The Beach (Jalex)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Two Kids, No Consequences

When I wake up the next morning, Zack asks me, “To the beach?”

I nod, smiling. “To the beach.”

Last night, after Sweet Frog, Alex and I just hung out on the boardwalk for a while, talking and watching other seniors in amusement. Before we parted ways, we agreed to meet at the beach the next day, specifically on 23rd Street. That’s right outside of Days Inn.

We get there before Alex and Rian do. It’s only around nine and sort of cloudy out, but at least we’re not stuck in a burning inferno. Zack and I apply our sunscreen (Zack does not rip his shirt off this time, since he actually likes this one), and once we’re done, I see two guys heading toward us. They’re carrying a box, four water bottles, and some towels, and one of them yells, “Hey, guys!”

"Rian!" Zack yells back, waving.

Rian nods in our direction, and Alex sticks his tongue out. Once they reach us, they set the box down and hand us both water bottles.

"We didn’t know what you wanted, so we figured you couldn’t really go wrong with water," Rian explains.

I look down at the box and the logo on it. “You got Dunkin’ Donuts?”

Alex smiles widely. “Full dozen, baby.” I blush at the word “baby”, though I know he’s probably not using if flirtatiously.

"Oh my God. You’re officially my new favorite people," Zack says, opening the box and pulling out a glazed donut. "Fuck you, Jack."

"Fine," I tease back. "Alex is my new favorite person anyways after all the fun we had last night.” I make sure to say the word “fun” as suggestively as possible. “Which you missed out on. Asshole.”

"Does that make me an asshole, too?" Rian asks as he and Alex set their towels down.

"No," I say, "you were with that girl."

"Cass," Rian says, smiling and blushing. Aww.

We all sit down around the box on our towels. “Right,” I say. “So you had an excuse.” I point at Zack. “He, however, does not.” Zack flips me off.

"Sometimes," Alex says to Rian, "you and Cass are so cute together it makes me want to throw up."

"You’re just jealous because you’re single," Rian says in between bites of his donut.

"That is a lie," Alex says, glancing at me. "It’s just that when I see two people in a relationship, and I am not in one myself, I get an urge to vomit."

"Yeah. Because you’re jealous." He gives Alex a knowing look that Zack and I aren’t a part of.

Alex rolls his eyes. “Oh, blah, blah, blah. What do you know?”

"I’m your best friend."

He laughs awkwardly. “That doesn’t mean anything.”

"I agree," I add, nodding at Zack. "He’s my best friend, and I bet he doesn’t even know when my birthday is."

"June 18," Zack replies without missing a beat.

I stick my tongue out at him. “Lucky guess.”

After we’re done eating (we’ve still got a couple leftover donuts, but oh well), Rian says, “Well, now we’ve got to wait an hour before we go in the water!”

"Fuck you," Alex and I say in unison, and with that, we sprint down to the ocean. Rian and Zack chase after us—they’re definitely the more responsible ones here.