To my surprise, he hadn’t uttered a single complaint on the walk over. In fact, he looked as calm and content as he could be. Calm for David still involved a pensive glare. But no eye rolls. No snarky scoffs.
“What?” I asked when he studied me in silence. David lingered at my side. Even though we had plenty of space on the nearly empty beach, when he stood next to me, I felt like we were in a closed room. I shifted my weight from one leg to another, reminding myself there was still enough air to breathe even if it felt like he was sucking it all up.
Emmy helped everyone pick their rocks, citing the need to choose something that represented them. Indie volunteered to go first, selecting the tallest one in the bunch. She needed help climbing it, so a few girls spotted her. They held up their hands, doing their best to make sure she didn’t slip. While they got into position and chatted among themselves, I triedto estimate how long it would take us to finish the group photo. If we were back on campus within the next couple of hours, I could fit in a study session before meeting with my academic adviser. Internal planning typically grounded me, but with every small gust of wind, I got a hint of David’s scent. My teeth clenched as I struggled to maintain focus.
“You’re pissed,” David noted, his voice unusually low. Intimately low. We may as well be sitting across from one another in a candlelit restaurant. He raised a brow when he caught me glancing at his mouth. I took a deep breath, averting my gaze.
The sand, a dark brown with crushed orange and yellow shells mixed in, dug into the arches of my bare feet. White seagulls glided so far apart they looked like polka dots on the cloudless blue sky. The air smelled of salt and… David. There was no escaping the tiny observation that he looked good in the morning sun. The desire to study him grew until not looking at him felt impossible, because maybe, just maybe, another glance would confirm my original assessment was incorrect.
“At me?” he continued, sounding more and more pleased with each syllable that rolled off his tongue. “For not causing trouble.”
I laughed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Contrary to popular belief, not everything is about you.”
“Then, if it’s not me, what’s got you all hot and bothered?” He maintained his low voice.
“Nothing.” I brushed my hands on the back of my pants, trying to get rid of the sweat on my palms. A part of me wished I had listened to Indie. It would have been nice to start in our casual outfits.
“If you keep pouting, you’ll ruin this fun day for the rest of us,” David said.
My brow raised in disbelief. “Fun? You’re having fun?”
His smile lit up his eyes, making his face more beautiful. I wondered if his awkward phase in high school was ever really that awkward, or were we all just annoying teens who believed if you weren’t perfect, you weren’t nice to look at.
“Of course. I’m having a blast being the group’s pack mule. Are you not having fun? The peaceful sound of waves, cold sand between your toes, and a personal chauffeur not doing it for you?”
“Oh, I’m living the dream.” Right as I said that, a spray of sea salt landed on my tongue. I coughed and moved so my back was to the ocean, which meant I’d turned entirely into David.
“You don’t bullshit well.” He shook his head and looked away for a moment as if he were bored with the conversation. Or me. My money was on both. “You know, if you want to go into politics, you’re going to need to clean that up.”
I wrinkled my nose. “Who said I wanted to go into politics?”
David’s gaze settled on my buttoned blazer. “Uh, your matching-set wardrobe. You were born in freshly pressed slacks, weren’t you?”
“I’d rather be over-dressed than under,” I defended, looking him up and down. His blue jeans and thin cotton long-sleeve shirt had seen better days.
“You’ve almost fine-tuned every one of your expressions.”
I frowned. “Excuse me?”
He gestured at my face. “It’s impressive how perfect you look all the time.”
I almost took that as a compliment, forgetting David had the unique skill of turning the nicest things inside out.
“It’s very disingenuous,” he continued. “You’d be a wonderful politician if you learned how to lie better. Tip: stop your right eye from twitching.”
I bit down on my inner cheek, holding back from sharingmy knee-jerk retort. The satisfaction of biting back would keep me fed all week. But I needed to be more mature than that, at least in front of my org members. “I’m a lot of things, David. Disingenuous isn’t one of them. You, on the other hand…”
“What?” He tilted his head to the side when I paused. “Oh, come on. Don’t get all shy on me now, Daredevil. What am I? Give me something new this time. Asshole is tired. Jerk’s elementary. I want something you can really sink your teeth into. Something that stabs me right in the soul.”
“Fuck off,” I said under my breath.
“Big, bad Yara’s run out of insults. Another tip to add to your practice sheet: go for the jugular. Debate opponents are ruthless. You know, it’s a good thing you have me around. I’ll get you sharpened up.”
“I have a lot of insults,” I promised. “None of which are appropriate for me to say in front of my org. I respect the people on my team.”
“That so?”
“I do my best to make sure others aren’t uncomfortable in my presence. Can you say the same?”
