I Can, I Will, I Did // Vinnie Hacker

Chapter 19: Your Hair Is Still Pretty Even When It Gets Sandy

Sarah could not sleep that night. It was so much so that she lingered in and out of her consciousness. The worry that Vinnie was not asleep and did listen to her emotional vomit had got her tossing and turning for a good few hours. She knew Vinnie had passed out but what if he had not? Deciding to take her mind away by mindlessly scrolling through Instagram, she opened the app only to close almost immediately when the first post on her feed was of Tessa's. Had she not unfollowed her ex and her ex-best friend on Instagram?

She laughed at her life, though she was done with Tessa and Dylan, somehow they still crawled back into her life. At least, it did not bother her anymore. It was true that she had moved on from Dylan. On the other hand, there was Vinnie. She did not deserve him but she hoped he would somehow convince her. Frustrated, Sarah screamed into the pillow. Why was sleep not coming to her?

Sarah tightly closed her ears trying to listen to her breathing and fall asleep. It took a while before she managed to pass out...somewhat. Unfortunately, bad dreams had her up all night so she woke up as exhausted as she was the previous night. However, she was not going to let this day slide by tired. She should be taking care of Vinnie, not Vinnie taking care of her. She decided to make breakfast. It was her turn now. Engrossed in making coffee as good as Vinnie's, it got her to block out everything in her mind including the fact that Vinnie had leaned against the pantry, watching her movements carefully and smiling goofily.

"BOO!" Vinnie shouted the minute Sarah turned around, catching her off-guard. Sarah stumbled back as she glared at Vinnie who was hysterically laughing, his stomach clutched by his arms.

"Fuck off Vinnie," Sarah rolled her eyes as Vinnie continued laughing. Sarah could not help but laugh too. So there they were both struggling to breathe from laughing too much.

"We should go out. I don't feel like streaming today."

"THE BEACH! LET'S GO TO THE BEACH!" Sarah exclaimed as she handed Vinnie his coffee. It had been months since she had gone to the beach.

"The beach? I mean yeah sure I'm okay with going to the beach," Vinnie sighed as Sarah smiled widely, eager for a 'yes' as an answer from Vinnie.

It was not okay.

Not that he hated the beach or anything, he loved going to the beach, but swimming in the ocean was definitely a pass. Vinnie, at the grand age of 24 could barely swim. He knew how to stay afloat but could barely move. He sincerely hoped they would not do anything water-intensive.

Sarah on the other hand was very excited, she had made sure to plan the entire outing down to the last detail: where they were gonna eat, what they were going to bring and what they were going to do there. Sarah wanted to surf but Vinnie passed on the idea. In the end, it was decided she would surf while he would be by the shore watching her hit the waves. Vinnie suggested they just explore the place, much to the disagreement of Sarah, who wanted this trip to be the best of any they had gone to so far. Little did they know, it was going to be their last.

When they had arrived, Sarah dumped their stuff into Vinnie's arms and asked him to wait outside a restroom which was in a restaurant near the beach, while she went to change into her bathing suit. Vinnie was wearing a loose Hawaiian style shirt which was unbuttoned all the way through, catching Sarah staring at his incredibly toned stomach and the detailed tattoos at times before she looked away, beet red. He had topped the look with small earrings hanging from his ears and vintage sunglasses.

As he waited, he admired the scenery. The sand was the most gentle hue of gold, almost earthen and muted. As the waves crashed onto the shore, he could see little children running in, squealing and shouting when the lacy waves hit against their tiny bodies. The surfing board leaned against the wall as Vinnie stood with the load in his arms, unaffected by the weight of the items. He was busy envisioning what Sarah would wear. Would it be a two-piece? Not too much, Sarah was quite reserved. A sleeveless one piece? Yes, it had to be, Sarah would wear that. He had seen her wear such in her Instagram pictures. It did not reveal too much while also balancing a mix of exposure.