Beneath the Starry Sky

Sunglasses

Alina Baraz - Make You Feel 🎵

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I woke up to the sweet sound of Joy... groaning.

The sunshine came pouring in through the spaces between the curtains and illuminated the gold wallpaper. I awoke refreshed and rested for only having five hours of sleep. It must have been the Cuban air.

"I don't feel so good!" Suddenly Joy jumps out of her bed and slams the bathroom door behind her.

Uh oh. That doesn't sound so good.

I quickly wash up and step cautiously around a nauseous Joy who swore that she only had a few fruity drinks. I chuckled holding her hair back.

Today I decided to wear a loose, airy button up and a pair of light blue jean shorts. Joy manages to pull on a coral sundress. We go and get some breakfast and all I can think about was the night before.

Was he seriously delusional? A ghost? Really?

I spoke of the devil. Nate came in looking refreshed himself, sporting a loose white T-shirt and some casual blue shorts. His friend, who I learned to be named Cristian, was no longer red in the face. Joy waved them over.

The connection between the two blondes, Joy and Cristian, was magnetic. They immediately picked up their conversation from where they left off before both of them passed out last night.

The seat beside me was empty and Nate lingered by it awkwardly.

"Nathaniel, have a seat. The lovely ladies invited us!" Cristian said, already claiming his chair beside my friend.

"Uh, yeah. Right," he breathed. He turned to me quickly and wished me a good morning.

When he pulled the chair out and lowered himself, his hand accidentally skimmed mine at the table and we both retracted our hands quickly in some sort of nervous gesture.

I mean, last night we weren't weird with each other...

Joy and Cris chattered on endlessly and did not even notice the strange kind of atmosphere around me and Nate. He just ate his breakfast wordlessly and occasionally chuckled at whatever Cris was saying. I had a refill of my coffee and drummed my fingers on my thighs beneath the table.

"Hey, can I clarify something?" He said finally.

I drew a breath of relief.

"Go ahead," I said with a smile.

"I know what I said yesterday seemed totally insane. I don't want you to think that I'm some kind of nut-job, you know?"

I giggled at his explanation, "No worries, Nate. When we find the barboy, we'll just introduce ourselves and then put all this behind us. I do appreciate you trying to liven things up! I know I wished for an adventure but you don't have to go about creating all these crazy scenarios for me."

Apparently, this seemed to upset him. He placed his fork on the table and I watched the array of emotions take place on his face.

"Just forget about everything I said," he said finally, his eyes forward.

I examined his handsome profile trying to find the cause of his changed expressions. However, across the dining room, I noticed the barboy clad in the same red vest and black pants placing a stack of plates on a table.

I gasped, "Oh, there he is! Let's go say hello!"

I began waving from my seat, trying to get the attention of the barboy. Unfortunately, he didn't see me. I grabbed Nate by the arm and dragged him over to the table. Nate grunted, and followed half-heartedly.