I Love New Zealand

Chapter Two: Amy

It wasn’t that I have a crush on Tiago; it was just that he and Brycen are best friends, so anywhere Tiago goes, Brycen goes. At least, that’s what I wanted Luke to think. It sort of came off that I wanted to go see Tiago more than going fishing. Sure, he’s attractive, but I’ve known too many boys like him to fall head-over-heels for.

“Where are you going?” Luke asked, watching as I walked off in the wrong direction. “The water’s this way.”

“Oh right. Thanks.” Jeez, was I really this flustered just at the idea of seeing Brycen again? If so, I must be really pathetic. So, in an attempt to keep from embarrassing myself in front of Luke, I just stared at my feet and marveled at how well my flip-flops matched my bikini.

They’re usually fun, the moments I have with Luke. He always seems to like hanging around with me and doesn’t care that a lot of boys come up and ask me out. I’ve tried setting him up with other friends of mine, but he claims just because he’s gay doesn’t mean every other gay guy on earth needs to like him. And lately he just seems so… bitter. I mean, every once in a while, he keeps swearing when he takes a step. I wonder if he’s jealous of me.

After a few minutes of pondering my next outfit for tomorrow, the sound of blasting music hit my eardrums, alerting me towards the clearing in the distance. “C’mon,” I told. “This must be it.” Luke responded with something like a groan.

Tiago was the first to notice us and called, “Hey guys!”

The beach was beautiful, even more so than the other one from earlier today, although this one had more people on it. It was still one of those beaches you see on a cheap postcard, though. “I’ve never seen a beach this beautiful,” I heard Luke say behind me. But he wasn’t staring at the water though; he was staring somewhere near the bonfire and the speakers. And there, standing between both of them and talking to Phoebe, was Brycen.

“That lying skank,” I uttered, shoving right past Tiago and into Phoebe.

“What the hell…!?” she shouted after being pushed aside.

“What happened to that movie, huh?”

“Oh, well Luke couldn’t go and Diana wanted to come here instead, so we headed over here and…”

This time, I wouldn’t let someone else ruin my chance at love. “Leave. Now.”

“E-excuse me?”

“If you don’t leave now, I will shave your hair off in the middle of the night and post your pictures all over Facebook. You got that?” In a state of pure terror, Phoebe walked away without glancing back at Brycen, who quickly looked over at me in shock. His eyes were so brown… they were almost black, but not an empty black. They felt full of warmth. And his smile nearly blinded me at first glance. How could a man like this exist?

“Hello, my name’s Amy,” I said while flipping my red hair in a flirty way.

“Hi, the name’s Brycen,” he replied.

“I know, I’ve seen you before. Aren’t you the one who organized this whole trip in the first place?”

“Yeah, my friend is Tiago. I told him to invite a few friends over to my resort here.”

“Wait, this is your resort?” Score. “Excuse my friend Phoebe; she’s delusional. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to go see a movie with me this afternoon. The one with Ryan Gosling. Is that alright?”

Suddenly, his eyebrows furrowed down in an almost irritated kind of way. Was he… mad at me?

“I’m sorry, but I’m not interested.”

Wait.

What? Ouch. Was this the first time my “feminine charm” wasn’t going to get me a boy? The only way I could answer was to say, “Oh… I’m sorry if I’m annoying you.”

“Thanks,” was his only reply. He turned and walked off towards the water, shaking his head while doing so. Then, at the sight of Tiago talking to Luke and Phoebe, he paused and looked for a few seconds before continuing towards the water. Was he interested in Phoebe more than he was to me and he was mad at me for shoving her away? Anyway, I needed a drink. Being rejected by a New Zealand crush makes a woman thirsty.

“I want a beer.”

Over by the cooler filled with drinks, Tiago, Luke, and Phoebe were talking up a storm. “So then,” Luke began. “I was like, ‘One more word outta you and I will bitch slap you so hard, your…’ Oh, hey Amy!”

“Hi. Can one of you guys grab me a beer?” Phoebe’s glare made me turn to her and give her a look so scary, she flinched and looked away just as Tiago handed me the beer. You lucky bitch, I thought.

“There. Drink it carefully though. Luke says he can’t tolerate alcohol and he might get jealous.”

“Shut up, Tiago,” he groaned. “It’s not like I’m not mature enough for it. I’ll be seventeen next month!”

“Okay, shrimp. Hey, Amy, right?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you wanna see a movie with me tonight?”

“Sorry, I’m not really in the mood. I think I’m gonna go home soon.”

“Aww, come on Amy!” Luke pleaded. “You have to stay a little bit longer, please?”

“…Fine, but I’m really tired.”

“Yay! I’ll go back to the house and get us some clothes. We can’t be half-naked for the whole night.” Jeez, for someone who was so glum earlier, he sure is hyper now. Luke runs off down the path towards Orleans while Tiago downs the rest of his beer.

“He reminds me of a little kid, you know,” he states. It takes me a second to realize that he’s talking to me.

“Yeah… he was all depressed earlier, but now he seems fine. Wait, did you give him beer!?”

“No, he said he doesn’t like alcohol. Why?”

“Well, one beer makes him sick, two beers make him hyper, but three beers… Let’s just say that he won’t be able to keep anything to himself after three beers.” Tiago laughs and reaches for another bottle. “Yeah, I remember last summer when he had wine for the first time and nearly broke his neck going down the stairs.” I finally noticed that Tiago was staring at me from the corner of his eye. Was he… looking at my chest?

Eager to escape from his creepy gaze, I said, “I wonder if my boyfriend’s coming soon?” Tiago flinches hearing this and a quiet, “Shit,” escapes his lips. Trust me, I’m not going to fall for another guy like him.

At the end of the beach, two topless girls are running away from a very muscular dude holding their bikini bras. “No, stop it!” they shriek with glee. What total whores. But Tiago seems interested, so I leave him to watch the show.

Finally, Luke returns wearing a yellow sleeveless hoodie and carrying a black wife beater for Tiago and a red plaid nightshirt for me. “Here guys!” he calls while throwing the wife beater at Tiago and handing me the nightshirt. After I slip it on, he unbuttons it to show off a little bit of my bikini. “There, it’s a little sexier now. Are you happy now?”

“I was fine before, but you’re really sweet. Thanks.”

Luke smiles and runs off towards Tiago, who is now talking to Brycen. The latter catches my eye half-smiles, causing my heart to skip a beat.

And no matter how much he could tell me otherwise, there was no way that I can stop loving him.