The Invisible Silver Lining [CURRENTLY BEING EDITED]

Chapter 23

I reallllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllly liked this chapter

-CFF

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"Come ON Em! The boys are waiting!" Sharon calls to me from the kitchen. For New Years Eve we are celebrating by going to the beach and hanging out. Its just Blake, Xander, Sharon, and I, but it'll still be fun. I head out of the bathroom and into the kitchen where Sharon is packing the last items of food into our picnic basket. I'm holding an extra large neon pink shirt in my hands. I slip it on over my black swimsuit. Sharon hands me the basket as I grab the keys to the jeep. We exit the house through the garage. Sharon starts the car while I slip into the passenger seat. Sharon opens the garage door and we head off to Blake's dorm. Both boys are waiting there for us.

After about ten minutes we've arrived. Sharon walks up to the door to get the boys while I hop into the back seat. Before five minutes are up, the boys come out with Sharon and we're off to the beach.

The sun is setting just as we arrive. I smile as we park. I love the beach. Tonight is going to be a blast. I pull off my over shirt and throw it into the back of the jeep seat. I grab the boogie boards that I packed in the trunk earlier. Xander helps me carry them down to the shore. Mine is black with an orange strip while the one Xander is holding is more of a beige white with blue tips. I take the string that is connected to the board and strap it onto my wrist. Xander does the same. I look up the beach and see Sharon and Blake carrying her surfboard down to the water. I grin at Xander as we wade out into the waves. "Bet I'll get a wave before you do!" Xander grins back mischievously. "You're on." He jumps onto his board and starts paddling. I quickly do the same. I see a wave begin to break and I duck under it. Xander sees it too late and gets wiped out. He comes up above the water and shakes the water off of his head. He turns around to see me laughing. Xander smiles and quickly douses me with water, splashing me before I can move out of the way. I spit out the salt water that makes it into my mouth. "Okay, now its really on." I say before paddling twice as hard out to sea.

I spot the perfect wave and aim for it. I slip onto my board at just the right time. I'm riding the wave to shore, laughing and enjoying it very much. Just before I reach the sand, something pulls me back and off my boogie board. I scream and go under.

Xander pulls me up out of the water. He grabs me and pulls me to him. His arms slip around my waist as he says, "Just because you won that bet doesn't mean I won't get my revenge." I squirm, but his grip is too tight. Xander's hands hold my waist and he begins to tickle me. I laugh loudly and squirm even more. "No! Stop it!" I say between giggles. I can hear the smile in Xander's voice as he responds, "Not done yet!" A wave knocks us both over and Xander looses his grip on me. I swim away from Xander racing for the sand. I can hear him splashing through the water behind me. I laugh and keep running. I get out of the water and run as fast as I can up to the blanket that Sharon set up on the beach. I sit down on it and wearily watch Xander as he walks up to me. He sits down next to me. I don't look at him, instead I scan the beach, seeing if I can see Sharon or Blake. But they're nowhere in sight.

"Where's the happy couple?" Xander asks. I shrug. "No idea. Probably down the beach somewhere kissing." Xander wolf whistles, making me laugh. I ask him, "How did you do that?"

"What?"

"The whistling."

"You don't know how to whistle?" I sigh. "No. Isn't that sad?" Xander shrugs. "Not necessarily. Just means you didn't learn."

I look up at him and realize just how close he is. His face is milli-inches from mine. I swallow the lump in my throat. "Will...will you teach me?" Xander smiles softly. "You bet. First step. You gotta puck out your lips like you're gonna kiss me." I raise my eyebrow. "I'm serious!" He says smiling. I look at him skeptically, but do what he says. Xander lowers his voice, "And then...you just...." He's leaning in as he keeps talking and my eyes are slowly closing, "gotta...blow out...air." His lips brush mine and I hear a voice call out loudly, "Emilee! Xander! Time for dinner you two lovebirds." Sharon.... I'm going to talk to her later. "Foods in the back of the jeep!" Blake says as he walks past us, "Come help us carry it to the blanket will you?" Xander stands up and I quickly do the same. I don't look at him as we head up to the car. Xander walks in front of me and turns around. He walks backwards as he talks to me. "Is dinner going to be good?" I shake my head, "You're going to fall. And I'm going to laugh." Xander ignores me. "That doesn't answer my question. Is dinner going to be good?" I smile. "Yes. We made stuff for tonight all afternoon so it better be."

"Well if you--whoa!!" He trips and I can't avoid a collision. I fall on top of him. My hands are on either side of his head. I can hear his heart pounding fast, mimicking the speed of my own heart. Awkwardness... I can feel the heat rush onto my cheeks. I half smile. "Um... told you you were going to fall." Xander shakes his head. "Alright, you told me. Um, wanna," He clears his throat. "Wanna let me up?" I nod, "Yeah... that would be, um, a good idea." Xander places his hands on my waist to push me up and we hear bushes rustle. Our heads rapidly look over our shoulders. A horde of paparazzi are snapping millions of pictures of us. No no no no no no no NO!!

I jump up off of Xander. I start grab my boogie board and run to the jeep. Xander does the same. The paparazzi follow, taking pictures while they run after us. How did they find us?! I see Sharon pulling out the basket. I yell at her as I near the jeep. "Put it back! We gotta go!" She's about to question me when she sees the paparazzi following. I jump into the back of the jeep. Xander puts our boards into the back of the car and gets in beside me. Blake and Sharon have already gotten into the vehicle. We speed off into the sunset before the stalkers have a chance to get any more close-ups.