Chapter 28
Neve, Charlotte, and her men are waiting by their vehicle. Neve has an enormous hat on and a flowy sundress. Charlotte is in a pink onesie and white hat while her daddies are in board shorts and tees. “Morning, everyone,” I smile.
“Hey Summer. Do you guys have shade? These overprotective goofballs brought an umbrella and a tent, just in case.”
“We have a canopy up. Plenty of room for you and Charlotte,” Alex assures her.
“See?" She slaps Ceres’ stomach good naturedly. He puts the items he’s carrying back in the car’s trunk before lifting Charlotte into his arms. Alex leads them under the house and back to the canopy. “Neat walkway,” she comments.
“It’s for my friend Jake. Long story short, he was in a coma, woke up, but is still regaining his mobility.”
“Well, I appreciate it too.” We get her and Charlotte situated in the shade on a lounger that Levi was carrying.
I pull a chair up beside her to chat as her guys stretch out in the sun.
I’m sorry to hear that her grandmother isn’t well, but she’s completely enamoured with her great grandchild.
Neve was sick throughout her entire pregnancy and was on bed rest for the last three months with preeclampsia.
She doesn’t think they’ll have another, but they’re happy with Charlotte.
I catch her up on my life, too. She’s amazed at Jake’s story and congratulates all of us on getting into college.
Knowing I need to run today, I ask Ceres if he wants to join me.
Predictably, he does. I stretch, and then we take off through the wet sand, and I can really stretch my legs like I do with Nick.
We stop at the inlet at the end of the beach to catch our breath and drink water. “Any updates on Nick?” he asks me.
“Nothing since the end of March.”
Ceres nods. “He’ll be back.”
Aww, Ceres is trying to comfort me in his own way. “Thanks. I know he will. The waiting just sucks.” He indicates for us to begin again, so we run back towards the house.
We both dip into the ocean when we get back to cool off. I leave my top and shorts discarded on the dry sand and then dive in. The cold water feels amazing against my hot, flushed body, and I float around for a few minutes before getting out.
Bending down to pick up my clothes, someone slaps my ass. What the hell? Straightening, I turn to see two guys smiling down at me. Ugh! Should’ve told Ceres to run me back to the canopy instead of going for a swim. At least it’s a busy beach, with lots of witnesses. “Not interested.”
The taller of the two cocks his head to the side, studying me.
Rolling my eyes, I begin to back up towards the house, but they both step forward and crowd me.
Not in the mood for this crap, I let them get close, then knee the redhead in the balls and shove the taller guy.
Unfortunately, he doesn’t budge and grabs my wrists.
A bit of panic tries to crawl its way into my mind at a stranger touching me, but I get past it quickly.
Having practiced getting out of this type of hold with Nick, I quickly shift and cross my arms, twisting and dropping my weight.
The asshole loses his balance, and I break free.
Hearing a grunt behind me, I whirl. Ceres has the redhead over his shoulder, walking into the waves. He flings the first guy into the ocean and then moves towards the second guy. He has enough brain cells to realize he’s outmatched, so he puts his hands up and backs away. “Thanks, Ceres.”
He nods. “Good technique. Want to rinse off?” Looking down, I’m covered in sand, so I quickly dip under the water to get clean while Ceres stands by. Smiling at him, we walk back to our group.
E is cooking lunch with Levi, and Seb is chatting with Neve, so I grab a chair to sit in the sun to dry. “How was your run?” Bay asks.
“Good. Ceres is as fast as Nick, so I was able to run full tilt.” I ask about Olivia, so he fills me in on her escapades. E brings me water and a plate of food; a burger just the way I like it, plus some potato chips. “Thanks, E.” He smiles down at me and then tells everyone to grab a plate.
There’s something about eating outside that makes barbecue extra yummy.
It could be the charcoal grill, but I think the fresh air adds a little extra.
I finish my delicious burger and then take my plate to the garbage under the canopy.
Ezra is holding Charlotte while Neve eats.
