I guess the thirty-minute break after food that adults hammered into our brains isn’t a thing. “I wouldn’t ask you to lie for me. I just . . . I don’t know. Fuck! How is this my life right now?”
“What the fuck even happened?”
“I don’t know how to explain it or even understand it myself. But he lied to me. That much I know. I’m not sure I even know who he really is.” Lilly’s eyebrows shoot up, and I know she assumes this is a metaphor when I mean it quite literally. “Can you just say I’m here visiting for the weekend? What’d he text anyway?”
“‘I’m sorry to put you in a weird spot, but is Everly with you?’” She closes the screen she read from and sets the phone face down on hertowel, raising her eyes to me in question. I don’t speak, but my eyes must beg for me because she concedes, “Yeah, I can say that.” Picking her phone up again, she slides it open and reads her text out loud to me as she types.
Lilly:Yeah, she showed up last night to spend the weekend. I got her. Don’t worry.
To me, she says, “Cool with that?”
I nod and blink away the pressure behind my eyes.
“Good. Don’t make me a liar too. Let’s make it a weekend for the books, yeah? I think the BRΩs are having a party tonight,” she informs me, referring to Noah’s unofficial fraternity. Her phone buzzes in her hand, making my heart jump in my chest. I don’t have to ask. She reads it to me, then sets it back down.
Julian:Thank you.
“I guess I better turn my phone back on and text Olivia before she flips her shit. Or calls my mom. Or Allie. Fuck my life.” I dig into my bag and draw my phone out with a shaky hand, pulse jumping in my wrists. I hold the button down to power it on, blowing out a long exhale through pursed lips, and watch as the notifications load one after the other.
Seven missed calls, one voicemail and a handful of texts. All from Julian.Or Jayce.I throw my phone down on my towel, pop up and stalk toward the wet sand just as Seth rides a wave all the way in.
He picks up his board and strides toward me and the shore. “Ready to try it again?” He shakes his wet hair loose, sending drops flying, and smiles at me with those straight white teeth, brighter against his tan skin.
“Ready to float again, maybe. The water feels amazing. Not sure I’ll ever be ready to surf for real.”
“Try a few pops. See if you get it enough to give it a try out there. You can use my board.” He flops his board onto the sand and begins demonstrating the move. “First, do it on the sand a few times. Then switch to the board.”
I follow his instructions and do about tensurfer burpeesin the sand until my legs and arms quiver with the effort. I stand, shaking out my arms and kicking my legs a couple times.
“Impressive. You must work out. Wanna try the board now?”
I nod and ignore the comment about working out—mostly because of where it takes my thoughts. I straddle his board and plank on top of it before collapsing my full body weight. After a few deep breaths, I repeat the burpees on the board. Afterwards, I roll onto my back in the cool, wet sand and catch my breath.
“Going hard. I love it. We can rest before we take you out.”
“No, I wanna go now.” I spring up off the sand and walk back to our spot on the beach to grab my borrowed board.
Lilly squints up at me as I approach. “You gonna answer those?” She tosses her head toward my phone that’s buzzing on the towel.
I shake my head before she’s done asking the question. “Not right now. Right now, I’m going to surf. Coming?”
Shaking her head and smirking, she says, “Yeah, okay, Davis, let’s go catch a wave.”
***
Euphoric. After two hours in the water, I mastered standing up—three times. Only for a few seconds each, but I did it. I ate shit way more than three times. And now muscles I didn’t even know I had hurt, but I don’t even care. It was fucking incredible. Now I’m showered, changed and ready to go to my first frat party. Ish. Beta Rho Omega, or BRΩ, is a rogue fraternity, not recognized by the university. Mostly, it’s just a bunch of wicked smart beach bums who like to drink beer and surf, which is why they call it BRΩ. Seems like a fuck you to traditional fraternity and sorority life, but they’re too nice to be true assholes. More like an irreverent sense of humor. This I respect. I borrow clothes from Lilly. In my reckless haste, I grabbed handfuls of whatever was on top of my drawers and shoved them into a duffel bag and ran out the door. Mostly workout clothes because that’s my life. Or was. Nothing matches or even makes sense.
Lilly is shorter than me but about the same size, so she lends me a pair of jeans that are long on her that work perfectly on me. With my Dunks and a cropped Guns N’ Roses tee, my fit is on point for a frat-ishparty.
Chapter 24
Julian
“Ever!” I wake with a start, her name a croak on my lips. It takes me a full seven seconds to remember where I am. I’m flat on my stomach. On my old couch. In my old apartment. I feel the indent of the cushion seam on my face. Squinting against the sunlight streaming in through the oversized glass slider, I sit up. It’s later than I ever sleep. I can tell because the sun is high enough to light up the lake beyond the deck. It’s blinding. My eyes burn. But that could be as much from lack of sleep as the glare.
“Jay?”
I drag my hands down my face and look up into a face I haven’t seen in over three years—except for last night. One I thought I’d never see again. She’s standing in the opening between the living room and the kitchen.
