salt air and serendipity [lrh]

two

The feeling of walking down the dock, holding my shoes by my index and middle finger was never one I could get tired of. It was a little later in the day meaning the sun was bright and hot but the breeze kept all of us sane. 

Calum and I dropped off the newly bought oar at my house and ran right back out of the house to get to the beachfront. He kept prying and questioning me about the Mystery Boy I found myself talking to in the shop, but I had nothing to say. I really didn't. I didn't know who he was, why he was here, or even his name for that matter. I just slightly smiled to myself anytime he would bring the conversation back around to the subject of him. Hopefully, I would find him again and give Calum all the answers he wanted. 

We made our way down to the sand and meet with Ashton and Michael laid out under some shade, pretty far away from the water. Ashton's almost shoulder-length hair was swaying gently, a change from usually keeping it back in a bun, and he waved us over to them once his eyes caught sight of Calum and me walking forward. I dropped my shoes and bag the moment my feet hit the towel and plopped right down next to Ashton. 

Michael leaned over and lightly flicked me in the shoulder. "What took you guys so long? We've been bored with ourselves for hours." He complained up to the sky. 

"I had to go run some errands for Dad, I told you guys this. God, sometimes I think you need to get your short-term memory checked." I told him, chuckling to myself, pulling Calum down to our level to sit next to me. 

"No, it's 'cause Scout here was flirting up a storm with this guy in the store. Could've shaved off at least 10 minutes of our time if she shut the fuck up." Calum interjects, lying like the asshole he is. 

"Was not!" I argue, hitting him. 

Ashton's ears perk up at Calum's comment. "Flirting? With who?" He sounded more serious than the rest of us. I knew he didn't have actual feelings for me, at least I hoped so. We only flirt on and off, hook up on occasion, and I know he's just protective of me, like the other boys as well. I wasn't in the mood for his games nor in the mood for anything other than platonic interactions would him today, so I shut him down. 

"Don't get all jealous now, Ash. It's not a big deal." I sit up, hugging my knees into my chest. "And I have no clue. He's obviously some tourist or new in town. I didn't even catch his name." I tell the boys, mumbling my last words by resting my lips on my knees. 

I must've looked upset because all three boys surrounding me backed off the teasing. Our relationships together were playful and we tended to bully each other a lot, but of course, when I looked like I wasn't having it, they backed off. Part of me loved that they respected my feelings so much, but the other part of me wished they just treated me the way they treated each other; still respecting each other's feelings, but only the really serious ones, and still joked around most of the time. It used to be like that, then it's been this way for about seven to eight months now. 

"You pussies. I'm literally fine." I sit up straighter, knowing what they were all thinking. I saw all of their muscles relax when I reassured them. 

The conversation continued about the other boys' days and anything we needed to catch up on. Not that there was much, we are together almost every day, Calum and I almost every second of every day. I let the boys know about the new sign I had placed on the beach. I helped work with environmental organizations that specifically worked with helping beach, ocean, and other water life. I was a go-to person to design signs that are placed. My new one said "Keep our beach beautiful. Leave only footprints", which was one of my new favorites. The boys tried to stay interested. Ashton was really the only one who was as passionate about this subject as me, the other two usually supported but zoned out. I could tell they were bored with my ranting.