Around noon, Vic and I piled into my Volkswagen Bug and drove to Laguna Beach. Even for August, it was muggy and gross, but then this was Florida. I turned off Back Beach and onto Malaga, the closest road to our little hide-away. The little parking lot was in need of repairs, the entrance had a giant gap between the pavement slabs, which was filled with sand, not good for cars to get stuck in. Someone obviously got tired of it though, because there's a bit of cement haphazardly filling a small bit of the gap, but only big enough for a smart car to drive on comfortably.
As soon as the car was in park, Vic opened the door and jumped onto the pavement. It took him a minute to realize the ground was a little too hot for his feet, and being that he's an over-excited nine year-old, he forgot his shoes back at my apartment. I didn't even bother to suppress a giggle behind my hand as he began to jump from one foot to the other, scowling at me.
"Don't give me that look, you could just run down to the water." I shoot him a smirk and watch as he cautiously tip toes down the concrete ramp to the sand. Last time I brought him down here, he learned the hard way that stickers hid in the sugar-white sand.
I grabbed my towel and shut the car door behind me as I walked down the ramp, a bit more civilized than my brother, but just as eager to get to the sand. Once the ramp ended, my flip flops were discarded by the cement wall that held the sea oats at bay. My eyes scanned the white and blue landscape, searching for a dark haired little boy in purple swim trunks. I saw him standing in front of the shore, letting the waves lap at his ankles and his arms spread out, welcoming the fresh sea air. I made my way towards him, stopping to deposit my towel and cover up on the sand.
"It's beautiful out today, huh?"
His head turns back to look at me, his green eyes sparkling in the sunlight, and his little mouth pulled back in a toothy grin. My little brother look almost exactly like our mom. The only trait of his father's is his slightly crooked nose; but the eyes, thin lips, dark hair, and pale skin are all our mom. He closes his emerald eyes and inhales deeply, "I wish mom could have come with us, she needs a vacation."
I kneel down to let the water cover my thighs. "Yeah, I wish she could bud." To be honest, I wish they would both come live with me. Sometimes I love having my freedom, but then I think about how they're stuck there with Marc. He hasn't gotten violent yet, but I don't want to give him the chance to lay a hand on my family. If there was a way to convince my mom to move to Laguna, I'd do it in a heart beat, but she refuses to leave our family house in New Hope.
As I'm lost in my thoughts, I don't notice my bother until my face is splashed with saltwater. My eyes narrow as I glare up at him. He's trying to use his little-boy-charm, sending me an innocent smile and puppy eyes. It's definitely not working. Slowly, I rise to my full height and lunge at my brother. I throw his little frame over my shoulder and carry him into deeper waters, ignoring his giggles and pleas. Once I'm hip deep, I abide by his wishes and put him down, or rather drop him into the ocean.
++++++++++
That night I gave Vic twenty dollars to give to the pizza guy when he showed up, and set him up in the living room with Netflix and a blanket in my comfy chair. I made sure he understood that if he got any pizza sauce in my chair, he'd be licking every bit of it off until the upholstery was spotless again. He gave me the usual, "yeah whatever," and the eye roll. I grinned and ruffled his hair.
"You have my number, right?"
He nodded his head and pointed to the home phone. "If anyone tries to break in or I don't know what I broke I call you," he recites obediently.
I smile and grab my keys. "I'll be home in about six hours."
"So, two in the morning? Do I get to stay up until then?" His eyes got big and hopeful.
I laughed. "If you think you can handle it. But if you think you're gonna fall asleep, call me and then turn the TV off. You can crash in my bed if you want."
Vic's eyes looked up at me, and his little mouth started moving. "When are you gonna be back?"
I sighed and shrugged. "Whenever I can bud. But I'll leave early if you need me to. Okay?" I reached down to ruffle his hair and smiled at him.
He returned my smile and hugged my waist tightly. "I love you Via. Be safe and have fun."
I hugged him back and kissed the top of his head. "Love you too, buddy." As he ran back into the living room, I opened the door and got into my car, sighing as I turned the key in the ignition. Another night of serving drunk guys who want to look down my shirt. Fun.
++++++++++
"This night is a buzz kill." Natasha groaned as she leaned over the bar. She was an attractive woman, 5'4" and slender but with all the curves men drooled over. Her wavy honey-blonde hair fell over her bare shoulders, exposing a little bit of the tan skin. Her dress tonight was classy, not slutty like usual, she had come from a date instead of a club tonight, and her lips weren't a Fuck-Me-Red tonight, just a soft rose. Tasha's pale blue eyes were softly lined in black, instead of the heavy smoky eye she usually did. The woman must be infatuated if she wasn't wearing her usual Slut Gear.
