J-Fred

Ch. 13: The Beach Pt. 1

The next morning, after spending the whole day with J-Fred, Alice rides up to the beach with him. For most of the ride, she taps the armrest and shifts uncomfortably in her seat. She is anxious about going to the ocean. J-Fred notices her discomfort and smiles a bit. He reaches over and snatches her hand. "Calm down," he laughs, "I'm here." 

She forgets about everything as she just smiles back at him and stares into those beautiful eyes. "I know..." she says softly. He brings her hand up to his mouth and kisses her knuckles.

They stay hand in hand for the rest of the ride. Alice feels considerably calmer with her hand in his, and she never wants to let go. However, when they get to the beach, she has to let go of his hand to hide their relationship. The moment J-Fred steps out of the car, he takes off running after Ariana and Isabella. They scream with joy and run away from their giant uncle chasing them around. Alice hides her smiles behind her hands. She watches him scoop up the two of them into his arms and fall back into the sand. 

Everybody sets up the blankets, chairs, and toys to have a nice day at the beach. Soon after, everyone races into the water and splash around...except for Alice. She sits alone back up on the shore. J-Fred soon gets out and joins her. "Come on, chicken!" he teases as he starts to tickle her. She just rolls her eyes and pushes him away. He frowns and holds out his hand to help her up. "Come on...please. For me?"

She looks up at those puppy-dog eyes, and she just cannot refuse. She takes his hand and follows him towards the shore. He sneaks his arm behind his back so that she can secretly hold his hand as she follows behind him. He leads her away from everyone else so that they can be alone. 

Alice freezes once she feels the water on her feet. "Come on!" J-Fred pleads again. He takes both of her hands and yanks her forward. She stumbles forward in the water and crashes into him. His hands slide down to her waist to steady her. 

They both laugh, but then she pulls his hands off of her. "We're in public!" she whispers. 

"It was worth it," he replies with a smirk. He takes her hand again and pulls her further into the water until it is up to her waist.

"Okay, this is too much," Alice breathes as she begins to hyperventilate. "I'm freaking out, Joey." 

"You survived some crazy dude who invaded your house...I think you can survive some water," he laughs, but this time, she is not laughing. 

A big waves comes and crashes into her, which knocks her back. Luckily, J-Fred is always right behind her. He catches Alice from behind. He holds her tightly so that her back is pressed up against him tight as she calms down. His cheek rests up against the side of her head as he whispers, "It's okay, I'm here."

She can feel his breath on the side of her neck. Alice closes her eyes to take a deep breath. With J-Fred's arms around her, she feels like nothing can harm her. 

"Joey? Alice? What are you two doing?" they hear a voice call out from the shore. J-Fred immediately releases her as they both spin around. It is Bryan standing on the shore, looking confused. He saw them together in the water, but they do not know how much he actually saw. They tread back through the water beside each other, and when they reach Bryan, he asks, "What was going on out there? I saw you two--"

"She's afraid of water," J-Fred answers honestly. "I was trying to help her, uh, conquer her fears when she fell on top of me."

Bryan opens his mouth to say something else when Amanda calls out, "Come on, it's lunch time!" J-Fred sighs with relief. They were saved by Amanda again. Bryan just shrugs it off and walks back with them to get some lunch. 

J-Fred slides his arm back behind him to hold Alice's hand again. He glances back and gives her a wink. She just smiles and squeezes his hand. 

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AN: Wohoo! We made 2,000 reads! Thanks again for all of the reads and comments and support, it's always appreciated. Again, I'm sorry for the lack of posting lately. There was a family issue I had to deal with, but I promise to write part 2 soon! Also, if you have any story suggestions, I would appreciate it. :)