Chapter 9 #3
His straightforward request threw me off guard, but after a moment’s pause, I mirrored his grin, pushed the junk from my bag out of the way, and climbed up onto the table.
As I settled beside him, our knees knocked together and a trail of goose bumps shot down my leg.
I cast a sidelong glance at Alec, but he was too busy staring out at the ocean to notice.
The swells were large, and there was more than one surfer bobbing up and down in the waves.
“Your friends are nice,” he said.
I scanned the shoreline until I found Boomer and Asha. They were running through the surf, splashing water at each other like little kids. If they stayed out there much longer, one of them was going to end up soaked.
I smiled. “You mean crazy?”
“Sometimes crazy is good,” he said. “And what I meant was that they seem like loyal friends.”
“They are,” I said. “After Rose left, Asha became my substitute sister. Boomer’s family moved to California our freshman year of high school. I think he felt out of place in LA, and I was the first friend he made, so we’ve been close ever since. They’re insane, but amazing. I’m lucky to have them.”
Alec was quiet for a moment. “What I’ve noticed is that when people have real friends in their lives, it’s because they’ve earned them.”
I ducked my head, blushing fiercely. “Thank you, Alec. Your friends seem…” I trailed off, unable to come up with a suitable adjective. My goal had been to say something nice, but all I could remember were JJ’s pervy comments, how Stella unnerved me, and feeling embarrassed.
“One step past crazy?” he suggested. I clamped my lips together and tried not to smile.
That was a perfect description, but I wasn’t going to admit that to him.
Apparently my opinion of his friends was more transparent than I thought, because Alec chuckled.
“They’re more like my family than friends, so I suppose it comes with the territory. ”
We shared a smile, but then Alec’s expression unexpectedly stiffened. A barely there shade of pink spread across his cheeks, and he ducked his head with a sigh.
“Alec?” I asked, confused as to what had gone wrong.
A second of silence passed. He touched his hair, checking to make sure every strand was in place before looking back at me. “I’ve been meaning to apologize about before,” he said. “JJ is one of my closest friends, but that doesn’t excuse what he said to you.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I mumbled, not wanting to relive the Skype call.
“He’s a great guy, really,” Alec went on. “But he’s also…”
“Extremely horny?” I offered, as he said, “Immature.”
We burst out laughing.
“So,” I said, changing the subject while the mood was still light. “How’d you guys all meet?” I could have looked up the answer online or asked Asha, but I wanted to hear it from him.
Before he could answer, we were interrupted. “Excuse me.”
Standing a few feet from the picnic table were two girls—a tall blond wearing a swimsuit cover-up and a brunette with Audrey Hepburn sunglasses. When Alec looked in their direction, they both gasped and grabbed each other for support.
“Oh my God,” the blond whispered. “I told you it was him.”
The brunette detached herself from her friend and stepped forward. “Hi, Alec,” she said, clutching her phone. “I know you probably get this a lot, but could we possibly get a picture together?”
Alec hesitated, and for a split second I thought he’d refuse, but then he stood and brushed sand off his shorts. “Of course.”
When he positioned himself between the two girls, slipping an arm around both their backs, the blond started shaking. “I can’t even,” she sobbed, waving a hand in front of her face.
To my surprise, Alec’s lips twitched into a gentle smile. “Come on now,” he teased her. “No crying allowed.” Her tears fell in steady streams, but she laughed and nodded her head. “All right, are we ready?” he asked them.
Audrey Hepburn stretched her arm out to take the picture, but struggled with her phone. I hopped off the table before she dropped it in the sand.
“Let me help,” I said, holding out my hand.
“Thank you.” She handed over the phone, but did a double take when she looked at me. Her eyebrows dipped below the top of her sunglasses as she frowned, and I knew she was trying to figure out why I looked familiar. A second later, the connection clicked. “Wow, you look so much like Violet James.”
“You think so?” I joked. She nodded, and I smiled in spite of myself. “Okay,” I said and took two steps back. “On the count of three.”
A photographer I was not, so I took multiple pictures to make sure the girls got one they liked.
Afterward, we stood around for a few minutes chatting.
Apparently the blond lived on the same street as Alec’s grandmother used to, and both girls commented on how much they loved my bag.
Then Boomer and Asha reappeared, and Alec told the girls we had to leave.
Ten hugs and a chorus of thank-you’s later, they finally retreated to the pier.
“Should we head out?” Alec asked. He was surveying the beach, probably on the lookout for more fans. I nodded. If we lingered any longer, it would be well past dark by the time we reached the city.
“Probably a good idea,” Asha said. “If Felicity spends any more time in the sun, she’s going to look like a lobster.” She poked my shoulder, and I felt as if someone had pressed a branding iron to my skin.
I winced and Alec looked at me in concern. “That bad?”
“I’m fine,” I grumbled as we trudged back toward the street. “Just another day in the life of Casper, the Pasty Girl.”