In Time

23.

⭐ Zachary's POV ⭐

The waves lapped the seashore gently, sending a gentle breeze towards me. As I stood on the sandy ground, waves were gently washed up to the shore, wetting my toes in the process. I inhaled deeply, the sweet scent of salty seashore water, capturing every moment. I walked steadily along the shore listening to the gentle song of a whale in the distance. A strong sense of serenity took over the nerves that always seem to strung tightly.

Hands in my pockets, I closed my eyes to focus on hearing my surrounding, feeling them, remembering them. The sound of seagulls flying above me, children shrieking as the waves nearly caught up with them. The distant whooshing sound, feeling the cool breezy wind, messing with my hair. Unknowingly, the sides of my mouth lifted up into a smile.

As my eyes slowly open up, the sight of glittering sun, streaming through thick, rolling clouds was the first thing I saw.

Sadly, good things always have to come to an end. As if I was watching the television, the gorgeous view became pitch black in my eyes.

The shrilling sound of my house phone cut through my foggy mind. This time, my eyes flew open for real. I tried rubbing away the sleep from my eyes. A groan escaped my lips as I sat up to reach for the side table. The damn phone just wouldn't stop screaming until I pressed the answer button.

"Davis," I said.

"Good morning to you, brother! What took you so long to answer the phone huh? Did I interrupt something important?" I could practically hear the smirk in Jake's voice.

"Jake, why are you calling me at," I paused to give the clock a quick glance before continuing. "7 freaking a.m. on a Sunday?!" I purposely ignored his question because it might add more unwanted fuel into his dirty brain.

"Because... The early birds catches the worms!" Jake actually laughed out loud, as if he'd just told me a very funny joke.

"Jake..." I didn't bother to hide the irritation in my tone.

"Oooh, is cranky your middle name, Zach?"

"Jake Anderson! You–" I nearly yelled to the phone when my temper got the better of me.

"Okay! Jeez," Jake muttered under his breath. "Dylan and I are in town, just wanna ask if you can meet us later at 10?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose and successfully stopped heaving a sigh. I wanted to argue that he could have called me at 8 or 9 a.m. However, I decided that it would be redundant to do so.

"Alright. See you both later then. And good morning to you too, Jake," I said.

Jake chuckled at the other end of the line as he said his goodbye before hanging up. I lay back down, tried to fall asleep. But, the annoying fact was, I couldn't. After countless of tossing and turning, I gave up the thought of sleeping. Therefore, I pushed myself upright and headed for the bathroom.

As I stare at the guy in the mirror, I couldn't help but wonder what the hell was Jake and Dylan up to.
*~*~*~*~*~*

The traffic was better than expected, so I arrived 10 minutes earlier. When I thought I was very early, Dylan was already sitting in the bar.

"Hey Dylan! How long have you been sitting here?" I gave Dylan a friendly slap on the back.

"I've just sat down not too long ago," Dylan replied with a grin.

"How's marriage life?" I asked, while a waitress wearing red and black came to get my order.

"Oh man. I would love to say it has been awesome."