows over soon. Your parents are probably worried sick already anyway."
Trita carefully wiped her sunglasses clean with the end of her red top and spoke with an excited tone; "Besides, if we'd waited, we'd be late."
"Late?" I asked, my eyebrow lifting up in question.
"Late for what, Rita?" Sonya asked; her tone exasperated. She was tired, that was clear, but she was also freezing. Her knees were rattling like a skeleton's.
I did wonder why Trita was so eager to meet up with the young man and his crew tomorrow and not tonight. It seemed unlikely for her to worry about Sonya's parent's approval.
Very unlikely.
"Late for our sleepover."
Oh no.
I paused what I was doing, the towel froze in my hand as I stopped rubbing through my wet hair. Sonya's teeth stopped clattering and she spoke up quickly, her voice stern; "No! No, Trita! We are not going to the mansion toni-"
"Before you two try and wiggle yourselves out of this, just remember- you agreed to tonight. A full moon."
"Are you mad?" Sonya yelled, she was exhausted, "Look at the size of that storm! It's not safe."
Trita scoffed; "It's never been safe to go sleep there, no matter how many crap excuses you can think of it won't work."
What if the 'excuse' was that death was imminent?
I froze stiff. Frantically, I looked around. My neck wrung from side to side as I searched for the source of that thought. That was definitely not my thought!
What the hell?
"Aurora?" Sonya asked. They werr looking at me with confused expressions. I quickly realized that I'd momentarily looked like a mad-woman. I forced a smile and tried to reason with my excitable friend; "Trita, I don't think-"
"Enough! This is our last summer together before we go to university. We might not get another one. We are going."
And with those last words she rushed into the house, her brown hair curled at the bottom from the rain.
Sonya sighed with a her defeated tone; "She's right."
She picked up her beach bag and headed inside to get ready. I stayed behind a few more minutes; just watching the rain fall from the dark sky and splatter onto the cold floor. My mind raced with anxiety, fear and excitement.
The haunted house was always something to look forward to, but somehow, someway, I knew that if we did go, which we probably would, it definitely would be our last summer.
Ever.