Something Great

Chapter 6

Ava could feel her skin soaking up the bright Australian sun rays. It felt like Heaven, and the slight breeze only made it better. She and Ralley were lounging on the beach, waiting for the guys to show up so they could lounge with them instead of by themselves. It'd been about a week since the party, and everyone seemed to be okay with each other again.

But, she thought, giggling to herself, Ash and I are more than okay.

She took a deep breath, inhaling the salty ocean air and sun tan oil. Despite the noises of birds, the waves, and other people, the beach gave her a sense of immense peace and contentment.

Ralley sighed and Ava turned to look at her. She was laying on her stomach, propped up on her elbows with earbuds stuffed into her ears. She was using the shade from her head to scroll through some feed on her phone, probably Twitter. Ava could hear "She (For Liz)" by Parachute from four feet away.

She flicked her hand at Ralley to get her attention.

"What," Ralley asked, her voice soaked with irritation as she tugged out an earbud.

"Turn it down! I can hear it over here," Ava told her, repositioning herself for maximum ray reception.

Ralley rolled her eyes behind her aviators.

"Whatever, Mum."

Ava smirked to herself, closing her eyes and breathing deeply to get back into her peaceful, beachy tanning mood.

The sun was great today. It was just powerful enough to make a good tan, but not uncomfortably hot. Perfect. Ava was starting to think everything about Australia was perfect.

Then, she felt a cool, dark shade fall over her.

She opened one eye to see two rather sculpted surfer-looking guys standing in front of her blocking the rays.

"Hey," the one on Ava's left, a blond, said, cracking his lips in a half smile, revealing bright white teeth.

"I'm Caleb, and this is my best mate, Joey," he introduced, gesturing to the brunet beside him who was checking out Ralley's ass.

"Hi," Ava responded shortly, eyeing the guys warily. She had to admit they were pretty sexy, but they weren't Ashton.

"They're almost he-- Helloooo," Ralley said, rolling onto her side and noticing the strangers. She pulled out her earbuds, "Death Valley" seeping into the air around them.

"Hey there," Joey said, squatting down beside Ralley's chair and winking at her. Ava rolled her eyes.

"I'm Joey."

"Ralley," Ralley told him, sitting up and crossing her legs.

"I'm Caleb," Caleb chirped, waving at Ralley.

"Can we help you?" Ralley asked, not quite sure why they were there.

"We just noticed you lovely ladies sunning over here and thought you might like to have a little fun," Joey explained with a smile that would probably make any other girl drag him to the nearest restroom. It just creeped Ralley out.

"Sunning is fun," Ava replied sassily, stretching in her chair to watch the lust consume their eyes.

"Not as fun as us," Caleb flirted, his eyes glued to Ava's body. Ralley held in a laugh; Ava had them wrapped around her finger.

"What kind of fun," Ralley questioned, flicking some hair over her shoulder. She leaned forward a little, drawing Joey's eyes.

"A swim, a leisurely game of volley. We could buy you a drink or two. That'd definitely make things more fun."