Chapter 18 #3
I retake my seat beside Neve and see Nick and Ceres jogging back towards us.
They’re not moving fast, so they must have spent their energy already.
When they get close, Nick veers off into the ocean, diving underwater.
Ceres pauses, then joins him. I see Nick pop up and untie his hair, then dive back under.
He comes up, sunlight glinting off his dark hair as he shakes the water from his head.
He walks out of the water, pulling his hair back into a bun.
It’s like a tv commercial with water droplets cascading down his rippling muscles, the movement taut and powerful.
Damn, he’s hot. Whoa, I should not be thinking about Nick that way when I have Jake.
A wave of heat rushes to my cheeks, a blush so intense it’s almost painful.
Quickly, I look away, burying my feet in the coarse sand, a cool contrast against my hot skin.
I catch Seb’s eye, and he winks at me, which makes me turn even redder.
Ceres and Nick pass us as I’m studiously watching the waves further down the beach. They come back with two more chairs and take seats facing us beside the blanket. “Have fun?” Neve asks.
“Yeah,” Ceres responds.
“So, what does everyone do for a living?” Seb asks, looking between the newcomers.
Ezra and Levi are game developers, and they work for a company in LA remotely.
Ceres is still looking for work but wants to work for CPS or a nonprofit centered on kids.
Neve is working on her master’s degree in psychology and is a yoga instructor.
They are living with Neve’s grandma in Charleston.
I offer to talk to Zander about work for Ceres if he’s interested, but Nick has already offered to do that. Ceres is an expert marksman too, and combined with his martial arts training, he’d be an asset.
E calls for me to set up for dinner, so I move to the table and spread out the plates, napkins, buns, chips, and condiments. E brings plates of burgers, hot dogs, and sausages over to the table as I’m finishing. “Fill a plate for yourself before the wolves descend,” E tells me.
I grab a hot dog, pickles, chips, and a coke then E hollers that dinner is ready.
Moving out of the way, I go back to my chair and dig in.
Ceres brings a plate full over to Neve with a kiss, then goes back for his own food.
Easy conversation flows as we enjoy dinner.
Somehow, E has elevated the hot dog with some kind of sauce and cheese.
We play five on five volleyball afterwards. None of us are experts, but we have fun. I have no idea who is winning, although the guys keep calling out random scores and ribbing each other.
As the sun starts to descend in the sky, we pack up all the items and move them back to the storage area. With everyone’s help, it doesn’t take long. We say goodbye to Neve and her guys before entering the house. “That was a great day,” I smile.
“It was Sunshine,” Seb replies.
“Do we need to do anything with the house before we leave?” I ask.
“No. The house has caretakers,” Alex says.
“Okay. I’ll be back in a minute,” I reply and run upstairs to the bathroom. When I’m done, I text Zander that we are leaving the beach house soon and ask how his day has been. He replies right away that work is going well, and he will be home around 11pm.
We wait outside as Alex locks up the house. I give Seb and E a hug and say goodbye to Alex and Nick. Bay offers to drive the Jeep, and since I’m tired, I happily hand over the keys, texting Alex a list of brands for the astaxanthin before I forget.
Bay offers to stay when we get to my house.
After a long shower, I gather up my schoolwork and bring it to the couch to do my homework and turn on the tv for background noise.
After Bay showers, he joins me on the couch.
I text Sue while doing my AP Chemistry questions to check in.
She fills me in on the town gossip and a new recipe she tried today while I update her on track and the prom.
After my homework is done, I decide to make lunch for tomorrow.
Bay helps, so I make enough for Zander tonight and 3 lunches tomorrow.
Bay and I talk about random things while we work: Olivia, gas versus electric vehicles, the best type of salad, the rising ocean temperatures, and the best shade of blue.
He has me laughing easily. I’m really glad he asked me to prom, and I think we’ll have a great time.
He gets a call from his dad that a friend broke down outside of town, so he wants Bay home to watch Olivia. I give him a hug goodbye and then lock the door behind him.
I grab the jar of oil I left outside to see how it’s coming along and am surprised to see it looks done already.
Time to make some perfume. Collecting the rest of my supplies from the bedroom, I spread out on the island and start filling vials with various combinations of oils, labelling each one with its contents.
The first vial has all the herbs and oils I use for the bath soak and recovery cream, with added sage to replace the arnica.
With the next two, I just play with what I think will smell good.
Finally, I add vitamin E to each vial as a preservative and clean up my mess.
I’ll try wearing one tomorrow and see what Seb thinks.
Back on the couch, I text Nick to make sure his part of the group project is done, then call Seb. “Hi Sunshine, miss me?”
“Hi Hurry,” I chuckle. “I always miss you. Can I read you my section of the group project?”
“Of course you can. Let me get comfortable on the bed,” he says, as I hear him moving around for a minute. “Alright, I’m ready.”
Each person has 10 minutes to present their part of the project, so I clear my throat and begin speaking. I use index cards that I created last week to keep me on track. When I’m done, there is silence on the other end of the phone. “Hurry? Was it bad?”
“Shit, no Sunshine. It was fantastic. Damn, I need to put more work into mine. You’re so insightful.”
“Really?” Hopeful surprise fills me.
“Yeah, really. I wish I was in your group now. You’ve got an A in your near future, for sure. Good job.”
It makes me very happy to hear Seb liked my speech. Having never done one in this class before, I'm nervous. “Thanks, Hurry. See you in the morning.”
“Sweet dreams, Sunshine,” Seb replies before hanging up.