The Bad Boy And His Baby

Chapter 12

We stand near the lighthouse, looking at the vast blue ocean. Admiring the sound of the waves that crash against the rocks below.

My mom whips out her phone. "Pictures! We need to take pictures!" She gives me her phone and stands near the edge with the ocean behind her. I hold the phone up and go into the camera before snapping multiple pictures of her.

The wind is strong up here and my hair keeps blowing in my face. "Let me take some of you Quinn." She takes the phone and I walk to the place where she stood before smiling at the camera. I can feel Ji's gaze on me and I spot him looking at me with a smile on his face. "Stand next to her. Let me take a picture of you two together." My mom tells him.

I'm about to decline when he walks up to me and puts his arm around my waist, gently pulling me closer to him. He leans his head down against mine. "Say cheese." He says and all I can do is smile as my mom takes more than one picture of us.

"Beautiful." She comments when she finally puts her phone down. She walks over to me and hugs me, pulling Ji in for a hug as well. "This was a really nice day, I must say. I never thought I'd see you again Quinn. Thank you for letting me stay over with you two. I know how boring that must've been."

"Never. You're always welcome." Says Ji and my mom smiles as she looks out at the ocean. Thirty, long, slow minutes pass with the three of us huddled together, letting the wind blow past us and watching the blissful ocean.

"I enjoyed this, I really did. I always thought Quinn would hate me for the type of job I have. Never did I think I'd have such amazing moments. That has been an amazing day and I will always cherish it." She lets out a sigh. "That Rollercoaster took a lot of my energy. I'm so tired."

"There's one more place I want to go to and then we can go home." Says Ji. My mom nods and we head to his car.

The ride is short and we stop in front of the ocean. It's almost five pm and the beach is surprisingly not that full. We get out the car and Ji tells us to take our shoes off and leave it in the car along with our bags and phones.

My mom practically runs to the sand, sinking her feet in the warm grains while I sidestep seaweed that washed up on the shore. We walk along the shore, getting our feet wet in the cold water. "Ah look. A friend." Says Ji. He bends down and picks up a sea snail before putting it on his hand. My mom screeches and backs away from him. "I don't want that thing near me." She says while Ji and I laugh. "Want to hold it?" He asks me and I nod.

I hold my palm out and he puts the sea snail in the center of my hand. "No Quinn! Put it down." Says my mom as she covers her eyes. Ji picks up another one and I point to my mom. He laughs and we make our way toward her with the snails in our hand. "Mom, look how cute they look."

"No!" She exclaims, backing away even further from us. "Just one touch and then we'll put them down." Says Ji, barely breathing while he laughs his head off. My mom breaks into a sprint trying to get away from us and we run after her.

I'm laughing so hard, my stomach is beginning to hurt. She runs further into the water and we follow. I don't have time to hold up my skirt as a wave crashes just above my knees. My mom uses the water to her advantage and flings water upward, splashing Ji and I. "Mom!" The water brings goosebumps onto my arms and I drop the snail into the water, listening to my mom laughing before splashing us again.

Ji and I splash her back and she laughs so hard that she falls into the water. Ji and I help her up and hold her steady as another wave crashes against us.

The three of us hold our stomachs as we laugh. I don't care that we don't have any towels to dry ourselves. I don't care that we don't have dry clothes and I don't care that we might get Ji's car wet. All that matters is this moment.

We're all tired after the wave hits us and we trudge back to the shore. We spot a cocktail bar not far from the parking area and Ji tells us to order cocktails while he gets his wallet from the car.

"I haven't had this much fun in ages!" Announces my mom as she leans on the table. The bartender places our cocktails in front of us almost immediately and I take a sip, letting the liquid cool me down.

"I gotta say, it's been a while since I've laid my eyes on such a beautiful woman. You're like a masterpiece." My eyes widen as the bartender leans in front of my mom and smirks at her, his eyes never leaving hers.

The gesture is so intimate that I have to turn away. My mom is all smiles, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Why thank you. And you must be?" I have to admit, the man is gorgeous with short black hair and piercing brown eyes. He has a beard that isn't too thick and a scar just above his left eyebrow. "The name's Buck. Are you two sisters?"

My eyes nearly bulge out my head. There's no way he thinks we're sisters. We don't look that alike right? "No. She's my mom." I say pointing to my mom who can't keep her eyes off him. His eyes widen and he stands up straight in surprise. "We'll I'll be damned. You don't look a day over twenty, darling." My mom is all giddy and I'm kind of shocked. Does my mom really look that young? I've never noticed it before.

"I'm flattered really, but I'm an old soul." She answers, tracing patterns on the counter and taking a sip of her drink. "I'd love to get to know you more precious. How bout you give me your number?"

He's got the looks and I can see any woman swooning over him but he's literally flirting with my mom and it's weird. Couldn't they have gone off somewhere to flirt? He pulls a small page out his navy shirt pocket and slides it towards my mom's fingers. He pulls out a pen and swings it perfectly between his fingers. "What will it be doll?"

I spot Ji and I'm glad he's made his way back quickly. I don't think I can hear another pet name coming from Buck's mouth. Just as Ji sits down, Buck moves to another customer and my mom grips my arm. "Oh my gosh, Quinn. He's fucking gorgeous. Did you see the way he looked at me?" She whispers yells. "Did I miss something?" Asks Ji as he takes a sip of my cocktail.

"Hey, that's mine." I say, moving the glass away from him, aware that his mouth was on the straw where my mouth was.

"Gee Quinn. Sharing is caring." He mumbles, smirking at me while my mom rants on about Buck. I continue sipping my drink, listening to my mom while Ji checks his phone. "Shit. Kelsey has to leave and there's no one else to look after Lumi." He says. My mom and I are halfway through our cocktails. Well I am, my mom has barely sipped hers. All she did was talk about Buck. "That's fine. I'm tired anyway." She says.

Ji waves Buck over and pays for the drinks before we make our way back to the car.

My mom falls asleep as soon as Ji drives. I'm kind of tired too but I don't sleep, I look outside the window and take in the scenery. "I don't remember when last I went out on a trip like this. Probably when my sister was here. We used to hang out all the time." Ji says.

"Your sister? Where is she now?" I hope he doesn't say she's dead.

"She's in Japan. She used to live with me but moved back to attend a ballet school."

"Do you miss her?"

"Of course. Do you have any siblings?"

I shake my head. "I wish."

"What happened to your dad?"

"He died in a plane crash before I was born. Mom never talks about him."

"Maybe he did something bad and she doesn't want to remember it." I shrug. "She would've at least told me that. Maybe she just wants to forget about him. Maybe it helps her move on from his death or something."

"To be honest, I'd do anything to have a good relationship with my parents. My mom and I were fine but she started listening to everything my dad said and now she's stuck in this constant cycle of his. When I was in Japan and he used to scold me for shit, she'd always sneak into my room to comfort me. I tell her all the time to leave him but she won't. She's staying for the money I guess."

"Don't you think she's staying for you and your sisters?" It kind of makes sense why Lumi is staying with Ji all the way here. Maybe he doesn't want her to grow up in a toxic family like the one he supposedly grew up in.

I wonder if he's parents are fine with Lumi staying with him. Lumi's still a baby, isn't she supposed to be with her parents?

"I wish that was the case."