Dear my forever,
I've just completely said screw it at this point.
I really can't be moping around anymore and I deserve to be happy again.
I can't let the guilt or the regret drag me down anymore. I made my decision and it's final and I have to live with it because I was the one who decided and I don't want to change it, so I'm going to make this vacation a damn good one.
I avoided Rena like the plague for two days because I didn't want it to go any further, which I knew it would at some point. If I saw her in the water, I laid face down on the beach. If I saw her walking along the beach, I hightailed it for the water and paddled along the shore away from her, and if I knew I couldn't get away, I would simply go back to the house. I did not want to have to deal with whatever flirts she sent my way.
Today I had fully scoped the beach as usual and decided it was safe to go surfing. For a good half an hour I enjoyed surfing in solitude, but after one particularly nasty wave that I fuckling nailed, I heard clapping followed by a "Well done, stranger."
I turned to see Rena on her board, smiling at me.
"Hey, Rena." I said, mentally kicking myself. "Haven't seen you in a minute."
"Avoiding me?" She said, obviously joking even though it was one hundred percent true.
"Yeah, I don't need you to watch me fall anymore. It's too embarrassing."
She laughed. "I'll pretend I didn't see."
So I spent the rest of the day surfing with her and I didn't hate it, that was the worst part. I actually enjoyed spending time with Rena and it made me feel guilty because it had been a little over a week and I had already moved on, and Alina wasn't someone you moved on quickly from.
"Maybe tonight you could stop by my restaurant and we could have some of our California famous curly fries." She said as we came out of the water
"Alright," I said. "Let's do it."
She smiled. "Great, I'll see you at nine." She winked at me before running off with her board.
I knew I couldn't say no to her without flat out denying her, and I didn't want to do that. At that point, I figured I would ride this wave out as long as it would let me. At that point, I had decided that I didn't owe anything to Alina anymore, I had made my decision and it made me a free man, so I was going to go after this hot Cali girl that was into me.
I was anxious all through dinner with my family and was watching the clock to make sure I would be home on time to go. We left around eight which was just barely cutting it and I wished I had gotten Rena's number so I could tell her of any delays like this.
I pulled April aside as we left the restaurant to tell her about everything that had happened since she was the one who made me come out of hibernation.
"See? I told you you could be happy without her if you got over yourself."
"I know," I sighed. "You were right, and now I need your help. Rena invited me to hang out with her tonight, but I don't want mom and Rick to know. They will make a big deal out of it and I don't want to have to tell them about Alina. There's a roof next to the window in my room so i'm going to sneak out-"
"Say no more." April said, smiling. "I've got you covered."
Like I said, having someone in my corner right now was such a relief.
I told everyone that I had bad fish at dinner and was going to bed early, and April really milked it by shoveling aspirin and ginger ale at me saying how if I was going to throw up, keep it in my room and don't come out. With an actress like her, there was no way anyone was going to check up on me tonight.
Around eight forty five I managed to get out the window, onto the roof, then made the gallant leap onto the ground which almost left me with a twisted ankle, but I made it out alive and unnoticed.
From there it was about a mile to the restaurant and it was a pretty nice walk. The air was still balmy and stars were scattered across the sky. That mixed with the calm energy of the town was invigorating. For the first time in a while I felt at peace.
When I got to Rena's restaurant, I was surprised to see how upscale and popular it was for somewhere that served famous curly fries. It was huge for starters and had a whole separate bar along with formal restaurant and beach front location.
Rena was standing on a balcony above the front entrance and when I got there she smiled and came down to greet me.
"I was worried you ditched me for a minute there." She said, giving me a hug, something I didn't think we had reached at this point in our relationship.
"There is no way I'm turning down curly fries." I replied.
She laughed. "Smart man." She took my hand and led me into the restaurant.
I couldn't help but stare at her ass which hung out of cropped jean shorts which matched her cropped top that exposed a carved abdomen. I didn't get a chance to see that part of her with the wetsuit and damn, I wish she wore it less often.
She led me into the bar which was filled with rowdy tourists and most importantly, Chris Pine.
"Holy fuck is that Captain Kirk?!" I asked her as we sat down at a table on the other side of the room.
"Chris? He has a house here, he comes here all the time." She said casually.
"How are you not freaking out right now?" I asked her.
