Not Very Stereotypical.

Chapter Thirty Two

"Gracie are you okay looking after Timmy for a minute?" I said, clearly shocking Noah. Gracie turned to me- half buried in a hole already.

"Yes!" She said pointing to me enthusiastically. "But if we have dug to China by the time you've come back then it not our fault."

"Who's Timmy?" Noah said turning around to look at Gracie incredible confused. Laughing I stood up and went over and rubbed the mop of hair on Timmy's head.

"I'm Timmy and this is Mr Ducky. I'm Bethan's brother." He said confidently, looking up at Noah with sass across his face. Squeezing the duck out of it air leaving it dehydrated yet again, he introduced them before digging Gracie's legs further into the sand.

"Right. It's nice to meet you Timmy." He said, looking down at Gracie in slight confusion. "Coming Beth?" Standing up without any help I waved quickly at Leighton showing her a face of slight panic as she flapped her hands in disregard, hushing me with an evil smile on her face.

Looking back one more time to see Timmy setting Mr Ducky down on top of a sand castle next to Gracie's disappearing body.  Smiling, I took the advice Emma gave me before I left. To live life. She told me to stop worrying- which she knew I always did in secret and that I needed to have fun like the personality I portray. Deciding it was time to put this plan in full speed I laughed loudly out of nowhere and embraced the moment. Pushing a very confused Noah aside and almost into another kids sandcastle, I began running to the sea as the rays from the sun fuelled me to crave the sea.

"You know I'm always up for a race, Bethan!" Noah said as he began running along side me, dodging the few other people dragging various inflatables to the ocean. He advanced ahead of me clearly and reached the ocean, splashing in up to his waist while I simply stopped to admire the happiness sprawled across his face as he looked at me. "Not coming in? Too scared?" He teased, slowing the world down with his smirk.

"Only testing the water." I called back, dipping my toes in the tide as is laps back and forth like a dogs tongue. He began walking further into the sea and quickly pushed himself into a swim towards the boys who in the distance were sitting on their boards. Watching Noah's back as the water dipped over him, I began walking my way in, my skin filling with texture as goosebumps from the cool water layered over me. I tucked my hands around my stomach as I walked deeper in, attempting to avoid the seaweed under the hypnotic waves.

I looked up as I reached stomach depth, Noah paddling towards me on his pale yellow board. Propping himself up, that damned wetsuit still not zipped up he looked down at me and my stroppy face. "Little help maybe?" I said holding my hands over my shoulders, the cold and insecurities peaking slightly.

Seeing the stroke of evil run across his face he dipped his hand into the water and pushed it towards me, splashing me. I squealed and turned my body away from him, as the spots of cold water irritates my skin. "Oh Bethan, you've got to get all the way in before you get used to it obviously." He laughed leaning back down slightly.

"Well you didn't have to splash me!" I shouted, pushing his board with my spare hand as I wiped my irritated eye. He laughed at me, teasing slightly. He patted the back of his board and pulled his head towards himself.

"Come on Beth." He encouraged, " Let's just have a paddle." Knowing I was guaranteed to make a fool of myself if I attempted to look attractive, I waded through the water and hopped on the board with a bit of a grunt. Noah smiled at me as I pouted unknowingly in reply. "Ok if you're just going to be grumpy then you can paddle back on your own." He reprimanded, like a teacher to a toddler, teasing with the smirk laid yet again upon his face.

I leant down and pushed some water back in his direction, splashing him in revenge. I lay down on the board, similarly to the way I had seen him do previously, looking up at him impatiently a ripple of a wave came under us and lifted the board slightly as we sifted over the wave together. He smiled at me and began leaning towards me, taking me by surprise. The long board shortened as his face got nearer to mine as he propped himself up on his hands and looked into my eyes.

"I like you Bethan." He said truthfully, a sweet gloss in his eyes. "But you being grumpy all the time is going to make me wanna push you out to see and leave you there." He joked, smiling extremely and pointing out to see to make the point he made more serious. Laughing his pulled his hand back from the horizon and squeezed my cheeks- but not in a way your grandma would, but how models pose to high paying paparazzi. That's one thing Noah did well, he made me feel like a luxury somehow. He made me feel good.

Spinning around to face the front on the board, he began to dip his arms in and out of the water and towards his friends who were seen simply standing on the board and goofing about on the limp sea, the stillness no longer forcing a wave to break. Following suit with his paddling, we began moving faster towards the boys and their circle of fun and games.

Fascinated by the gliding water, the warmth on my skin from the sun heated water sent me to paradise. The realisation had hit me, I was on a surfboard in the sea off shore from California with a stunning lacrosse player and my best friends brother and friend group. It was only when we were metres away that the other realisation had hit. Noah had said he liked me and I hadn't even said anything back. Sure he had followed it up with a joke but I would've died with embarrassment if he hadn't said it back to me.

Over the upcoming noise of boys jumping in and out of the sea and the extreme exasperated noise I had been making due to lack of air coming into my system, I shouted for Noah, rather dramatically considering he was only in front of me. I sat up instantly as he also did, causing his legs to dangle down and stopping the movement of the board. "What?" He asked as his eyes turned around to meet mine, his body still facing the direction of the board.

I shuffled forward so we were almost touching, but I didn't want to shout this, not quite yet. And I think some people might call me crazy for saying this so soon, but yet in that moment I was so certain of it all. The words fell from my mouth with ease as the salty water dipped onto my tongue from my nervous lips.

"I like you too."