Chapter 4
Nico pulled Aunt Jodi's car up to the beach parking lot. Liam had given us directions on whereabouts to meet, and low and behold, he was waiting for us, leaning against his blue Jeep on the other end of the lot. Nico pulled Aunt Jodi's convertible into the spot next to Liam's and hopped out of the car. I followed suit, walking around to the other side of the car where the boys were standing. Liam was wearing a white tank top that hung off of his chest and fell down low on his back and under the arms, along with gray board shorts and brown flip flops. His blond hair was tousled, and I couldn't wait to again see his hair after a swim.
"Sweet ride Ella," Liam said, giving the car a good, long look over.
"Yeah, well, I'm surprised Aunt Jodi let Nico drive it," I said.
"Hey," Nico groaned, frowning. "I'm a good driver."
I patted him on the back. "You keep on thinking that."
"Listen guys – I've got a surprise for you," Liam interjected as he walked towards the back of the Jeep, gesturing for us to follow. He opened the trunk to reveal three surfboards.
"No way. I am not surfing," I protested, shaking my head.
Liam looked crushed.
"How come?" he questioned.
"Do you know how many surfers get their limbs bitten off by sharks?" I exclaimed.
Liam chuckled lightly to himself. It was a light, airy laughter, yet manly at the same time.
"There aren't sharks in the bay Ella. Mostly, people get attacked by Great Whites, and it's rare to see Great Whites in the bay," he explained.
"Rare, but still possible. And I've pretty much been unlucky my entire life. So I'm sorry, but I think I'll have to pass on this endeavor. You two go have fun."
"Suit yourself," Nico shrugged.
"Are you sure?" Liam asked, looking concerned.
"Positive," I said.
"Don't get too much sun," Nico warned, his doctorly instincts kicking in.
"Yes Doctor," I said. "There's a reason I brought an umbrella."
"Okay, good," Liam said, winking.
"You don't have to worry about me," I said before grabbing the beach bag and umbrella from the back of the car.
I set my little area up close to the beach. I lay my pink beach towel under the navy and white striped umbrella. The hazy sun was floating in the sky, mocking me with its tempting rays. From where I was sitting, I could see Nico and Liam in the waves.
I reached into my bag and unearthed my orange and red notebook. I opened it to the first page. On it was an old list, one for what songs I needed to get on my iPod. The newest list was near the middle of the book. The notebook's pages forcefully opened to that page, where I had taped in my wrinkled bucket list. I thought that maybe I needed to change a few things. What was I thinking putting 'jump off a pier' at the top of my list, when the truth was, I was scared shitless of the ocean?
I groaned and rolled onto my back. Maybe a nice nap would do me some good. I sprawled out on top of my gushy towel and let the sounds of children playing and waves splashing lull me to sleep.
***
"Ella, wake up!" a voice drawled. A delicious smell filled my nostrils, sending my taste buds out of control. When I opened my eyes, Nico was there, dangling a piece of what looked and smelled like fish and chips in front of my face. I felt my hands tied up behind my back so I snapped my teeth at it, but Nico pulled it away.
"Ah ah ah, you gotta let me feed you," Nico said, grinning.
"I hate you," I stated before opening my mouth to let him feed me. The smell was just too irresistible.
"Yo Liam! Come check this out its hilarious!" Nico called over his shoulder.
Liam was walking up the beach, cradling his surfboard under his arm.
"Aw Ella, I'm sorry. I swear, I can't let this guy outta my sight!" Liam said. After putting his surfboard down, he grabbed a napkin and wiped up the piece of fish that was hanging on the edge of my mouth. I blushed, embarrassed that I was being fed like a baby. Liam reached around my back and untied my hands. The first think I did when I was free was punch Nico in the gut.
"Shit Ella! I'm sorry!" Nico said.
"That'll teach you," I said, reaching for my piece of the fish and chips. Liam chuckled.
"Hey, what time is it?" I asked the boys while looking towards the ocean. The sun had started to set a bit and it was resting just on top of the horizon.
"It's 6:37," Liam said. "But it probably won't get dark 'til around 10:00."
"It's so strange thinking its December and here I am in shorts when I'd be freezing in Vancouver," I said. "Not to mention it'd be pitch black already."