“Hey Summer, want to hold Charlotte while Ezra eats?” Neve asks.
“Sure.” I grab a wipe to clean my hands, and then Seb offers his seat, so I settle in as the cutie pie is passed over.
“Hello little one.” Charlotte scrunches up her face before she coos, her little fist coming up.
Smiling, I talk to her as her momma eats beside me.
She doesn’t seem to mind a stranger holding her at all.
I never gave much thought to having kids. I assumed Jake and I would have some when we got older, but I was never one of those girls who had baby dolls or dreamed of being a mom. I must admit, this little one is precious, though.
“You’re a natural,” Neve comments, handing her empty plate to Levi. “It’s time for me to feed her.” She grabs a cover to clip over herself, then I carefully pass her the baby. “So Seb tells me you have 4 boyfriends now. How’s that going?”
“It feels like two, not four, with Nick gone and Jake still healing, but I’m happy. E is recent.”
“If you ever want to talk, or complain, or whatever, call me. I have no life right now except for this munchkin. Not complaining, but talking to people other than my family would be nice.”
“I will, thanks. The same goes for you. If you just want to chat or grab a drink, you have my number.”
“You may regret saying that,” she warns, but I laugh her off.
Alex walks over with my phone as it dings. “Thanks.” It’s Jake. They’re here!
“Excuse me, Jake is here,” I tell Neve. She waves me off as Alex walks back with me. Jake is in his wheelchair, shades on, in shorts and a tank top. “Hi handsome,” I smile, leaning over to kiss his cheek. “Hi Will.”
“Hi Sum. Hey Alex,” Jake smiles as Will gives us a nod.
“Welcome,” Alex replies. They follow us under the house, and Alex grabs a few more towels and two chairs. He points out the washroom to them, and then we walk to the beach.
“Whoa,” Jake comments, seeing the walkway. “Thought I’d have to walk the whole way.”
“Alex rented this for the weekend.”
“Hey thanks. I appreciate it. You keep surprising me, Alex.”
Alex smiles and nods, helping maneuver Jake onto the walkway since it’s a small drop from the concrete slab.
The walkway isn’t wide enough for us to walk side by side, so I step onto the sand.
“Some friends are here. Four people and their baby girl. One guy works at Finn and is good friends with Nick.”
“Okay.” Jake looks a little nervous. This may be a lot. He struggles not only with forming new connections with people, but it makes him frustrated.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right by your side.” We come to the end of the walkway, so Will locks the wheels, and Jake stands as Will collapses the wheelchair. Wrapping an arm around his waist, we slowly walk to the canopy. This is his first time on uneven ground, but he does great. “Sun or shade?”
“Shade for now, Sum.” Alex opens the two chairs by mine as Jake takes a seat.
Seb and Bay come right over to say hello and E offers each of them a plate of food. I flop back into my chair as the guys talk. Neve is changing the baby in her bassinet stroller, and when she returns, I introduce Jake and Will.
Jake gradually starts talking, his usual personality showing through, and it’s nice to see him relax around strangers.
The doctor from the research trial believes his memory issues may be permanent.
When he goes to college and finds a career, it will be something he needs to become comfortable with.
While annoying, it's workable. He could carry pictures of his professors, for example, to know who they are in class.
Remembering everything besides fresh faces means there should be nothing holding him back from accomplishing his goals.
Neve and family decide to leave an hour after lunch, not wanting to keep Charlotte out too long, so Alex, Seb, and I walk them back to their vehicle to say goodbye.
Jake is sitting in the sun when we return. I grab my tube of sunscreen for him to use and then lie down on my towel. “So what‘cha think of the beach, handsome?”
Smiling down at me, Jake says, “incredible.” He’s digging his toes around in the sand, mesmerized by the waves. I don’t blame him; I could stare at the water forever. “Can’t wait to jump in.”
“Soon,” I smile. He and the guys talk hockey while I watch them interact. I’ll never stop being grateful for the miracle that is Jake.
Jake and Will stay until late afternoon.
