Falling For Coke

Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Lucky what I got isn't a sort of saucy, I-Will-Stain-Your-Shirt food. So when my plate fell, the sandwich just sort of bounced off Sophia, leaving crumbs all over her shirt. The mashed potato just stuck to the plate, and was gooed all over the floor. I breathe a sigh of relief, thankful that I didn't get pasta or stew or anything.

Sophia did not see that coming. So she tried to make a big deal of the crumbs all over her shirt. "OMG! Bright just spilled...um...crumbs all over me! She did it on purpose!" The other customers are all staring at each other in amusement as if thinking, This girl is such a drama queen.

Grace started guffawing. "Yeah right, Stuffy. We just saw you bump her plate. And crumbs can be brushed off."

You could tell that Sophia was wishing for a huge orange stain on her shirt. She gets red with embarrassment and promptly sits down, fluffing her hair. Whatever, Stuffy.

I go and get another plate of a sandwich and mashed potato since Stuffy knocked out the first one. Then finally, I get to eat. I'm a bit hungry.

"So what are we doing today, Carolyn?" Mrs. Gardner asks.

"Well I planned for a relaxing swim down in the beach. Skipping Stones is well know for it's white sand and clear blue ocean. But there'll be jellyfish. You all know what to do when one stings you..." Ma'am Carolyn says.

"Can we not talk about this?" Coke says, swallowing.

"Why? I'm just saying we should all know jellyfish first aid. All you have to do is pee on-"

"Okay, okay," Coke says quickly. "Uh, we're eating right now. This isn't really necess-"

"Nonsense! We used to do so when we were in middle school, right, Charlotte?"

Mrs. Gardner, I could tell, is trying hard not to laugh. "Yes, Carolyn."

After lunch, we jump into our swimsuits and head down to the beach. Then we remove our cover-ups.

"Oh come on," I whisper frustratedly to my cover-up, which got tangled. Then I catch sight of Coke.

Oh, god, I'm about to die of Over-Gorgeous-Guyness. He's wearing red trunks, showcasing his six pack albs. Every girl five meters around him instantly drooling at his amazingness.

He grins at me and starts chasing me across the beach. And of course I had to run. Who knew what evil thing he'd do to me once he gets me? He finally catches up, flipping me over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, heading to the ocean.

"Put me down!" I scream, pounding on his back, the blood starting to travel to my head.

"What, scared of the jellyfish?" he teases me, the cool water already spraying around his feet.

"No," I reply. "I'm, I'm-"

"Tell me you know how to swim, right?" he says, the water already up to his knees.

"O course I do. I'm... I'm afraid of drowning," I say hesitantly.

"Whatever," he tells me, and dumps me into the water.

Oooooh.

The water's sending shivers up and down my spine. I stand there, shivering like an idiot, until Coke rolls his eyes at me playfully and splashes water at me.

"HEY!" I protest. You're going down, Coke Harrington. I cup my hands and splash the saltwater back at him as hard as I could.

He grins and we continue splashing each other until we are both drenched from head to toe. And then another splash of water soaks us up even more.

Grace joined the party after wading in in her light green bikini that matches her eyes. "Hey, lovebirds!" she greets us in such an innocent way (note sarcasm). And for the billionth time in my life, I feel like cussing in front of Grace and, yeah, even Coke. But then I have my values.

Yeah, I've been promoted from angel to saint.

Things get a little awkward from there.

"Um," Coke says.

I say nothing, fearing that if I do, I might say some stuff that I shouldn't like, Hey, Coke, Grace and I were just talking about you and me having little hot babies! All the words and letters are caught up in my throat.

I catch Sophia glaring at me, disappearing behind the latest edition of Vogue. She's staying beside Ma'am Carolyn and her mother who are peacefully sunbathing.

"For you," Coke says in a thick French accent, handing me a pearly white shell, interrupting me from my thoughts.

"Oh," I say plainly, squirming my feet in the soft sand. "Thanks."

"Let's swim, guys, you have more quality time later," Grace calls from in front, paddling deeper into the darker blue of the ocean.

As Coke and I follow her, he suddenly yelps. "Ouch! I think-"

"Jellyfish?" I ask teasingly.

"No, I stubbed my toe. Good guess."

"Sarcasm noted."

And I realize that this is the first conversation I've ever had with him that actually feels normal. No stuttering, no blushing, no stupidity, no nothing. Just me, Bright, talking with Coke.

The thought makes me feel like my heart decided to go for a nice stroll out of my body, then it couldn't, so it ended up in my intestines.

"WANNA SWIM OR NOT?" Grace hollers from a short distance, waving her arms and making swooshing motions.

I smile shyly at Coke. "Yeah, we're coming!"

* * * * *

"We're going banana boat tomorrow, Coke said," I tell Grace as we snuggle in our comfy beds.

The while day, we just swam. I definitely got a serious tan and slight sunburn. Grace swam, the whole day, never got out of the water.

Sophia read Vogue the whole day, never getting out of her chair.

What's the point of having a whole department store of bikinis if you don't use them?

Also, I'm a little scared for tomorrow. I wasn't lying to Coke when I said I was afraid of drowning.

* * * * *

SO I'M BACK!!!

OKEY DOKEY, SO BRIGHT IS AFRAID OF HEIGHTS AND DROWNING.

TEAM BRIGHT!!!

SO

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ERUDITE SERUMS AND CANDOR BLUNTNESS,

LivingInTheCity

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