"No thank you. All your friends talk about are girls and trying to have sex with said girls," she informed him haughtily.
Gavin leaned back, his arms bracing him in the sand, his biceps flexing with the movement. "They do. I don't." His voice was low, the words wrapping around her with meaning.
True. Never once had she ever heard Gavin actually talking about wanting to get with a particular girl. Although she knew the reason why. He didn't have to. Unlike some of his friends getting a girl's attention was not a challenge for Gavin.
"Why didn't you invite your friends over tonight?" she asked, wanting to change the subject and remembering how last year the beach had been packed with his crew—Cameron, Luis, and Ethan—and her friends, Gideon, Jade, and Taylor.
His bright ice-blue eyes flashed wickedly. "I'm going to see them all year, I much rather see you."
She cocked her head to the side, amusement playing across her lips. "You see me every day."
"You would think that, but with someone and their mountain of extra-curricular activities and volunteer work, who knows when I'll see you again."
"Don't say it," she tried to cut him off, pointing a warning finger at him knowing where he was going with this.
Gavin merrily ignored her. "Even though she is rich!" he shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth for all the world to hear. "Harvard will accept us both regardless."
She tried to hit him but he rolled away just out of reach. Laughing, he stood up. His bare feet digging into the cool sand. The sun was nearly set, leaving only a soft glow across the sky and the deepening shadows around them. Coming toward her, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to stand, clearly pulling her toward the water.
Ebony tried to dig in her feet but the sand just gave away beneath her. "I didn’t bring my swim suit!" she cried.
Water sloshed around their bare legs, causing the hem of Gavin's khaki shorts to get wet. "Neither did I," he said with a smirk that could only be described as nefarious.
Grabbing the edge of his shirt he ripped it up and over his head leaving him only in his shorts. Ebony averted her eyes. She’d seen him shirtless countless times—after all, he hated wearing shirts—yet here she was, averting her gaze from his chiseled abs and sculpted chest.
"Come on," he yelled, further into the water. "You either come in willingly or-" He let his words drop off meaningfully.
Ebony groaned, knowing it was a losing battle. She had been dumped in the pool and in the sea enough times by him to know he could and would do it with relish.
Deciding to leave her shorts and tank top on she followed him into the water. The gritty ocean floor dug between her toes while the occasional slimy bit of seaweed danced around her ankles.
She looked up to see Gavin staring at her and she glanced down to see the black outline of her bra pressed against the wet white fabric of her shirt.
"I swear to God if we get stung by jelly fish," she grumbled, looking away from him even as she headed deeper into the water toward him.
"Then you’ll just have to pee on me," Gavin announced as he let himself fall back into the water with a splash.
"What?! No! I'm going to the first aid box, crazy!" Near the rocks there was a half-buried box filled with suntan lotions, spare towels, and a small first aid kit that included a little bottle of vinegar.
Gavin floated on his back, bobbing like a buoy in the gentle waves. "So, you're telling me you won't pee on me to save my life?"
Ebony laughed. "Your life won't be in danger but my dignity on the other hand would be." Just the thought of somehow managing to have to pee on him if he did get stung made her want to bury her face in her hands.
"You little coward." He splashed her with water which she avoided.
As the sun faded away and the first stars began to shine, they filled the last night of summer with bickering and laughter—oblivious to the quiet stirrings of change on the horizon.
Chapter three
With his windows down, Cameron inhaled the morning air as he pulled into the school's parking lot. The place was crampacked. Seniors and Juniors poured in for the first day of school, busy trying to show off and scan the crowd of faces while simultaneously trying to find a parking space.
Finding a space, Cameron got out. He smirked at the feeling of eyes on him. It wasn't an unusual feeling, he was pretty popular around school. If people didn't know him personally, they certainly knew of him. He was the current state champion of the swim team, his dad managed the dealership that no doubt sold the dozens of new cars peppering the lot, including his, and of course his friendship with Gavin Rosebank didn’t hurt.
"Hey Cameron." A chorus of girls walking by called out.
Cameron smiled back at them with a casual nod, his gaze quickly moving on from them as he looked over the parking lot. He wanted to see who else was here. His friends Luis and Ethan had already texted him, telling him they were inside the gym shooting some hoops before class. Cameron checked his watch. There were still twenty plus minutes before the first period. He could go meet up with the guys or he could—
A low rumbling growl vibrated the air and nearly every head turned to see the source. Like a scene from a movie, the 1977 black Camaro with its blacked-out windows and gleaming gold rims crept menacingly up the parking lot. The low grumbling thrum of the engine seeped into peoples’ chests as it passed. Slowly, the classic car turned into the parking spot next to an old VW Bug covered in conspiracy theory bumper stickers thatread "In case of zombie apocalypse follow me" or "If you're not prepping you're not paying attention."