We walk him down to the water once the tide is in, and the cold doesn’t bother him one bit, which I knew it wouldn’t.
I lean my head on his shoulder as we stand just inside the waterline.
Will doesn’t want him to go in, worried about his balance, but Jake is content dipping his toes in for now.
“I can’t believe you get to come here all the time, Sum. ”
“You do too. We get out here as often as we can in the summer. There are other beaches around too, closer to home. Oh, and a water park. You’ll get as much time as you want on the sand.”
Jake kisses the top of my head, then we walk back to the canopy. He and Will decide to leave in time for dinner back at the condo.
We have dinner in the beach house tonight. Grilled chicken salad. I light candles on Nick’s cake for dessert with tears dripping onto my cheeks. We all sing him happy birthday despite him being so far away, and we spend the early evening telling stories about him.
The guys want to roast marshmallows over a bonfire later, so I go up to my room to change after we eat, and Seb follows. “I have a surprise, Sunshine,” he sings.
“What is it?” I root through my drawers for another pair of shorts and a tee.
“Go change and then come out onto the patio.” Nodding, I go into the bathroom to freshen up. I change clothes and wash my face, finger-combing my hair before putting it up into a messy bun.
Tossing my clothes into the hamper, I step onto the patio to find Seb and Bay hanging a hammock between my room and Alex’s. “Nice,” I smile.
Seb smiles at me as Bay climbs onto the railing to secure a hook. The hammock, made of striped fabric, looks long enough for E and Nick to lie on.
Once it’s ready, Seb immediately gets in to test it out. Bay’s phone rings, so he excuses himself, and Seb gestures for me to get in with him.
We nearly fall out at first, but I get on my side and snuggle into Seb, and he keeps one foot on the floor to swing us gently. “I got an email from the Charleston recruiter this morning,” Seb tells me.
“Oh? Is there a problem with your scholarship?”
“Nope, but he wanted me to be aware of an issue with the head coach. One of the players approached him to forward an email to me because the coach has an issue with gay and bisexual people. Nothing outright, but Landon, the forward, said I should hide that part of myself if I want playtime. He’s been keeping his boyfriend quiet while he’s on the team.
The coach says all the right things, but there’s a pattern where known LGBTQ+ players get benched a lot.
The recruiter said the coach has two years left on his contract, and the school wouldn’t be renewing it. ”
Well crap. “How do you feel about that?”
“It sucks, Sunshine. I wanted to stay here with everyone for college. After what we went through with E, I don’t want to hide who I am.”
“No one should have to do that, Hurry. What about Columbia?”
“But it’s so far away,” he whines.
“Not really, only two hours. We could visit all the time, and you’d be able to play basketball for a larger university.”
“Shit, Sunshine.” He holds me tighter as we talk about the pros and cons of each, swinging and listening to the background chatter from the beach.
I know he’s going to Columbia, but he’ll make that choice when he’s ready.
It’ll be hard with him at another school, but we’ll make it work.
He'll have to live on campus his first year, as is required of all athletes, but knowing Seb, he'll thrive in that type of environment, and two hours is better than another state.
The guys call from below the house to come down for the bonfire.
Seb and I quickly join, grabbing chairs for ourselves as we walk under the house.
Alex and Bay are lighting the fire when we arrive, and E has a cooler and roasting sticks.
I watch the rest of the sunset by the water’s edge before taking a seat.
I just can’t get enough of the brilliant colors turning the water matching hues; it’s mesmerizing.
We roast hot dogs and marshmallows as Seb explains his issues with the Charleston coach.
Once it’s completely dark, people stop by to see if we’re partying.
Those Alex knows stay to chat, but most keep moving.
The guys are usually up for a party, but none of them wants to this weekend, and I’m not complaining.
I still don’t like crowds or being touched.
It doesn’t send me into an instant panic anymore, but I get uncomfortable.
Monday morning, the guys join me for a run along the wet sand. After we go for a swim, we pack up and drive home. What a wonderful weekend.