Sunkissed Serendipity

Chapter 42

Isla

As Julian stands up from his seat, I look over at the other boat that was approaching us. I could make out the faces of the friends of Julian's I hung out with not too long ago. I knew Cameron instantly because he was the one to call out hellos and scare the crap out of both of us. Julian and I had to scramble off of each other because suddenly, in that moment, realization crept over me.

What was I doing?

Or better yet, what were we doing?

We agreed on being just friends the other day (which I didn't exactly get why other than the fact that things got awkward between us after the almost kiss), and yet today we were here messing it up. When I initiated the hug between the both of us, I hadn't meant that he was going to pull me into his lap. I didn't mean for that to happen, but hugging him while he was sitting was difficult.

While I had my hands around his neck and his head rested in my chest, I didn't think that he was going to pull me even closer. But then his hand went to the back of my legs, and within a second, he had me situated on his lap. It was a smooth move, and I didn't have time to ponder it because he was hugging me back. He was hugging me back properly, his hands on my waist, and me pressed up against him. We were finally close enough for the hug to be comforting, so I let it go.

But I hadn't expected someone to come and find us. It was like someone had caught us doing something bad, and I guess it was then that I realized that it was bad. If we were friends, we weren't supposed to hug in such a proactive way. It was wrong on many accounts. The highest one being that any feelings surpassing me are going to be hard. Him being this close to me and accepting my touch in such a delicate manner was only making everything hard.

Julian comes up from behind me, and before he can acknowledge his friends, he places a hand on my shoulder. I feel my heart pick up at his touch as I look over my shoulder and at his face. He must sense the way I felt inwardly when he moved his hands away from my shoulder. He continues on with why he got my attention, though. "Uh, I invited my friends over today as well. I hadn't expected for them to come so early."

He seems apologetic, which makes me question if he thought I was weirded out by his friends coming over. I wasn't, so I give him a little smile as I say, "It's good."

He picks his hand up and, very quickly, runs his fingertips over my shoulder in a casual manner that makes me sweat a little. "Good," he tells me with a grin before moving away from me entirely. He walks up to the edge of the boat to get a closer look at his friends and shouts, "Hi, guys!"

"Julian," Zach says, and I step up next to Julkjan to find that his friends were all standing closer to get a good look at us. The boat was still moving closer to us, and Zach continued. "You're like the only person who can bring us all together."

"Which is why I'm the best person out of everyone here," Julian says, ever modest. It makes me giggle, and I have to place a hand on my mouth to stiffen it. "Right?," Julian calls out, and it's then that I realize he heard me. His eyes meet mine in an instant, and he gives me a quirk of our eyebrows. Oh god, he was teasing me. I shake my head as I step away from him.

Cayden, one of the guys that I have hung out with the whole time at the beach, waves his hand in the air. "Hi, Isla."

"Hey, Cayden," I yell back, and it makes him grin. I laugh as well as I look at the scenery in front of me. The water was such a nice blue, and the company I had around seemed to be good as well. All of the boys had smiles on their faces, which meant that they would be able to keep the energy up.

Cameron gives a large grin as he places his hands on the hem of his shirt. Before I can even question it, he throws it off his head, and it lands on the boat floor. Throwing his hand up, he says, "Meet us in the water."