Chapter 33
Nick
My athletic shoes hit the hard-packed sand with a consistent beat that matches the music in my ears.
It’s mid-afternoon—low-tide and in late May not too terribly hot.
You wouldn’t know it, though; I’m drenched in sweat, my T-shirt tucked in the back of my shorts.
The island is four miles long, which means twice a week I run the length of the beach and back at low tide.
Coach gave us a strict workout and nutrition regimen.
I started at the pier and slow my jog when I reach the shady area underneath, my calves and thighs tremble from exertion. I kick off my shoes and leave them in the sand before wading into the water.
My heartbeat has finally slowed when I hear my name. Whit, in his surf school shirt and shorts, joins me knee deep.
“Good run?” he asks.
“Yeah, I need the low-tide to shift earlier or later though. It’s getting hot.”
“I’m on a fifteen-minute break between classes.”
“Let’s get a drink.”
I use my shirt to wipe my face and tuck it back in my shorts. Whit and I walk back up the wooden stairs to the boardwalk. Under the massive pavilion are a few food stands and I head to the one I always go to—the one I worked at for a few years in high school.
“How are things with your dad?” I ask Whit. I knew he was miserable at school even though he didn’t talk about it. He went through the routines, the hazing and false camaraderie, but I knew him well enough to know he was barely functioning.
“Not since I got back.”
“Not at all?”
He shrugs. “I saw him coming out of the liquor store a few days ago. I didn’t think it was a wise time to stop.”
Whit’s father is a hard-ass. A veteran and extremely conservative.
Nothing about Whit’s life had ever made much sense to him.
Not the long hair, the tattoos, or the surfing.
He thought it was a bunch of hippie shit that corporal punishment, strict rules, and eventually The Citadel would beat out of him.
He may be right, except I’m worried all that will be left of my friend is a shell.
“How’s your mom?” he asks.
“She’s good. Badgering me about getting a girlfriend.”
His eyebrow raises. “So you haven’t told her about Summer.”
“Not specifically. She and Lilah are suspicious, though. I caught Lilah trying to snoop through my phone the other day.”
“Thank god I don’t have any sisters.”
“Maybe it’d give you a little more empathy.”
He shakes his head.
“Hey Whit, hey Nick,” a girl calls from the boardwalk. We both glance over. It’s Isabel and Jessica. Jessica’s a sweet girl—she’s in Lilah’s class and comes over some. Isabel’s had a major thing for Whit since she was a freshman and we were seniors. They’re juniors now, but still jailbait.
I wave and Whit just nods. Isabel sends him a furtive glance that he completely ignores.
“You coming down to Maggie’s this afternoon?” I ask, before finishing off my water.
“Yeah, I’ll be there after this last class. You?”
“I’ve got to hit the gym, so we’ll see.”
The two girls wander over, each drinking a rainbow-colored slushie with a red straw. Jessica looks at me, eyes raking over my chest. “I heard Lilah got a job down at the Crazy Crab.”
“Yeah, she started last week.” I glance at Whit. “The whole house reeks of fried fish. Mom makes her change clothes before she can come inside. It’s awful.”
“Poor thing.” Jessica takes a sip of her drink. Already her lips are turning red. “Oh, we met this friend of yours—well, Justin’s new girlfriend—Summer?”
Whit’s chin jerks up but he still says nothing. Isabel’s heavily made-up eyes watch him closely. I keep the conversation rolling. “The book store is next to your mom’s shop, right?”
“Yeah she came in today to get a new bikini to impress him. Girl’s got a smoking bod, right, Iz?”
Isabel rolls her eyes. “She seems nice enough.”
Whit stands abruptly. “I gotta get back to the beach.” He offers me his fist and I bump it. Then he leaves me alone with the two girls. Thanks, man.
The girls watch him go before shifting their gaze back on me. I also stand, ready to make my escape. Jessica has more to say.
“Look, I’m not a gossip or anything, but Summer did say something today that seemed a little weird.”
“What’s that?” I pull my shirt over my head, planning my escape.
“That she and Justin have some kind of ‘understanding’ about their relationship. Like, I think she has a crush on Whit. I didn’t want to say anything while he was here, because how awkward would that be?”
“Awk-ward,” Isabel adds.
Jessica continues. “I mean, I know Justin’s always kind of been a player, but his best friend? That seems a little low.”
Isabel chimes in, “And slutty.”
I hold up my hands. “Stop.”
She steps back. “What?”
“A word of warning. Don’t mess around with Summer. And definitely do not mess around with Justin and Whit. What’s going on between them is their business.”
“So there is something going on?” Jessica asks, her eyes wide.
“No. That’s not what I said.” It’s totally what I said.
Fuck. “I’m just telling you, Summer isn’t one of these basic townie girls sleeping around with everyone.
She’s in college. She’s smart. She’s got roots here.
” I look them both in the eye. “She had a hard time last year and things are finally settling down for her. Just be nice.”
“We can be nice,” Isabel says, with a face that’s decidedly not nice.
Jessica elbows her. “Okay, we’ll be nice. Honestly, I was just trying to do the guys a solid if they didn’t know what was going on.”
I walk over to the recycling bin and toss in my water bottle. I move to the boardwalk and say, “Trust me, if anyone doesn’t know what’s going on, it’s you.”