Her Protector (On Hold)

Chapter 2: Family Complications

"Cy!" A familiar shriek echoed throughout the quiet beach side streets as I made my way down to the boardwalk.

I smiled widely as I turned to face my best friend; Rosalie Anderson. Her beautiful light brown hair was pulled up into a high sloppy ponytail and her bright, flowery, knee length sundress accented her outgoing and peppy personality. Her hair swung behind her as she jogged over to me from where she was originally walking.

"Rose!" I called out to her as I gave her the biggest hug I possibly could have given. Her hazel eyes were shining with joy as she and I continued to stroll towards the direction of the boardwalk which was beginning to come into view by now.

"Girl, you must be so nervous! Did you sleep at all last night?!" She said, her voice full of excitement. She had always been one of my biggest supporters throughout my surfing career. No matter where I went for a practice or competition, she remained loyally by my side through it all. I couldn't have asked for a better friend, a sister even, to be someone whom I loved dearly.

I huffed a little, thinking back to my stressful and very early morning,"Ugh, I couldn't sleep at all! My nerves kept me up all night and I woke up at a stupid hour and couldn't go back to sleep. Swimming helped clear my head some, but I'm honestly freaking out a little."

"Well, I can't say that I blame you," she laughed, soaking in my story. "This competition is gonna be a huge deal."

"Like I didn't know that before," I said sarcastically with a small laugh. I could always count on Rosalie to just give it to me straight. She wasn't one to beat around the bush and it was definitely entertaining when she'd try to flirt with guys. It was one of my favorite things to tease her about.

"How about I treat you to one of Jack's good ol' mango smoothies? That always helps!" She asked cheerfully. I had to admit, her excitement was very contagious and I began to feel a little better about having to face two of the most intense surfers in the entire world in just a few hours. 

My mouth started to salivate thinking about Jack's mango smoothies. They were my absolute favorite! Not only was the taste of fresh mango blended perfectly into the delicious icy drink, but Jack always made sure to include tangy pineapple and kiwi fruits with a touch of honey and strawberries into it to create the most glorious fruity drink ever known to man. I didn't know how he was able to create such masterpieces, but holy freaking crap they were my favorite things in the whole wide world! I didn't want to know how much time and money I had spent at his little shack over the years chatting it up with him as I sipped on his smoothies.

My face expression must've said it all. I was never gifted with the ability to hide my emotions very well. I just tended to show and say whatever came to mind.

Rosalie giggled,"That's what I thought."

It didn't take us more than a couple of minutes to reach the boardwalk and then get to Jack's concession shack that sat in its classic spot on the sand right beside it. It also didn't take too long for Jack to notice us. His dimpled smile filled me up with comfort and joy as he turned to face our approaching silhouettes.

"Ladies!" He greeted warmly as his chocolate eyes met ours. "I was wondering when you were going to show up."

"Psh," I scoffed jokingly. "You can't just assume that we'd always come here, Jack."

"Perhaps not," he said with a sly smile,"but I can always predict that you'll come here to get a mango smoothie on big days like today."

I gave him a pointed look before laughing,"You know me too well."

"Either that or you're just too predictable," Rosalie teased. "What can we say, Cy? You're just a creature of habit!"

"You guys suck, how bout that?" I said back as I took a seat at one of Jack's brand new bamboo bar stools.