Unleash The Island

Chapter 13

The two of them drove back to the house after a long afternoon at the beach. EJ actually had a lot of fun with Leo.

The sun cast light and heat on everything it could. Because it was a Tuesday, not a lot of people were there compared to the weekends. They swam in the water and tried to catch the little fish around them. The two of them tried to make the most out of it as the cops surrounded the bridge. EJ caught Leo staring in that direction a couple times. Initially, she wondered why, then quickly remembered what he had seen and done. Him puking was embedded in her head. She would distract him by pelting seaweed at him, trying to take his mind off of the crazy stuff going on.

One wave came crashing in and Leo carried her towards it, then launched EJ into the water. He was there to grab her when she could not gain stability. They cackled together with no care in the world. There was a moment when their eyes met as they smiled. Before anything possibly happened, EJ splashed water into his face.

After that, Leo said, "I'm taking you on a date after this."

"What's the plan?" she asked him as she glided in the water.

Her skin was illuminating in the sunlight, making Leo's stomach flutter like it was a massive butterfly about to fly him away. He let the water take over him, too, and floated beside her. "You'll see."

After they collected their things and threw them in the G-Wagon, he drove them somewhere. He did not need GPS for it, so she had no clues. They made their way towards Edgartown and he, somehow, found a parking spot on the road. He whirled around the car and opened the door for her. She hopped out and he locked the car behind them.

"Can I guess where you're taking me?" EJ asked. She was not a fan of surprises.

"Nope," he said as they walked down the sidewalk.

They walked a couple blocks down until he stopped in front of a restaurant. It was right on the boardwalk by the boats. It was outdoors with tables in the sand. A lady brought them towards a table and they sat. They shared mussels, which EJ had never tried before. They both got sandwiches with tots on the side.

"So," Leo started while taking a break from his sandwich, "you were born and raised on this island?"

EJ nodded as she put her own sandwich onto her plate. "Born and raised."

"Have you ever thought about leaving?"

EJ shrugged. "Yes and no. Not right now, at least. For college, yes, considering there aren't any here. Lifewise, no." She threw a fry into her mouth. "What about you, with New York? I mean...you're going to NYU, so you're stuck there for a while."

Leo had a smile on his face as he asked, "How'd you know I was going to NYU?"

Before she could blush of embarrassment, she remarked, "One, there's a picture of you in front of Bobst Library in the car." She took a second to drink some water. "Two, my coworker told me when she found you on Tinder."

His smug grin turned into a small smile as he said, "Touché." He took a sip of his own water before saying, "I've only ever been in New York and on this island. I've...maybe been to Hoboken at some point, but that's about it."

"New Jersey? Out of all places?"

"Yeah, I know. With how high profile Wayne and his company are, Gavin and I haven't really been able to travel much." Leo thought about that statement and realized how harsh his life seemed. "I mean...Gavin goes to Chapel Hill and we pass a couple states getting here, so that counts for something."

EJ tried to read this guy's head, but he was hard to figure out. "Where would you like to go, assuming you want to take a step foot out of New York and this island at some point?"

Leo held his hand up in a fist with his other out as well, pointer finger ready as he lifted the others one by one. "Brazil, since that's where my mom tells me her family was from before they moved to the U.S., Florida, California, and Oregon." EJ gave him a confused look on that last choice. "I've seen videos of the forests and waterfalls there." He placed his hands on the sandwich and instructed, "Your turn. Where do you want to go to college?"

"Boston University, Boston College, or...NYU." As Leo took a bite, his eyes trailed back up. "That's only if they give me a shit ton of scholarship money."

He held what was left of his sandwich in one hand and said, "Well, I think you should choose NYU. I've heard it's a great school."

Even with Leo's banter and their fluid conversations, the elephant in her head made her think about how this place was a little too fancy for her. The girls around them were in dresses with their bouncy, light hair. She also happened to see Gina and Beck sitting at the bar, eyeballing Leo and her. But, she suppressed the thought and stared at Leo, analyzing him. His hair was still slightly wet from the beach, so droplets would roll down the side of his face and neck. The yellow center of his eyes glimmered when the sun hit them. EJ started to enjoy the idea of making her ex-bullies envious.

The tab came back and Leo swiped it away before EJ could grab it. When she looked at him funny, he said, "You can pay for the next one."

"Yeah, if you get lucky to go on another with me," she said as she finished her water.

"Oh, yeah?" Leo said, as if EJ had another suitor waiting for her, but he did not need to know that. Leo enjoyed competition, and winning, anyways.

"Leo!" Oh, God. "I haven't seen you in forever."

Gina strolled towards their table and EJ started to hate that she was there again. Leo felt the same way at that moment. "Gina, how are you?"

EJ noticed how he was cracking his knuckles under the table. His right knee was also bobbing up and down. He was uncomfortable as she was, but she wanted to know why.

"I've been good," Gina answered. Her eyes met EJ's with a smile. "EJ, I haven't seen you in a while. How are things?"

The waiter swung by and took the tab out of Leo's extended hand. He wanted out. EJ was not good at hiding her emotions and fumes were basically flying from her ears.

"Fine," EJ said with little emotion. "That was until you appeared."

Gina nodded with a smirk. "Some things never change." Her eyes peeled away from her and back onto Leo, who was jittering away. "You haven't called me since Saturday. I was hoping you would for round two."

The waiter came back. He did not ask questions about what was going on. It was out of his pay grade to be a teenage counselor. He handed Leo the tab, then walked towards his other table. Leo scribbled down the tip he had already calculated and ripped his credit card out from the envelope within the tab. Once he pushed it into one of the slots of his wallet and got up. "We're heading out. See you around."

EJ rose from her chair and planted her feet into the sand. She did not look at Gina as she pushed her chair in. Leo swooped around the table and took EJ's hand, which the girl noticed right away. While embarrassment started to flood her, she concealed it.

As they walked away, Gina let out, "She's a weirdo, Leo." The two of them trailed their eyes on her. "Just thought I'd let you know."

Leo scoffed, but EJ interjected before he could even open his mouth. "Nice boob job. Let me know which doctor you went to so I don't end up going to them."

Gina let out a gasp and said, "Fuck you."

As they walked out towards the boardwalk, Leo said, "Nice dentures, too."

Beck had a hand in front of her mouth to hold back laughter. Gina watched as the two of them made their way down the boardwalk with gleeful smiles. She stormed off, back towards the bar, and asked for a beer.

The drive back to the mansion was filled with laughter and music. When they got back to his family's mansion, there was an extra car in the driveway. There was Wayne's as they parked, Lisa's, and the other. Leo assumed it might have been Imani's. They walked into the house and a lot was going on at once. There were workers bustling around in the kitchen and a woman setting the table. She heard their footsteps and smiled.

"Perfect timing!" she said. "Dinner is almost ready."