"Maybe because you're not showing enough leg and boob." I raised my eyebrows at her when she stuck her tongue out at me. "Very five-year-old-chic, babe."
She slid so I was looking at her profile and crossed her right leg over her left, making her dress lift slightly so I got a decent look at her toned thigh. "It's the latest, babe. Five-year-old-chic is in, modern-day-woman is out. Get with the times." She winked at me and I laughed.
"Okay, so what brings you here? Any new gossip you wanna share?" I briefly turned my back to her to finish cleaning a glass and turned back to face her once I had set it back on the shelf.
What I saw was surprising. Tasha had The Look. It was something I had often read about, but neither of us had ever experienced The Look. Occasionally, we'd see a honey moon couple come in, and it would be plastered all over their faces, but I never imagined Tasha to have this look. Tasha was a sweetheart, sure, but she wasn't the kind of girl you'd bring home to Mama. She wasn't the kind of girl you'd bring home period, unless you paid her. She didn't believe in relationship, she was just looking for a good fuck every once in a while. Never did I imagine Tasha, of all people, would ever consider settling down enough to have a relationship that lasted longer than a few hours.
"Tasha, why are you looking like that." Unconsciously, I took a small step back so I could see her better.
"Oh, Via, you'll never believe me."
"You're right."
She rolled her eyes and waved her hand in the air, dismissing the thought. "That's why I brought him here."
As the last syllable left her lips, a tall man turned the corner. He was at least 5'11" and had gorgeous dirty blond hair that kinda flipped over his forehead, a style many people fought with their hair dressers over, but his was effortless. His jawline was strong and square, the epidimy of masculinity. His nose was a little bulbous and slightly crooked, and on anyone else, it would have been an eye sore; but any other type of nose would have looked wrong on him. His mouth was a long, lazy slit in his face; and at the moment the corners were turned up in a crooked grin as his dark chocolate eyes looked over at my best friend. His hands were tucked into his front pockets, and his suit coat was parted enough for me to see the baby blue dress shirt he wore underneath, two of the buttons were undone, making him looking sexy but still professional. I can see why Tasha got caught up in this one.
"Hello, I'm Daunovan." His voice was a clear baritone, and it was oh so pleasing to the ears. He held out one large hand for me to shake, and I did. I was surprised to find callouses that told of manual labor instead of the soft hands of a pampered office man.
"Hi, I'm Olivia." I had to look up at him now, he had to be at least a good foot taller than me.
"Yes, Natasha told me about you, she actually insisted I come by here tonight to get your blessing before I took her out." His smile was warm and directed towards me, but his eyes hardly ever left Natasha. What surprised me even more was that he didn't once look at her body, his focus remained on her face.
I turned to look back at Tasha, she must really be into this guy then. My gaze was then drawn back to Daunovan, and I smiled at him. "you seem pretty nice, I suppose I could allow you to take my best friend out. Where are y'all going, by the way?"
"I was thinking of taking her out to Shrimp Boat, or something like that. I figured a night on the water would be a perfect first date." He tilted his head slightly to the right, and his smile was soft and lit up his face. There wasn't a signal negative feeling about this guy in my gut, so I deemed him worthy of a first date.
"I think that would be wonderful. I hope you two enjoy your night." I smiled back, making sure to be friendly and show that I was happy that someone would be kind to Natasha.
He nodded to me and then turned to face Natasha. "I'll give you two a few minutes by yourselves. Come to the car when you're ready, I'll be waiting outside the door." He bent down to give her a kiss on the forehead and her face lit up like the night sky.
Once he was out of ear shot, Tasha gave a little squeal. "Isn't he just amazing? I can't believe him! He came into The Purple Grape a few times in the past week and he kept asking for me after the first day. It was so amazing, he asked me to go out with him earlier this week and I kept saying 'no,' which is obviously so unlike me, but I was so confused as to why someone as sexy and sophisticated as him would wanna take me out, and yesterday he came in and asked for me and of course, he asked me out again. But this time he had this look in his eyes, like he knew I was gonna decline and it looked like it hurt him so I just sucked it up and said 'yes.' So now here we are and.... wow."
I placed my hand over Tasha's, "I'm so happy for you honey. Go enjoy your night and tomorrow I want full details. Leave nothing out."
She grinned and hugged me over the bar, then pranced off to join Daunovan. Sometime I felt like a mother around her. But I honestly didn't mind, anything to make her happy. Lord knows she'd do the same for me.