The Lifeguard Hates You (Completed)

August Chapter 16

I don't think it's surprising but I love my birthday.

I got gifts, all the attention, and the best meal without having to pay for it.

Also because it's my birthday I don't have to clean up after the mess my birthday party makes. Or more importantly, I don't have to do the dishes.

As per usual, my house only had half the cleaning, because the cake was made over at Rory and Jay's.

And Candy did a good job on the cake. Not gonna lie, her not telling me she was making the cake was a smart move, because I would have been worried. I might not have eaten it either.

Rory was the baker in our little friend group, not Candy. Candy's specialty was lunch. She could make a mean philly cheesesteak. But desserts? Those were Rory's specially for a reason.

She didn't actually tell me until after I took a bite.

Rory's Frerro Rocher and Nutela Hazelnut cake is legit my favourite cake. She made it once for one of my birthdays and I fell in love. Every year since then it's the only gift I ask from her.

I should have known when she handed me an actual gift this year it was because she wasn't the one making the cake.

I was just so excited about getting an extra gift, a new hunting knife, that I didn't care to think it through.

Luckily the cake tasted as good as I remembered so when she asked how I liked it, I just said that I did. And that's when she told me she made it.

Jay had been in charge of the surf and turf, as per usual. Originally Rory had been slated to help, but Candy had pulled her out, which meant Jay had done it all, which was also pretty standard.

My birthday was, for the most part, standard. Or at least the same as before. Pre-drinking with Jay as he cooked for me, then eating dinner, and then post-drinking by a fire once Jay was done helping the girls clean up.

And everything was basically the same, that was until Candy pulls me aside and tells me I have to talk to Jay.

Guess who got another surprise on his birthday?

This boy.

So, because the girls did the hardest work Jay was doing the cleaning, or at the very least soaking the dishes so we could get to them tomorrow and I was standing beside him for moral support mostly and because I had a job to do.

The two girls were out by the firepit with their drinks, and we too would be joining them once Jay was done.

I made sure that Candy was doing her job which was keeping Rory distracted before turning to the man who was supposed to be my best friend and said: "So what's going on with you and Rory?"

Now see this is a trick question. Cause I already know. Candy told me all about it. But this is my best friend and I should not have heard this, not even second hand but third hand, from Candy.

Jay turns to me surprised, he looks me up and down and then says: "What did Rory tell Candy?"

"Apparently you and her and shacking up, and I'm pissed off cause I should have heard that from you first!"

Jay sighs. "What do you mean I should have told you first? You moved in with Candy at the beginning of the summer, that's what started all of this."

"Oh fuck you," I snap. "You know I meant you two are sleeping together. Don't fucking give me that."

Jay sighs. He drops the dish and his hands and then braces himself against the counter. Wow. Wow, he really didn't want to talk about this.

"Fine, fine, yes, we're... we're sleeping together but we're not... you know together. Okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it's not like a thing? You know?"

"No. I don't know cause you didn't fucking talk to me about it. You. My so-called best friend. Didn't tell me this big thing!"

"It's not that big!" Jay cries and then glances to the sliding glass door and Rory who is on the other side of it. He then lowers his voice to say: "Look, she's the one who's calling the shots. Her and I... we agreed that we're not going to be together and she wanted to stop... casually sleeping together, until she got over me, but we just... we haven't stopped, and I know I should tell her to but I'm weak."

"Weak? Is the sex that good?"

"Yes, yes it is," he says and I'm fucking floored.

What the hell is happening? This man had been complaining forever about how annoying Rory's crush was now he was sleeping with her? Seriously? Had Candy been right the whole time and he had actually really liked Rory all a long? Cause if so, holy shit.

"Right, so she said the sex started on Rory's birthday. Makes sense cause you two went home plastered and all kissy face. But she didn't tell me that you were doing a friends with benefits thing. So what's going on there? Do you... do you like her?"

"I... uh... I think so," he tells me and I'm fucking floored once more. I should just lay down on it at this point, cause at this point I'm certain the shock is gonna knock me flat. "Look, she's supposed to be going back to school, you know? She's thinking about taking that job her dad had lined up for her, and just... come on, we both know that she's not going to come back here. She's going to leave, go back to who she was before all of this and... yeah, she's not going to come back. And we'll all be happy for her, because she'll be back where she belongs so don't you say shit to her."

I nod as I take that in and I know right away what he's doing. Mainly because Candy had told me her own theory and I had to concede that she was probably right. Again.

He's protecting himself. He's afraid that Rory leaving is going to kill him like Marnie leaving did. That meant that he liked Rory about as much as he liked Marnie. And he thought he was in love with Marnie, like he always assumed that he was going to marry her.

Was he thinking the same thing about Rory?

"She's not Marnie," I say softly and I see Jay's shoulder's slump at the same time as those emotional walls go back up.

"It's her decision," he says after a while. "Please don't give either of us a hard time. Especially her."

Jesus.

He's protecting her now?

God. This was deeper than we figured it was.

I want to say we won't be getting involved, but I know Candy. She's going to try to rewrite this ending to give them their fairy tale happily ever after.

Great. Just great.