The Surfer Girl

barefoot cafe

We arrived at our destination several minutes later, grabbing what we needed for the day.

I put on a thin layer of sunblock, stripping off my soccer uniform. I wore a high neck gray bikini top, with a thin layer of mesh on the collar bone area. My bottoms were simple, gray with a braid of white, black, and gray fabric around the hips. I loosely put on a pair of shorts, leaving them unzipped. We grabbed our boards and walked down the sand. It stung from the heat, making me speed up. Alex laughed as I struggled to dip my feet in the cooling water. A feeling of relief washed over me as I was covered with the teal waves, as I remembered I was still wearing my shorts.

"Shit!" I yelled, running out of the water. My eyes were drawn to a spot on the sand, where Alex had a small bag and towels. He waved me over, grabbing a gopro from the bag.

"What's that?" I asked, taking off my shorts.

"Gopro. I was thinking of filming some of the waves I catch. If that's ok with you." He said, attaching a tether to his arm. I nodded, moving my head towards the water. He followed closely, setting up his camera.

We surfed for a while, not catching many good waves. I sat on my board, messing with my hair while he came closer.

"Wow, I thought the surf would be better today."

I noticed him holding the camera near me, with the red light on. He chuckled, making me push him out of the way. I began to laugh with him as he lost his balance. He tumbled into the water, leaving his board floating aimlessly.

It was a few seconds that he was under the water before I started to get a bit scared.

"Alex? Al-" I called out before feeling my own board get tipped over. I blinked a few times to adjust to the salty water, seeing the outline of the stupid Australian under the same blue water. I pushed my arms and legs, breaking the surface of the water just after him.

"You freaking asshole." I said, pretending to be angry. His goofy grin faltered and he put the camera away.

"Hey, I didn't mean anything, I was just joking." He said, gently rubbing my shoulder. The spot he touched instantly felt hot, but not because of his touch. Well, not in that way, more like it just made my whole body feel warm and tingly. Shit.

I chuckled before turning my board to the shore.

"I'm hungry. Wanna grab a bite?" I asked, running my hands through my hair. He nodded, beginning to paddle to the shore. The sand was hot on my feet as I made my way back to the small area we had set out for our things. I quickly grabbed everything I needed and Alex followed, strapping both of our surfboards to the top of my car. He climbed in before me, putting the keys in the ignition.

"Woah woah woah, careful there buddy." I said, hopping in and starting it. I began to back out before being startled by a scream. I slammed on the breaks, almost hitting my head on the steering wheel.

"What?!" I yelled, looking at Alex. He made a sort of awkward face before pulling out his phone.

"Do you have aux?" He asked, masking a smile. I sighed, pulling out the cord for him to use.

I have to admit, he's got a pretty good taste in music. We like a lot of the same stuff too. After driving around aimlessly for a good 10 minutes, I got a call from Tate.

"Hey C, you doing anything ahora?"

"Uh, I'm with Alex right now, we were thinking of getting something to eat. Wanna come with?" I asked, still steering with my left hand. The line was silent for a few seconds before he finally answered.

"Sure, is it cool if I bring Mia?" I hesitated for a few seconds before replying,

"Yeah, of course. How about Barefoot?" He hummed a quick reply before saying goodbye. I replied with a fake smile on my face. I don't really know why either, he couldn't see it. Within a matter of minutes I saw the cafe to the side of the road, and pulled into the parking lot. My hair had already dried to be soft curls, and my clothes were dry for the most part too. I killed the engine and hopped out of the car, fishing my wallet from the center console. Alex followed behind me, holding the door open for a woman with her small children as they left the restaurant.

The two of us found a table by the large floor to ceiling windows that overlooked the beach. We sat on opposite sides of the booth, looking at a menu for a few seconds before hearing the door open again. I looked up to see Tate with his long blond hair, followed by a shorter girl with bottle platinum blonde hair. I waved them over and stood up, Alex mirroring me. Tate and I hugged for a brief second, Alex shaking hands with him. I went to shake Mia's hand, and instead she stared at it before walking away with a sneer on her face. Tate then slid into the booth right where Alex had been sitting. He looked at me as if to say what the fuck do I do. I just shook my head, offering the seat next to me.

Now it was the two boys across from each other and the two girls. I sat examining my menu, deciding to get an acai bowl. Alex decided on the same, but no surprises there.

"What do you want?" Tate asked, pulling Mia in close. She folded her arms before looking me up and down.

"I'm not really that hungry anymore, you can just get whatever." He opened his mouth to respond before the waiter came, taking everyone's orders. When the food arrived, the boys began to talk as they ate. They seem to be getting along. I thought. I looked up at Mia, who had a glare plastered on her face.

Tate and Mia had been together for almost 2 years now, and for some reason, she hated me. I never knew why, and neither did Tate because she would always play innocent, which in turn made him think I was just being jealous. But I swear she has it out for me. Maybe it's because my team has always won against hers in soccer, maybe because Tate's closest friend just happens to be a girl, maybe it's because I have a small talent for things she can't do very well. I don't know what it is, but I've never been able to get through to this girl that I'm here to stay, and I would never try to get in the way.

I was snapped out of my daze by the sound of quieting laughter.

"Uh, Chan? You there?" I turned my head to look at Alex, who looked pretty confused.

"Yeah, of course. What's up?" I asked, putting down my spoon.

"We were just talking about maybe going on a hike tomorrow, the four of us." Tate said.

"Oh, uh, sure. Sounds like fun." I replied softly, playing around with my spoon. The waiter then came over with the checks, and I then pulled out my wallet. I sifted through the pockets to find my credit card. As soon as I lifted my hand to give the waitress a card, another hand reached over mine.

"I'll get hers too." My head spun around to look at Alex. He nodded at the waitress who took the small card back to get it scanned. I opened my mouth only to have him put his index finger over his lips.

"Don't argue. You've been driving me everywhere."

We left the cafe after getting Alex's card back, sitting in the Jeep for a solid 5 minutes just scrolling through social media.

"What's your instagram. I forgot to ask." I said, pulling up the app. He yanked the phone out of my hands and slid his own into my empty ones, quickly mumbling for me to follow myself and add my snapchat. I did so and we switched phones again. We sat again, and I examined his profile. I clicked on a few pictures, nodding in amusement. Wow, his feed is really cool. I looked up at the follower count. 378k. My jaw opened wide and my head whipped up to look at him.

"Uh, why are you looking at me like I have three heads?" He asked, chuckling.

"378 thousand followers? You're like, almost insta famous!" I said. He just continued to laugh, giving me directions until we reached where I assumed he was staying. As I put the car in park, I looked up at the house. Massive, a modern style, and gated. I furrowed my eyebrows as he casually got out, thanking me for the ride and quickly making his way to the front door.