My phone pings from somewhere, and I grab my bag to find it. It’s Alec asking where I am. I left him sleeping in bed to get some surfing in. He goes back to work in a few days and can use the sleep. Even though he seems happier with us being together, I know he’s still having trouble sleeping at night. He misses his dad and his heart is still broken. I imagine it will be for a long time.
Just as I’m about to text him back, droplets of water hit the phone, making me shove it back in my bag. “Hey!” I exclaim, glancing up. With the sun shining, it takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but once they do, I find Jason standing above me.
“You’re soaking my stuff,” I tell him, pushing his thighs so he stumbles back.
“Where’s your boyfriend?” He runs his fingers through his shaggy blond hair, flinging water all over me like a wet dog.
“Go away, Jason,” I say, ignoring his question and pulling my phone back out so I can return Alec’s text. I let him know I’m at the beach and will be home soon.
“I was hoping we can talk,” he says as I stand, ready to leave.
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“Look, I was being a dick.” He shrugs a shoulder and scrubs his hand along his scruff. “I shouldn’t have gotten that worked up over you and that pretty boy. Everyone knows you don’t do serious. Pretty Boy will come and go, and I don’t want to lose you in my life.” Oh my God! Did he just admit to keying my car, and is acting like it’s not a big deal? What the hell is wrong with this guy?
My phone goes off with another text from Alec: I have the day planned. Meet me at home when you’re done.
I grab my towel from my bag and then throw my phone into it. “His name is Alec, and he isn’t going anywhere,” I tell Jason, looking him dead in the eyes so he knows I’m serious. “I love him, and it’s serious. As for you and me… our friendship is over. Friends don’t do the shit you did to me.”
“Are you fucking serious?” he spits, stepping closer to me.
“You heard her,” Shane says, popping up and stepping in front of me. “What you did wasn’t cool, man. Now you gotta deal with the fallout. Walk away.”
Jason’s nostrils flare, and his fists tighten at his sides, but he does as Shane says and walks away.
“I can’t believe him,” I say once Jason is gone. “Thank you.”
“It’s all good,” Shane says. “I heard about what happened, and he’s way fucking wrong.”
“Yeah, just sucks I have to see him here all the time now.” Maybe I need to consider finding another surfing spot… “I’m going to head out,” I tell him, giving him a hug. “I’ll see you later.”
On the way to my jeep, I spot Aiden sitting in the sand next to his tent. Remembering I have some extra bottles of water, I head over to give them to him. It’s hot out and I bet he can use the fresh, cold water.
“Hi, Aiden. How are you?”
“Hi, Lexi,” he says with a smile, his bright green glasses on his face. “I’m okay. I found some crabs. Look.” He points to a small bucket with two crabs in it.
“Wow, how cool. Are you going to keep them?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’m drawing them. See?” In his sketchpad is a drawing of the bucket and two crabs. “I won’t hurt them, Lexi. I will let them go.”
“That’s really good,” I say, pointing to the sketchpad.
“Thank you. Wanna see more pictures?”
“Sure.” I sit next to him and take the pad from him.
“Be careful. Are your hands clean?” he asks, his head turning toward me.
“They’re clean,” I promise.
“Okay, good.” He sighs, then removes his glasses and clasps them onto the front of his shirt. I noticed a while ago he only removes them when it’s just us. A few times that I’ve been with my friends, he would say hello, but he wouldn’t remove his glasses. My guess is he uses them as protection, only removing them when he feels comfortable.
I flip through the pages of his book, in awe of how talented Aiden is. I’ve seen his drawings before, but every time I see new ones, I’m amazed by just how good he is. It’s also obvious he sees everything around him. There are several new drawings of people surfing and swimming. A family having a picnic. There are a few of people kissing and one that looks like two people having sex. I wonder if Aiden knows what he’s drawing. If he knows what sex is.
“Aiden, what’s this?” I ask, pointing to the drawing of the couple on top of each other.