Not Another Summer Love Story

Chapter 7 - Like Your Mother

Staying extremely observant of my surroundings, I switched the position I was laying in at my newly relocated reading spot. So far, I'd lasted two mornings unnoticed, shielded slightly by the untamed bushes growing out of the sand dune. It was a little bit of a walk from the steps, but it gave me the peace and quiet I craved. And if I couldn't see the gorilla boys, they couldn't see me.

I wasn't exactly avoiding Logan, but not having to interact with him gave me a sense of comfort. I needed time to sort my feelings out, and work out where I stood with this whole deal. It still seemed absurd to me, but going back on my word was not something I'd do comfortably. I assured myself that if all went badly and I could never face Logan again, I'd never have to see him once university started anyway.

"Are you really hiding up there in the bushes, O'Conner?"

I heard the cocky British voice before I saw his tall figure, arms crossed in amusement as he cocked his head to the side. Since going to his house to hang out with Lottie, I hadn't seen Alastair around town. He hadn't harassed me during my shifts at work, and the few times I'd caught up with Maisie and Dan around Sandy Cove he hadn't been in sight. With his shirt off and only wearing a pair of board-shorts, I noticed he'd been working on his tan. It was hardly like a Sandy Cove local's but it was much darker than he'd looked when I'd met him.

"I'm not hiding. The sand is just cooler here," I defended.

"Here I thought you were meant to be trying to make an effort. Do you need me to hold your hand still?"

The idea of him holding my hand made me shiver. I'd been sitting in my new spot for an hour already this morning, so I figured it was time to go anyway. I stood up and threw my towel over my shoulder. "No I don't, Alastair. Where have you been lately, anyway?"

"I've been busy. Did you miss me?" He winked, standing aside as I stepped off of the dune and onto the beach. I spotted the two figures out in the surf almost instantly. "But really, I wanted to see you because I hadn't heard about anything on tonight."

Oh, right. It was Saturday, and we were due for another hang out on the beach. "It's always on, just come to the usual place at like, sixish. Someone will be there."

"Will you?"

I shrugged. "Probably."

"Will golden-boy be there?" He pointed his thumb behind him at Logan and Noah. I was amused that he'd labelled Logan with the same name I did when I referred to him in my head. But I couldn't help narrowing my eyes in suspicion. Would this be phase two of the plan?

"Probably."

"Have you go a surf board?"

"What?" I questioned, perplexed at the sudden topic change.

"A surf board, you know, the flat pointy things that you stand on in the water-"

"I'm aware of what a surf board is."

"Well do you have one? Or ideally two?"

I narrow my eyes, trying to calculate exactly what he would want two surf boards for. "I have one, probably two if you include my dad's. Why?"

"Well," he began, a smirk formed on his lips. "We should join them out there."

"We should surf with the gorillas?" I raised my eyebrows, confused at the bizarre idea.

"The what?"

"Never mind," I shook my head, forgetting not everyone was aware of my lingo. "Do you even know how to surf? Or even swim?"

"Well, no, but I know how to swim. How hard can it be?"

I smiled, the idea of watching Alastair attempt to surf with all of his cocky confidence was just enough to get my approval on the idea. "Let's go get the boards then."