Candy Flip

Chapter Nine

The refreshing water did exactly what Lucy wanted it to. As she slid into the calm blue lake with Emilia her body felt like it was being stripped of any aches and pains and when she dipped her head under the salty water her sinuses cleared and her head felt less like a balloon about to explode.

As Emilia rambled on about several random things, Lucy answered absentmindedly whilst secretly mulling over her conversation with her just a few minutes before. So Wyatt thought that she was too 'innocent'. She was right all along and she couldn't help but feel sickened with herself for acting like a total fool. Any flashback from last night made her cringe and she was desperate for another meet-up to make up for last night. Then a depressing thought hit her and she thought about how pathetic she was, obsessing over a mindless drug dealer that she barely knew.

"I definitely think I'm getting a little golden brown," Emilia noted as she floated in the water, her legs wrapped around the supportive beam of the pier.

Lucy watched her delicately dipping her bright red hair into the water, giving the impression that the blue lake was patched with blood. The sun hung overhead in the periwinkle blue sky pulsating its blinding beams down and warming the rippling lake that glittered like a thousand diamonds on a deep blue sheet.

"So have you got any plans for tonight or do you wanna come to my Aunt's house to meet her friends for poker?" Lucy asked, desperate to tear her mind away from Wyatt and last night.

Emilia snorted. "Oh please. I have to spend five days a week with your crazy Aunt. I need my weekend break away from her. Besides, there's a bonfire happening at this sandy riverside in the afternoon. You should come. There will be plenty of booze, weed and...Wyatt." Her eyebrows wriggled teasingly.

"Will Olivia be there?" Lucy questioned, her insides tightening. She didn't want to think about him, but she wanted to meet him. How did that make sense?

Emilia nodded. "Probably. We mix with her group quite often, unfortunately."

Lucy chewed her lip and her mind flashed back to the way Wyatt had looked at her in Emilia's white slip-on dress and the way he smiled at her when leading her into Blur, his arms wrapped around her waist. She was pretty sure she could flirt her way there and possibly get to know him a little more.

"What time?" She said, ignoring the fact that her competition would be there.

"Well it starts at about four," Emilia said lazily, floating on her back, her ribs sticking out of her skin. "We can go there straight after here if you want."

Lucy hesitated, wondering whether or not she would come to regret this later on and then she nodded. "Let's do it."

**

The two of them enjoyed the lake for a while longer, taking frequent breaks to lie flat and soak up the sun on the pier whilst avoiding the hyper boys that zoomed back and forth, somersaulting into the water.

By the time they rolled up their towels and threw their clothes over their damp bikinis it was a few minutes past four o'clock. Lucy's skin already felt sun kissed with a gentle burn buzz.

"If we hurry we can make it for four-twenty," Emilia giggled as they made their way up the sloped path and back towards the Volkswagen.

The drive was only five minutes long. The riverside was on the west side of the Shallow Peaks lake and was also enclosed by a forest of towering pine trees. Emilia pulled over beside a familiar black Clio and Lucy's heart skipped a beat. Wyatt was already here.

When she scrambled out of the car, she made sure that her long wavy hair didn't look too frizzy and that her eyeliner wasn't smudged. She followed Emilia onto a narrow path consisting of tree roots and limbs. The sound of music, laughter and the clink of bottles drifted up to Lucy's ears. Eventually they reached a small hill that led down to a natural area of sand on the side of a beach-like river.