Harassenger: Backseat Admirer ✔️

Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

"Did you know I got cornered in the living room by Holt, asking me where I worked and how old I was and how often I check my bank account. I felt violated. Holt's like that annoying uncle at Thanksgiving dinner who makes you want to hide in the bathroom." I asked Mick to grab my luggage downstairs, and instead, he comes back with a story. How nice.

"That's great, but where is my luggage?" It hadn't been ten minutes since we made it to the beach house. It was a bright blue home with an eggshell white wrap-around porch right on the beach. Upstairs, each bedroom featured a wicker chair with a beautiful seagreen comforter and starfish wallpaper, and the living room downstairs furtniture matched the tropical theme, with black and white striped chairs with a trio of windows overlooking the beach. I'm surprised to see there wasn't a hammock in the living room instead of chairs, honestly. Everything was great, except for the downside that with as many people there was here, I had to share a room with Mick.

"Geesh, thanks for caring I was harassed. I'm going back down to get it. Oh, there starting a bonfire in front of the beach house if you want to go."

"Is there food?" I asked, sitting on the bed to try out the mattress, bouncing up and down.

"It wouldn't be a bonfire if there wasn't." He said.

We went downstairs together, following the smell of smoke and roasting marshmallows.

Trixie and Della sat by the fire while Holt busied himself trying to keep the fire going. With little lighter fluid left, he was having trouble getting it going.

Mick next to me chuckled to himself, and I elbowed him to be quiet as we took out seats.

"What? It's not my fault the idiot didn't use dry wood." He whispered.

Once the fire was taken care of, Holt took a seat by his girl, grabbing her glass of beer, and taking a sip.

"Guys, I want to thank y'all again for joining us as we celebrate our marriage. It's a blessing to have such close family and friends, even new ones, gathered together. I know we're all busy with our lives, but let's take the time to just have fun for awhile." Holt tipped the beer in the air to toast, but since I didn't have a drink, I pretended I did.

"Yes, thank you all." Della tossed her red extensions behind her face, smiling a red lipped smile at her guests.

I internally roll my eyes at her, wishing I did have a drink to toast and tip it over on her expensive, peplum blouse.

As the fire burned on, Holt began playing his acoustic guitar, one of which I bought him for his last birthday. Della danced around the fire to the slow song, and I watched in awe as Holt's hands effortlessly glided along the strings. Mick didn't seem impressed.

"He's really into himself over there. I think I can say Trixie is having the best time by herself." Trixie steadily texted her boyfriend, and would have been content with going back inside if it weren't for me being out here.

"Mick, don't be rude. Holt is a nice instrumentalist."

"My air guitar sounds better." He argued, putting his fingers above his lip to keep from speaking too loud, but Holt must have heard anyway. Holt's fingers slam onto the strings, cutting his song short.

"Am I bothering you? If you're going to insult me, you can do it to my face, Conrad." Holt said to Mick.

"Nope, nothing bothering me here." Mick smirked.

"Yeah, I bet." Holt took his guitar strap away from his shoulder, setting it onto his chair and walking off, feet paddling into the sand.

I followed after him, trying to figure out why he let Mick get to him.

My bare feet buried into the sand more with every stride and it took a pretty second for my short legs to reach his side, which was how by the edge of the ocean.

His hand rested in his cargo pants, his eyes ahead onto the horizon.

"Holt, what's the matter?"

"What's the matter, Natalie? You brought a stranger here, and why? Because you feel some need to make new friends now that I'm married and you think I won't be around? I don't know; it's not like you to befriend such an imbecile. He can't act civil when he's getting an all-expense paid vacation. I don't like the way he acts, or the way he looks at you."

"You're being protective, and I get it. I haven't been around many guys apart from you and you want to keep me safe, but Mick is nothing to be worried about. He is a good guy and once the two of you put away the male dominance, you guys will be closer than ever." I assured him, watching as the waves splashed against our feet and begging to carry us away.

"I'll try to get along, I will."

"Good. If I can put up with your jock friends in Salty Edge, and your eccentric wife, I think you can out up with Mick."

"Hey, Della is amazing. She's beautiful, and she's, uhm, she's..." He stuttered.

"Can you not think of any other adjective to describe her?" I laughed. Pretty was an outer feature that would fade overtime, and the book even faster, so what did he really like about her other than that?

"She's, uhm, she's...healthy." He licked his lips, rubbing his hand through his shaved head, prickly layers of dark blonde hair starting to form again.

"Healthy? Jesus, Holt. Is she funny? Outgoing? Does she make you smile because of her ingenuity?"

"She can't even pronounce ingenuity." He shook his head.

"Is she abrasive? Do you like crazy women?" There must be something she has that I don't have, so maybe he likes angry, psychotic women.

"No, I don't know! I never thought about it. I think you named most of those characteristics because that's what you describe yourself as." He stated.

"No." I was only naming things on the top of my head, but does that mean he thinks I have all of those attributes?

"I swear, I wasn't hinting around about myself. I was truthfully asking you." Seeing as how he couldn't name anything about Della, it makes me think this marriage was rushed.

"Oh." He said blankly.

"It's okay. Think about it and get back to me." I teased, knowing full well he'd have nothing to say about Della bc she didn't have any attributes, or any good ones, anyway.

I left Holt wandering off by the ocean, walking, or hiking, in the sand back to the fire.

"Did you calm your friend down?" Mick questioned.

"Behave. He's not the only one acting like a child." I ran my tongue across my gums, prodding Mick with my finger. He cringed snapping my finger back and away from his arm.

"Dang, we don't need any stakes with those pointy fingers of yours." He jabbed.

"You're hilarious." I scoffed, disgruntled.

"You like me, anyway."

"Like a horse likes a five hundred pound man on his back." I smiled, batting my eyes in amusement toward him.

"I'll take it."