Gilded

Chapter 9

It was Aaron.

With Jenn.

I froze. I was too far from them on the crowded beach for them to see me unless they were really looking. And clearly they were preoccupied. I felt nauseous.

Maybe they were just innocently hanging out? Though I didn't know how innocent it could be with Jenn's boobs squished on my boyfriend's back. I didn't know what to do. Should I go confront them? I didn't know if I wanted to make a scene. I knew he wouldn't be happy if I made a scene. I went to sit down behind some kids building sandcastles and called Aaron on my phone.

It rang and rang and then went to voicemail. He couldn't answer his phone because he was in the water, I reasoned with myself. His phone was probably on the beach with his stuff. I peeked over at where Aaron was. Aaron's friends and some other girls were with him and Jenn now. Jenn wasn't touching Aaron now, and if I had just seen him and the others now, I wouldn't have thought anything of it.

Not sure what to do, I slowly went back to our umbrella. Robotically, I sat down on my towel.

"Did you find Aaron?" Amelia asked. She was rummaging around her backpack. I shook my head mutely.

"He must be here somewhere," she said, putting some lip gloss on. "Anyways, I'm just going to go see Kevin, he wanted some sunscreen. Come play volleyball with us."

"Sure, in a bit," I said absently. I wanted to talk to Amelia, but didn't want to burst her bubble. I could tell she was giddy about getting to hang out with Kevin. I put my sunglasses on and stared out into the blue water of the lake, letting the gentle waves try to soothe me. I was getting goosebumps, so I put my long tank top back on.

Someone came from behind and sat down on the right side of me. Aaron? I turned to see Eric.

"Hey, what's up? Why are you sitting here by yourself?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, just looking around to see if Aaron is here. I saw Raf and Jake earlier, so I was just looking around for him," I said, grabbing a handful of sand and letting it fall through my fingers.

"Sab," Eric said hesitantly. "I think I saw--"

"Sabrina!"

I looked up. "Aaron!" I said, surprised to see him appear out of the blue. I stood up. He ran over and gave me a hug.

"What are you doing here babe? I thought you said you were working," he said putting his arm tightly around me. He glanced over at Eric who was just standing up. "Just the two of you here for an outing?"

"Nope, a whole bunch of us are here," Eric replied nonchalantly. "I'm going to get some snacks set up. Are you two going to join?" Eric asked us, but looked at me.

"I'm fine," I said, giving him a small smile.

"Yeah, we're good Wong," Aaron said. Eric headed off. "Let's walk babe," Aaron said, taking my hand.

"So, you're just hanging out with Eric when you told me you were working," he said, tightening his grip on my hand.

"My shift was cancelled so I thought I would come and surprise you," I said "I called a little while ago, check your phone. I just saw Raf and Jake, and was looking for you just now. And there's a whole group of us here," I added. "Don't be mad."

Aaron stopped walking and gave me a hug. He kissed me on the lips and ran his hand through my hair. "I'm not mad. I'm glad to see you. I gotta admit, I am surprised, I wasn't expecting to see you at all."

"Where are your friends? Who are you here with?" I asked, feeling tingly as Aaron slid his hand underneath the back of my shirt and feeling my bare back.

"Just the guys," he said. Before I could ask him about Jenn, Aaron started talking again.

"Hey babe, are you wearing your new suit? Let's take your clothes off so I can see it."

We stopped at Aaron's backpack and I took my top off. My navy blue polka dot halter suit was low in the front and high at the legs, but was nothing compared to a hot pink string bikini. When we went shopping last week, Aaron had actually asked me to try a similar one on, but I was so uncomfortable in it, I didn't even want to show him how it looked, never mind wear it to the beach. I really liked the polka dot one, and he approved of it too. So this was no string bikini, but nonetheless, Aaron gave me an appreciative look and a whistle, and we went into the lake together. I looked around for Jenn, but I didn't end up seeing her again the rest of the day.

There wasn't room in Raf's car for me, and Eric's minivan was at capacity too, so Aaron and I didn't ride back home together. I had finished packing up my gear and was waiting for Eric and the other guys to finish packing their sports equipment, so I sat down and posted my girlfriend pictures onto Instagram.

Long needed break at the lake with my besties, I typed, and hit Post. I toyed with looking at Raf's account, but decided I didn't want to.