Jacob – Past
I’m already regretting this.
I don’t know why I came.
I spot Amie sitting on Parker’s lap around a large fire they’ve lit on the beach. Some of their friends are in the water, others are up by the sand dunes. I hear Layla before I see her, she’s carrying a cake and singing “Happy Birthday” loudly and completely off-key. It makes me smile.
She walks the cake to Amie, who’s now standing and clapping her hands. Amie blows out the candles and hugs her. Layla passes her camera to Parker, and he snaps a photo of them both.
I stop by a table propped up near the dunes. There’s beer, and a bowl filled with some orange liquid. Parker sets the cake down and cuts a few pieces, placing them on napkins. He turns to hand one out and notices me.
“What are you doing here?” he says just as I hear Layla’s voice.
“Jacob, you came!” She runs over and throws her arms around my neck.
“You invited him?” Parker snaps.
She’s still hugging me, her hair smelling like strawberries. Then her hands slip down from my neck and she steps back.
“Yes. Have you got a problem with me inviting someone to my best friend’s birthday party, Parker?”
Amie comes up behind him.
“Hi, Jacob.” She looks between Parker and Layla. “What’s going on?”
“Did you know Layla invited him?”
Amie laughs. “Of course I knew. I’m her best friend.”
Parker shifts his weight. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Why would I?” Amie folds her arms. “She can invite whoever she wants.”
“Not him,” Parker grits.
Amie rolls her eyes. “Is this about Alex’s nose? Because we’ve been over that, Parker. If Jacob didn’t break it, I sure as hell would’ve.” She throws her arms around Layla and whispers something in her ear. Layla blushes. Amie giggles, grabs a piece of cake from Parker’s hand, and bites into it.
“You can stay, Jacob,” she says, her mouth full. “This cake is amazing, Layla. Thank you.” She kisses Layla on the cheek and drags a scowling Parker away.
“I’m sorry about him,” Layla says with a small smile, running her fingers through her hair. “Do you want something to drink?”
“No, it’s okay.”
“There’s soda?” She walks over to the end of the table and crouches, pulling out two cans.
“Amie didn’t want them on the table. She said they’d ruin the aesthetic.”
I smile and take one from her. We sit beside the fire across from Amie and Parker. Layla sits so close her shoulder keeps bumping into my arm every time she takes a drink.
“What made you decide to come?” she asks.
“You wanted me to.”
She grins, then reaches behind her. When she turns around, she’s holding her camera.
“I need proof you were here.” She takes the photo and then frowns.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m almost out of storage.” She starts clicking through her pictures.”
“Probably because you take a photo every two seconds.”
“I do not.”
I raise my eyebrow.
“I need somewhere else to store them.” Her eyes go wide. Then she does this weird little sitting jump and grabs my arm.
“A photo sharing app,” she says.
“Don’t those already exist?”
She looks over her shoulder like someone might steal her idea, then stands up, brushing the sand from her legs.
“Get up. We need to talk.”
She ushers me away from the crowd, toward a quieter stretch of the beach near the water.
“There are apps where people can share photos, yes, but not all the time, and not without lines of text being expected. This would be solely for photo sharing. Like a gallery of your favorite pictures. Sometimes you don’t want to write a post. You just want to share a photo and let that speak for itself.
It would help with camera and phone storage and keeps your friends up to date on your life. ”
She’s starting to make sense.
“I think it’s something my friends would definitely use.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do.”
She’s smiling again. Her hand brushes mine. “Ask me what Amie said to me back there.”
“Why?”
“Just ask.”
“What did Amie say?”
“She told me I better kiss you by the end of the night or she’s not listening to another conversation about you.”
“You talk about me?”
She rolls her eyes. “I tell you I want to kiss you, and that’s what you say?”
“You didn’t tell me you wanted to kiss me. You told me Amie told you to.”
“You can be a real idiot sometimes, Jacob Evans.” She lets out a heavy sigh and starts walking away.
I stay still for a second, running to catch up with her. I stop in front of her, and those blue eyes of hers are as dark as the ocean tonight.
I move closer. She bites her bottom lip when I slide my hand to her waist and pull her against me. Her hand moves to my neck. I lower my head, and then, I kiss her.