Sun Kissed

Chapter 16: Smiles

We both were now at his resort eating breakfast. He had a talk with one of his friends before we sat down. Something from the conversation made him tense and I held back the bubbling questions in my head. Once we began eating we talked normally. He had relaxed a bit but not completely.

Once we were done eating and were sipping on our coffee, I could not hold back my urge anymore."Chris? Is everything all right? You look a bit tense." I ask hesitantly.

"It's just one of my friends." He replies with a huff.

"Do you want to tell me? Only if you want..."

"It's just he came back piss drunk yesterday and creating a hell lot of havoc."

I nod my head slightly indicating that I'm listening and he could continue.

"He has been acting like a douchebag since the beginning of the trip for no reason. And the most surprising thing is that this entire trip was his idea. We have known for ages that he's hot-tempered but now... this is totally different reason. We don't know how to deal with him anymore. He's become this rude, obnoxious person we don't recognise anymore. It's just so frustrating!!"

He leans back into his seat and lets his head fall back. He closes his eyes and runs his fingers through his brown locks in frustration. I keep quiet for some time and when he takes a sip of coffee I tell him, " Is there a reason he's acting like this? You could sit down and have a quiet talk with him. It does not necessarily have to be you but whoever is closest to him from the group."

Chris doesn't look at me but I know he's listening so I continue. "He must be going through some stuff and this could be how he responds to the situation, I guess. His whole reason for the trip could be that he's trying to get away from something or refresh his mind."

I see that now he's looking at me and nodding his head gently and leaves out a breath and then he speaks. "You may be correct. He's the guy to never leave out on the fun. In college, he had his etiquettes. never more than two glasses of alcohol. Something must be bothering him to bring him to this state. Let's see. We'll try talking to him."

I just give him a soft smile.

Chris, now much more relaxed than during the start of the conversation, smiles at me and says, "We never thought about something like that. We were just so irritated and Our brains stopped working. I have always been a listener and being listened to is a different feeling. It's refreshing. Thank you."

That startled me and I hurriedly ramble. " You don't need to thank me. I just said what made sense to me. And In that listening thing, we are a lot alike. My best friend's a chatterbox and I know how you feel. Sometimes, I don't like talking and rather listen but there are times you need to let it out and without the correct motivation it does not happen."

"Is it just me or do you think we clicked too well?" He asks squinting his eyes and biting his lips.

Ever since I met him, I had been thinking about the same thing. I wouldn't go so far and say that we were made for each other but we don't clash. We have had differences in opinions but I don't think that created any problem at all. He was open about my thought and me to his. Our talks would actually get more exciting when this happened. He would straight away disagree with something if it did not fit well with him. He did not hide anything. Brutal honesty. And I liked that. Sometimes you don't want a person to sugarcoat things or being vague about them.

Most people may find this quality hurtful. And in fact, it's correct, the truth can hurt. But when you need an honest opinion, the ones that are close to you don't actually give you the best judgement.

I finally answer him, "It's not just you. Something's different between us"

But instead of giving him a happy smile, I give him a weary one. He notices it and confusion spreads on his face. "I am going back tomorrow," I tell him.

His face falters and some expression that I couldn't catch comes as quick as it goes. Confusion was evident on his face once more. " You're going? Tomorrow? What time?"

"I'm leaving at 7 in the morning. The catamaran leaves at 8:30," I answer looking down at my fidgeting fingers that were placed on my lap.

"So... this is it. Our time together ends here." his face showing a similar sad smile to mine.

"Looks like it..... You know? We could actually have a picnic of sorts at the beach. We could catch the sunset." I suggest.

"That's a pretty good idea. I could get some wine."

"And could get some wine appropriate snacks." I chuckle and so did he.

Silence envelopes us. We just look at each other and Chris breaks the silence, "I'm glad that I met you. You're a pretty good person."

The statement makes me smile, and I say, "I'm glad that I met you too. And I'm glad that I spent my time with you."

I'm glad because I loved every single moment of us together.