SUMMER BREEZE

Chapter 5: Seashell

It was about 7 in the morning. I took a quick walk on the beach. It was peaceful. I loved doing this. Having some time alone really helps me think. I think it was my tenth lap around the place when I saw Lexy. Lexy wore a green floral dress and she had sunnies on. When she saw me, she sparked up and ran in my direction.

"Kip!!" She yelled while waving her hands like a mad man.

I laughed and braced myself for a Bear hug. Lexy loved giving hugs, specially tight ones that will crush your ribs and spleen.

"Lexy... I can't breath"

"Oh sorry haha"

She finally let go of me.

"So, this is Hawaii..." She said while looking around. Then she continued, "It's beautiful Kip!"

I smiled and noded to show agreement.

"Hey are you hungry, Lex?" I asked, rembering that she has probably not eaten since the flight. "I'll take you to the snack bar."

Both of us talked about how well the summer was turning out to be. Soon the place slowly crowded with people.

"Hey, lets go swimming!" Lexy said with excitement.

"Sure, but don't you wanna rest for a while? I mean you just got here."

"Nope, I wanna swim."

I laughed as she changed into her swimsuit.

"Care to join me my lady?"

She jokingly asked.

"Oh you bet I do."

I changed into my swimwear and ran to the beach with Lexy. We swam for a good hour, and for two hours we had a little sand castle building contest. I was obviously not even close to how great of an artist Lexy was. She's been to many places teaching about art and she has thousands of works put up in art museums around the globe. So the winner of this sand castle building contest is a no brainer. I still loved challenges like this with her anyway, I did it for the fun. I was almost done with my sand castle, the only thing missing was something to top it with. I started looking for a good seashell or a cool looking stone, it really didn't matter what it was, I just needed a suitable object to top it with. I saw a lot of seashells, but none seemed to be worthy to top a sand castle. I kept looking until I bumped in to Jim.

"Kip, right?" He looked straight at me.

"Yep, haha that's what they call me."

I was still looking around for a seashell.

"What are you looking for?"

I stopped looking around and started to look at him.

He really was John's brother. Jim was just as curious as he was... Maybe even more.

"Im looking for something to top my sandcastle with."

Jim thought for a while, then he started to look around as well. He spotted John and signaled him to come to us.

"Yeah? What's going on?" John asked.

"Kip here needs a topper for a sandcastle. Didn't you find a great seashell yesterday?"

John smiled at me. "I was actually planning on giving this to you when I got the chance, this seems to be it."

John hands me a classic and absolutely beautiful seashell.

So romantic.

"It's perfect. Thank you. Both of you." I headed back to where Lexy was, she was still busy building her castle. As I sat down to continue with my castle, Lexy turned to face me.

"Oh my god Kip! That was him. You got to talk to him."

I was a little confused at her excitement.

"Are you telling me that you're friends with John?!"

I noded, still pretty confused.

"He's the guy I met during my stay at NYC, He's such a great artist!"

"Yes, I know."

"I absolutely love his works. Remember I told you about this amazing artist?"

"Yeah?.."

Oh no.

"He's the one!!! The one who captivated me so much with his masterpiece."

I wasn't sure if I liked where this was going.

"So... You like him?"

Lexy laughs. "Like??? I absolutely love him."

I felt strange. Was I actually bothered by the fact that my best friend liked or loved John.

I didn't like John... I dont love him.Why the hell am I so affected?

Wait ...do I have feelings for John?

Fuck.

I held on to the seashell. I decided not to use it as a top after all. When we were done at the beach, me and Lexy headed for our separate rooms.

She was still talking about how great John was and how much time they spent together.

When I got to my room, I sat down on my bed. I took the seashell out of my pocket and I ran my fingers around it, familiarizing myself with it's texture. I layed down on my bed. Something was bothering me. I wasn't really sure what. I closed my eyes. Silence and darkness filled my room.