That one summer

Aurora

We had taken the train to Scarborough since we wanted to relax and enjoy. Juniper had outdone herself. The guesthouse was beautiful, had a coastal feel, and was right out of a magazine. We left our bags, quickly changed into our bikinis, put on a pair of T-shirts and shorts for the short walk, and packed a small bag with an extra pair of clothes, towels, drinks, food, and a mat to lay on the beach. With our hats on we were off for a relaxing day ahead.

After looking into tonnes of reviews, Lina had come to the conclusion that North Bay Beach would be better and there would not be much crowd. And she was right, it was beautiful. The sun was already shining at 10 am and the tide was also good. We reached the beach, found a nice spot, and lay our mat. A quick photo session is a must because later on our lazy asses would forget to click some. After we clicked photos, we sat down and set a mini tray in front of us with a bottle of Gin, Tonic water, and a portable bucket filled with ice. Juniper had also brought glasses from home.

We were already two glasses down when we noticed a group playing volleyball not far away. The men playing were fine looking, slightly brown and all of them looked toned. They stopped playing and we saw two ladies walking towards them one of them in blue and white trunks whom I was gawking at turned around. Everything started spinning around me and I sat upright.

Lina & Juniper who were also looking at them, turned towards me "You are red, is it sunstroke?" Lina asked concerned.

"No, I am alright. But that's Orion." I managed to speak.

"Which one?" Juniper raised her hat to get a better view.

"Please don't be the one with the Orange cap," Lina said with praying hands.

"That's Declan, my manager. The one in Blue & white trunks with a white cap on is Orion."

"I call dibs on Declan." Lina piped in

"You can't call dibs on people." Juniper looked at Lina while she was busy ogling Declan.

Both of them looked towards them. It seemed like they were in the middle of an argument with ladies who came in earlier. He looked in my direction and I froze right there. Thankfully the glass in my hand did not drop in shock. The ladies left and I saw there were two more people speaking with him along with Declan. I had so many questions going on in my head at that time.

What is he doing here? He said he was in his hometown. Is this his hometown? But, why is the manager here as well? And why is Orion looking so mouthwatering? He started walking towards me. I had never seen him anything other than a suit. But a girl could get used to this view. Orion had a fir muscular body, but not bulging and I could see he regularly worked out because of how his legs looked as he was walking. And those arms, could somebody pass me a fan?

He stopped right in front of me "Hi, what a surprise!"

"I was not aware this was your hometown."

He removed his sunglasses, was he doing it in slow motion, or was it just me who saw it like that?

"Would you do the honor of becoming my girlfriend?"

"What!?" This time I dropped my glass and thankfully Juniper held it before the drink spilled everywhere.

Orion crouched down so that we were at eye level. I had never noticed his eyes before, they matched the sky, a really beautiful shade of blue.

"I am asking you if you would like to be my girlfriend?"

"Are you high on something? I do not even like you!" I managed to say but immediately saw hurt in his eyes. "What I mean to say is that I do not like you that way, romantic style."

"Romantic styles huh, so you are a B99 fan as well. What I am asking is if you could pretend to be my girlfriend and come and say hello to my parents so that they will stop bugging me to go out on dates with random women."

For a moment I hated that he would go on dates with women who are not me but my rational brain was quick enough to pull me back from that thought "Is this some kind of prank you are pulling?" I said looking at my manager still standing in the background.

He turned his head back to see what am I looking at. When he turned back his eyes went up and down on me quickly and then realization dawned on me that I was in nothing but a tiny bikini. I tried to look for my T-shirt to cover up something.

His face was serious "No, this is not a prank. My parents want to set me up with their friend's daughter and I do not want to do that. All I am asking of you is that you could come say hi to them saying you are my girlfriend and then you can go back to enjoying your holiday with your friends."

"Why me?"

"Because you are perfect. Also, Declan pointed towards you and told our parents."

I blinked trying to process what he is saying. "Wait Declan is your brother?"

He laughed then, why have I never seen him laugh like this? It looks so natural and heart-clenching. "No, he is my best friend, our parents are neighbors."

I nodded and looked at my girls, they were also nodding. What harm is it going to be to just lie once right? Wait am I actually considering this!? But lying to parents is wrong, as if I have never told a white lie myself.

"Come on Rory, just help me out once. I will bring you coffee every day, Morning and afternoon."

The way he says my name is doing things to me that I never felt.

Lina looked at me "Go ahead." And then looked Orion directly in his eyes and said "Bring my girl back safely."

He gave a tiny salute "Yes, sir!"

I was still looking at him when he stood up and gave me his hand to help me stand up. I slowly placed my hand in his and a current passed through me. He pulled me up quickly and let go of my hand. I found an extra dress that I had carried to change into and pulled it over my bikini. It was definitely not a meet-my-parents dress, but there is no other option now.

I waved to my friends with an unsure smile and followed Orion to meet his parents.