Blue Flowers In Autumn

Chapter 4

The next morning started out slowly. I woke up reluctantly to phone calls from Jacob, Axel, and Lucas who showed up at the residence hall at 7 a.m. Elise was doing a great job at ignoring their phone calls so I picked it up.

"Hello," I drawled, not sure whom I was speaking to.

"Elise, its Lucas. We're here!", the voice replied. I could hear the excitement in his voice.

"It's actually Nadine, Elise is still in bed and I just woke up. Why are you guys here so early?" I answered rubbing my eyes as I began to yawn. I heard him complain and tell the other guys that we were still in bed.

"You guys need to get up", he retorted. "We have a long day ahead of us."

"You're gonna have to give us about an hour," I replied as I got up. I pulled the pillow beneath Elise's head, and I walked over to open the blinds.

"Just hurry!," He yelled and hung up.

"Do I have to come?" Elise asked drowsily.

I looked over at Elise who was now tossing in bed. Unbelievable.

"Yes, now get up!"

I got my towel and walked into the bathroom. Elise followed suit. We had a long day ahead.

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The best thing about Florida is the water. We had been driving for two hours before Elise and I were fully awake and ready to take on the day. Our destination, St. Augustine, was two hours and thirty minutes away from our campus which was in Orlando. Our destination was also Jacob's 'hometown'.

"Welcome to mi cuidad natal", Jacob announced as we drove past the signboard welcoming us to St. Augustine. His Spanish was really rusty. I rubbed my eyes and rubbed Nadine's arm to wake her up.

"I mean, I was not actually born here, but home is where the heart is." Jacob continued. He turned to look at us and there was glistening in his eyes. I wonder if he had any specific memories at St. Augustine that made him so in love with the thought of it. Jacob had driven Lucas and I in his truck and Elise came along with Axel in his sedan.

After we parked our vehicles, Lucas and Elise led the way. Actually, Lucas led the way while Elise and Axel followed eagerly a few inches from him while Jacob and I walked a few feet behind them.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we slowed down. I was trying to start a conversation and not be weird and anti-social.

"We are going to Bobs", he replied.

"What's that?" I asked him shyly. I immediately became reminded that I didn't know Jacob as well as I had imagined in my head. I mean, I literally met him last night. Somehow, I had convinced my subconsciousness that we had been friends for longer. I started to overthink and over analyze everything.

"It is a boat charter," he replied casually as he turned to me. He smiled and then reached for his phone in his pockets.

"OMG!" my thoughts started racing. "He is probably bored; why do I have to ask silly questions; he probably thinks I'm boring" I let out a deep sigh and slapped my forehead.

Jacob let out a laugh and asked if I was okay. I looked at him embarrassed and quickened my pace to catch up with the other guys and Elise.

"We are slacking Jacob, let's move!" I started laughing and skipped towards the others. I found Elise's arm and tugged her.

"Do not leave us alone again", I sighed to her with a distressed soft whisper. Elise giggled shyly and smiled at me.

'Bob', as I soon came to realize, was not the name of the boat shack, but Axel's father who actually owned the boat shack which was actually named 'Bob's'?' We just got to the boat shack and Axel introduced us to his father who was really excited that we were renting a boat to go fishing. Axel's father was a tall white man. The skin around his neck, his nose, and his ears were a deep red shade. It was obvious that he had spent a lot of time outside in the sun.

"Axel," Bob gleamed as we walked up to the shack.

Axel gave his dad a hug and introduced Elise and me to him. Bob welcomed us warmly by sharing his finest collection of dad jokes before asking if we wanted to rent out a boat and buy some bait.

"Yeah, Nadine is actually a pro at fishing", Axel joked loudly.

"At least that what she says", Jacob added in a snarky tone. Lucas rolled his eye and I let out a little laugh in disbelief. Lucas was kind of quiet and it was hard to interpret his actual feelings towards Jacob. I didn't care too much and I was just glad that I had someone on my side.

Axel led the way to the boat and I made an effort to walk next to Lucas. He was about 6 feet tall and had a lean frame of mostly muscle. His dark brown hair was the perfect complement to his clear and milky skin and for the first time, I noticed I couldn't tell what his race was. If I had to guess, I would say East Asian mixed with a little bit of Caucasian but I wasn't too sure. Lucas turned his attention to me and I realized that I had been overthinking again.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, sorry," I stated and cleared my throat. I had the tendency to get lost in thought and stare at people.

"You seem like you have a lot of good thoughts", he stated in a way that made it seem like a compliment but little did he know that I hated every part of me that made me overthink thing. Why couldn't I be like Elise? Spontaneous, adventurous, free-spirited and never suffocating in a senseless mass of what if's?

"I guess you could say that," I added with little excitement.

"Do you ever share them?" he asked. I desperately wanted to. I wanted to tell someone every single thing I thought about. The crazy ones, the funny ones, the good the bad, the ugly but I had never met someone who was interested enough.

"Not really, most of them are meaningless anyway. I think its just a side effect of not having friends." I said jokingly.

"I am your friend," he said seriously. I guess he was but I had only known him for a day. That's not what I meant.

I rolled my eyes and smiled a bit. We joked a little bit more and I realized how unique Lucas was. He was unlike anybody I had ever met but then again I didn't know that many people. He didn't have a lot of enthusiasm but he had a lot of passion. The way he spoke, the questions he asked, everything he did had intention. He listened to me like I was a foreigner from a strange land he had longed to visit and it only made me want to open up to him. Jacob was fun and outgoing, Axel was a joker but Lucas, he was something else and I had no label for him.

We finally made it to the boat. It was a six-person boat. We all fit securely in the boat and began to sail. Jacob had got on the boat first and motioned for me sit next to him. I didn't want to stop talking to Lucas but I grudgingly agreed. Lucas and Elise sat next to each other and the back and Axel sat in the middle facing Jacob and me.

"Let the games begin!" Elise announced enthusiastically and Lucas burst out laughing beside her. He had such a deep and rich laugh and I just knew that he was going to have a great time fishing with Elise. Elise was fun, and every moment I had spent with her was great. However, the thought f her and Lucas together caused a deep pang in my heart that I was ashamed of.

Jacob put his hand on my lower back and when I turned to look at him, he winked and asked me if I was ready.

I smiled and replied him cockily, "Always."

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I know it has been almost two years but I am back for good. To all of you who stuck around, thank you!

Don't forget to Cote and Share. I am really excited as I tell the story of 5 college students caught between the trials of love, life, and an unexpected reveal. The character development will be a challenge but trust me, it's gonna be great. WHO is your favorite character so far?