"Morning sunshine. What's with the scowl?" Paige threw her arm around my shoulder as I shuffled my way across the sand the next morning.
"I didn't sleep at all last night" I yawned an extremely unattractive yawn.
"Where you watching Netflix all night again?" Paige shot me a mom look, which was impressive given her age and lack of children.
"No mother I wasn't watching Netflix" I stuck my tongue out at her, "I'm observing an amazing surgery this week at the hospital and the doctor I'm shadowing this rotation loves asking the interns really difficult questions. I don't want to make a fool of myself so I've been studying like crazy" I yawned again. This was going to be a rough day.
"Studying in the summer? Gross" Paige scrunched her nose up like she smelled something rancid.
"Tell me about it. I just hope today goes by quickly so I can fast forward to tonight when I can sleep" I noticed her smirking and avoiding eye contact.
"Paige what's with the weird look?" I eyed her suspiciously.
"What are you talking about? That's just my face" Paige rolled her eyes and looked about anywhere, but directly at me.
"Paige I know you're not as horrible of a liar as I am, but you're pretty darn close" I knew my best friend, and I knew something was up.
"Nothing is going on. Geez stop being so paranoid. You should really get some more sleep grumpy" Paige tapped my nose before heading toward her court. Maybe I was just sleep deprived.
I was in the middle of setting up my court when I saw him.
I ran to hide behind the nearest group of ball carts.
I slowly watched as his shoes came closer and closer.
"What are you doing here?" I heard Jake's voice.
"Dropping off my little brother. Not that it's any of your business"
"Blake kids get dropped off in the parking lot. There's no reason for you to walk all the way down here" I watched as Jake's shoes took a step toward Blake's shoes.
"I'm just being protective of my brother. You never know what crazy guys might be on this beach" Blake responded coolly.
"We both know that you came down here to harass Kayla again, but obviously I'm the only one who can see it's clearly futile. Just leave her alone" Jake threw back at him.
Now I wasn't hiding like a coward. Okay maybe I was, but it wasn't because I was scared of Blake or a wimp. Trust me yelling at Blake was extremely entertaining, but it took a lot of energy and I didn't have the energy for it today.
"Dude just because you want her doesn't mean you can call dibs. This isn't the 1st grade" Blake wasn't trying to hide his condescension.
"I have a girlfriend bud and Kayla has a boyfriend so stop pretending like you know what you're talking about" Jake took another step forward.
"Please Kayla should be begging for a date with me. She's obviously just clueless and can't see a great offer when it's starting her right in the face" Blake was so cocky it was making my blood boil.
"That's it. Jake thanks for running interference, but I can handle this from here" I stood up and stepped between the two. There was way too much testosterone in such a small space and it was suffocating.
"Hey babe I was just telling lover boy here to go away and leave us alone" Blake sneered at Jake.
"You are this close to getting my fist in your face. I swear-" Jake tried to move around me. Why did this keep happening?
"Would the two of you shush. You seem to be forgetting that I actually get a say in this. Blake I have a boyfriend, but even if I didn't I still wouldn't go out with you as I have told you over and over" I explained slowly because clearly he had selective hearing.
"You're making a big mistake here" Blake's condescending tone and cocky attitude had me at the end of my rope.
"No I'm not making a mistake. Saying no to a guy that is constantly rude and obnoxious is not a mistake. Saying no to a guy that is relentless and borderline stalkerish is not a mistake. Saying no to a guy that clearly has no respect for me is not a mistake. And most of all saying no to a guy that doesn't respect when a woman says no is definitely not a mistake" I was waving my hands around hoping something, anything would find its way into his dense head.
"Fine. Your loss" Blake glared at me before walking away.
"Finally" I let out a huge breath. If I was tired when I got to work this morning then I was exhausted now.
"That was awesome" Jake was grinning at me like an idiot.
"I'm sure I'll come up with a much better comeback in a few hours, but for now at least that was good enough to get rid of him" I yawned again and thought I would trade anything for a nap right now.
"If he comes back after that then he has no pride and no common sense" Jake was still grinning as if I just solved an impossible puzzle. Though sometimes getting rid of overly persistent guys is an impossible puzzle.
"If he comes back I'll beat him up" I sighed in relief when I finally saw him disappear into the parking lot.
"Let me know if that happens. I'd love to watch" Jake's grin widened. He might hate Blake more than I did, which was strange.
"You'll be the first to know. So are we cool?" I asked hesitantly. Ever since that drunk phone call when Jake told me he hates me, I was nervous around him.
"Yeah why wouldn't we be?" Jake was clearly confused.
"Nevermind. Forget I mentioned it" I brushed it off and started camp with the kids.
I was packing up my things a few hours later when something hit me in the back of the head and dropped to the sand at my feet.
A bright red pack of peanut butter m&m's.
I crouched down slowly, picked up the candies, and turned around. My jaw dropped and a scream of pure excitement shot out of my mouth.
"Oh my gosh what are you two doing here?" I shrieked as I ran toward them.
"We flew down a few days early to surprise you" Jeremy braced himself as I barreled into his arms. Angela was standing right beside us hugging Paige. That explained Paige's suspicious behavior earlier. I can't put into words how happy it made me that Paige and Angela were friends. I had to be the luckiest girl in the world to be able to share my best friends with each other.
"This is the best surprise ever! I missed you guys so much" Paige and I switched places so I could hug Ang.
"We missed you too. I waited at the airport for two hours so I could drive here with this idiot so you better feel pretty darn special" Angela stuck her tongue out at Jeremy who just poked her dimples in response. Angela hated her dimples, but I never understood why. I've always wanted dimples.
"Can I eat the m&m's now? I'm starving because someone didn't want to stop for lunch. She has no patience and I'm going to die of starvation because of it" Jeremy was eyeing the peanut butter m&m's in my hand like they were the last bit of food on earth.
"Yes you big baby you can have the m&m's, but you better share. They're my favorite too" I tossed him the bag.
"You're always such a softy when it comes to Jer. Personally I would have let him suffer more" Angela snuck a couple of the m&m's out the pack when Jeremy wasn't looking.
"Oh please you love him as much as I do" I shot her a knowing look.
"Wait a minute did I hear that right? You said you love me. KAYLA RYANS LOVES ME" Jeremy shouted at the top of his lungs as he picked me up in another hug and spun me around. Mid- spin I made eye contact with Jake. Jeremy's shouting must've caught his attention because he was looking right at us, and he definitely didn't look happy.
"Jeremy put me down right now before people think I'm actually friends with your crazy ass" I lightly slapped the back of his head.
"Oh please you love my crazy ass" Jeremy turned around and started dancing as if to prove his point.
"No one wants to see that ever again Jer. Let's go get lunch and catch up. My treat" Angela pulled Paige into another side hug and started toward our cars.
"Come on Kay Jeremy needs food" Jer put his arm around my shoulders.
"Why are you talking about yourself in the third person?" I stared up at his tall form.
"Because I'm weird. I thought you knew that. The better question is why is 'Jake the ex who broke your heart who we're not supposed to talk about' glaring at me?" Jeremy nonchalantly nodded to the right.
"I have no idea. If you want to try and understand the current Kayla Jake situation then you have a lot of catching up to do"
Jeremy and Angela are back!! Gotta love them!
What's Jake's problem?
Don't forget to vote and comment!