Nico nodded in agreement while wolfing down a piece of fish and chips. I broke a piece off of mine, eating it piece by piece.
"Elle, you eat funny," Nico laughed, noticing my slightly peculiar eating habit. I had a habit of breaking bite-sized pieces off with my fingers rather than taking a bite of the food. I broke off another morsel and popped it in my mouth.
"It's not that weird, is it?" I asked, looking back and forth between Liam and Nico.
"No," Nico said, but I could see the smile he was hiding.
"Guys, I'm just gonna take a quick walk. My legs are asleep and I wanna look around."
"I'll come with you," Nico and Liam both said at the same time.
"No, offense, but I kind of want to go alone, if that's okay," I told them.
"Are you sure?" Liam questioned.
"Yeah, I'll only be a few minutes."
I got up and made my way quickly in the direction of the pier. I figured that I could get to it, jump off and then walk back all in a matter of about ten minutes. I glanced over my shoulder to see that Liam and Nico were engrossed in their own discussion and not paying attention to where I was going. Perfect.
When I was on the pier, I looked back to the spot to see that Nico was nowhere in sight, but Liam was sitting peacefully on the towel, his head turned in my direction. If I wanted to do this without help, I'd have to jump before Liam saw me getting ready and had time to come and stop me. Quickly I took off my t-shirt and shorts, leaving me standing in my bikini – I figured the t-shirt could cause too much drag.
I grabbed hold of the wooden railing and stepped over it. I stared down at the waves crashing below me. It didn't look that scary – the water was relatively clear and I could see little fish swimming about. The tide was in, so I knew that the water would be deep enough for me to jump into without hurting myself. I just had to avoid the metal bell buoy floating about 10 meters in front of the pier and I'd be fine.
I glanced over my shoulder quickly to see that Liam had gotten up from our spot and was running towards me. He looked to be yelling something, but I wasn't going to stop. I looked once again at the water, closed my eyes and jumped off before Liam was on the pier.
The cool water surrounded me as I fell deeper into the water. I felt myself emerging to the surface, but when I swam towards it, it wasn't there. I opened my eyes, the salt water burning as I tried to get my bearings. Instead of swimming up, I was swimming down. I turned myself around quickly to face the surface and noticed that I was trapped underneath the buoy. Just before I inhaled a deep breath of water, I was up and on top of the buoy. I blinked a few times and noticed that Liam was swimming beside me.
"Ella, what the fuck were you thinking?" he screamed.
"It looked like fun," I said feebly through ragged breaths.
"You should know you're not supposed to jump near a buoy – there's a good chance you can hit it or the waves can suck you under it."
"How was I supposed to know that?" I yelled. I pushed myself off the buoy and started swimming towards the beach.
A few moments later, I felt arms wrapped around my waist and pulling me into a strong chest. I turned my head to see Liam dragging me back to the beach. I tried to wriggle out of his grip, but it was no use.
We emerged on the beach in a daze, splashing out of the water. Liam was panting slightly, and before I could walk anymore I just lay down in the sand. Liam had helped me, and that was the last thing I wanted – help.
I saw Liam lay down beside me and turn his head to face me. The sun shone in his eyes and he squinted, drawing his hand to his face to shield his eyes from the sun.
"Are you mad at me?" Liam asked.
"Yes," I said bluntly.
"Well, I kind of saved you, so you should be grateful," he said. "You shouldn't be jumping there. If you wanted to jump, why didn't you get me to come with you someplace safer?"
"Because I wanted to do it alone," I explained.
Liam just nodded, then looked towards the sky. I thought about what he had said and what I had done, and I started crying.
Before I knew it I was wrapped up in Liam's arms, feeling his breathing on the top of my head.
"It's okay," he said. Then, he leaned over my head and kissed the top of it. I turned in his arms swiftly and looked into his eyes. Without warning, Liam's lips came crashing down on mine and he kissed me. His lips were smooth, and they melded against mine in an unexplainable way.
When I pulled away, I just sat there staring at him. Maybe I didn't need to face the bucket list alone. Maybe, just maybe, it would be better to tell someone and face it with them.
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