She shrugged. "Living in Malibu, you get your fair share of celebrities and you learn either one of two things about them, they're completely normal people, or they're complete douchebags. Either way, they're not worth freaking out about."
"Spoken like a wise man." I said, still eyeing him from across the room.
"You want something to drink?" She asked me.
"Sure, I'll take a Coke."
She laughed as she got out of her seat. "Let me rephrase that, are you more of a beer or cocktail guy?"
"Oh, uh, I don't drink." I replied.
She shrugged. "Suit yourself, Coke it is."
She went up to the bar and leaned up on the counter to order from the bartender, stretching herself out up on the bar which made her shorts ride up a little higher to expose her ass even more. I forced myself to look away as hard as it was. I wanted to be a gentleman.
She came back a few minutes later with a Coke for me and what looked to be a margarita for herself.
"So do the bartenders just give you whatever you want?" I asked, taking a sip of my Coke.
"Of course," She said, licking the salt off the rim of her glass. "My parents own the place, if they don't give me what I want they're fired."
"Yeah but isn't it like illegal for them to serve alcohol to a minor?"
"Not if the owner doesn't care and the authorities don't find out." She giggled, taking a sip of her drink.
This girl really lived the life. Endless alcohol, living on the beach in Malibu, rich parents, doesn't get much better than that.
A waiter came around a few minutes later with a mountain of curly fries that made my mouth water and my stomach groan. I destroyed easily more than half of the whole basket and I would've felt bad, but Rena was obviously enjoying her margarita.
I would've been upset with her drinking, but seeing as I was her guest, it wasn't my place, and I had learned my lesson from scolding Alina.
Alina. Goddamnit. I had to stop thinking about her. I was with another girl tonight. I was letting go. I couldn't think of her anymore.
"So, it's hard to believe a guy like you doesn't have a girl waiting for him in Seattle." She said.
Fuck. Come on, Rena, you're making this so difficult. At this point I just had to fake it until I made it. I shook my head. "Nope, no girlfriend."
"Good." She said with a smile. I couldn't tell if the margarita was speaking for her or not.
"I assume that means you don't have a celebrity boyfriend then?" I asked her.
"Nope, I don't believe in that stuff." She replied. "Especially when you meet hot boys from Seattle and Los Angeles and Chicago who are bound to leave anyway. I figure, live while you're young, save the commitment stuff for when you can't spend every day at the beach."
"A bit of a player aren't you?" I scoffed.
"I'm the player? What about all the guys like you coming after me for the week you're here then disappearing like you were never here before? I figure, if you're going to do it anyway, might as well make a good time of it. Am I wrong?"
I sighed. "I guess not."
"Does that make you uncomfortable?" She asked.
"I mean, kind of. It's just unusual."
"Why?" She laughed. "Because I'm a girl? Or because I don't believe in commitment?"
"Maybe a little bit of both." I said.
She smiled. "I like you, you're honest. That's hard to come by."
I demolished the rest of the fries as Rena finished her margarita and she decided to take me out to the sandy beach in front of the restaurant. We walked along the edge of the water together, the cool little waves lapping over our feet with reflections of the moon on it.
"How long are you staying?" She asked me.
"I leave the twenty eighth." I replied.
"Interesting. Extended vacation?"
"Don't even get me started." I muttered, driving my toe into the sand.
"How is three weeks in Malibu such a bad thing?" She asked.
"I don't know, it's just long."
"Well you don't have to be lonely if you don't want to be." She stopped walking.
I stopped too, turning to face her. "I don't want to be."
She took a step towards me. "Since you're so honest, Grant, tell me this, what are your intentions with me?"
I licked my lips, taking a half step towards her. "I like you, Rena, and I don't know if we're going to last, but if we can enjoy each other's company for a couple of weeks I think that would make us both very happy for the time being. Look, I believe in commitment, even at our age, but I think for you, I could make an exception." I couldn't believe what I was saying. It seemed evil and ridiculous. I was basically telling this girl I was going to use her as my toy for a few weeks then throw her away, but I had nothing to lose and neither did she, so I figured why lie? Why not take what I wanted, especially if it would help me get over Alina and make this vacation a little less terrible?
She smiled. "Good answer." She said before pulling my face towards her and putting her mouth against mine.
Let me tell you, it was just what I needed in that moment.
But that moment doesn't last forever.
Two more weeks isn't forever.
While all of this might be good now, it won't last forever.
But you will.
-Grant