by Lauren Price
I stand up from my seat meekly, with Alec following suit. Next to me, Toby is shaking, still sitting down with his hands gripping the arms of the chair.
“You don’t understand, sir!” he protests. “Alec has stuck his nose in where it doesn’t belong!”
What does he think he’s going to achieve by arguing, other than more detention?
“Cool story, bro,” Alec snarls. “Wanna hear mine? Once upon a time, nobody gave a fu–”
“Alec Wilde, please exit the office! I will deal with Toby!”
I nod in apology to Mr Boston and grab Alec’s arm, tugging him out of the office before he can get himself in even more trouble. A month’s school service is enough to be getting on with. I march out of there quickly, hearing Alec chuckle behind me.
“Whoa, easy there. I mean, I know you can’t wait to get me alone but calm down.”
“You wish.” I let go of his arm and turn round to face him. “Are you okay?” I say, not knowing whether I feel relieved or angry with him. His fingers run over his torso and he grimaces.
“Bit uncomfortable but nothing horrific, don’t worry.”
“You’re a jerk,” I sigh. “You shouldn’t have fought him.”
“A sexy, charming, debonair jerk,” Alec says. “And yes I should have – the guy had it coming, Riley.”
The beanie, the dimple . . . it’s just too much. Too much. Then I glance to the side, feeling a gaze on my face.
Tiana stands outside of reception, a cold and icy glare focused on me. She’s angry that I didn’t follow her orders, no doubt. Well, you know what?
She can kiss my grass.
I speak from experience – nothing can cheer you up like a trip to the beach straight after school. Alec starts his service tomorrow, so we figured we’d celebrate his last afternoon of freedom for a while.
As part of Alec’s mission to cheer me up, he claimed that there is a milkshake stand on Lindale beach that I just had to get a milkshake from. Seeing as the beach is only a short distance from the school, we decided to go on a spontaneous trip. No swimming costumes or anything; we’re just going for the milkshakes. I’m not going to lie, with the sun slowly heading towards the horizon and the temperature not too hot, I am pretty content.
Alec seems to be the only person who is able to distract me from Kaitlin, and that worries me a lot. I notice the sand on the concrete as we walk along the last string of sidewalk to the beach at the end. Being with Alec has become almost natural, which is no mean feat given how our relationship started out. I didn’t expect him to ever see me as anyone but the loser next door. Then again, I never expected to see him as anything but an arrogant attention-seeker. I guess things can change after all.
“Wait, Riley,” Alec interrupts my train of thought. “I’ve thought of another one.”
“Shoot.”
Alec has once again been hitting me with really bad pickup lines for the entire walk down here. I think I’m too amused by how terrible they are to actually get annoyed by his persistence. Despite his punishment earlier today, he’s in a surprisingly good mood.
“Okay, okay.” Alec grins. “Do you run track? Because I heard you relay want this di–”
“You’re disgusting,” I interrupt, laughing. “Seriously all of your pickup lines revolve around male and female genitalia.”
“Not all of them,” Alec argues. “Hey did you get those pants on sale?”
His voice is incredibly serious. I look at him to check if he’s joking, before glancing down at my jeans. “Um no, I don’t think –”
“Because they’re one hundred per cent off at my place,” Alec cuts me off, smirking.
As realisation dawns on me, I bite my lip to contain my laughter and just shake my head at him.
“You know, technically, that still revolves around sex, so you haven’t proved any point.”
Alec ignores my jibe. “What has one hundred and forty-two teeth and holds back the Incredible Hulk?”
“I don’t know.”
We’re right at the edge of the beach now. It looks empty enough – due to the lack of tourists, and the dying sun. This is probably my favourite time to visit the beach.
“My zipper.”
“Ew!” I shout as soon as I grasp the joke, before feigning a gag. “That was disgusting, and still about male genitalia.”
A large wooden hut sits on the sands in front of us. It’s a beach milkshake hut, which I have never actually bought anything from, despite seeing it all the time. It’s the sort of place that is normally buzzing with activity, judging by the expanded decking at the back and the rows of picnic tables. I assume it’s only quiet because we’re here at this time, so I guess we’re lucky. “This is the milkshake bar, isn’t it?” I check with Alec.
“Oh yes.” He nods. “Prepare yourself.” Alec grins, pulling me up to the counter where a lady waits, smiling at us. “We’ll have one large Nutella cookies-and-cream milkshake please.”
My eyes widen at the sound of it. This boy knows me way too well. There must be over one hundred flavour choices on the blackboards. There’s no way that Alec can have had them all, right? The woman nods and accepts Alec’s money, before heading over to one of the blenders that I can just about see over the counter.
I glimpse at Alec with an awed expression. “Nutella cookie dough? Best thing ever.”
“It’s orgasmic,” Alec agrees.
“Does everything you say revolve around sex?” I laugh. “Control yourself.”
Alec just gives me a cheeky grin.
I watch as the woman throws various ingredients and powders into the blender. It begins to buzz, and after half a minute she stops it. She grabs a tall plastic cup and straw and pours out the thick chocolate liquid. I’m looking forward to this. I’m practically frothing at the sight. Yep, my mouth is even frothier than imagining Alec in his swim shorts, after that day at the beach.
Not that I do that, obviously.
“Enjoy, sweethearts.” The woman, whose name tag reads Izzy, smiles at us as she hands over the milkshake. I clutch it firmly in my grasp, breathing in the tantalising scent. Holy macaroni, this smells good. “Y’all have a nice day now.”
“We will, thank you!” Alec says. I tighten my hold on the milkshake as we walk away from the café, watching my feet descend on the sand. I never realised . . . but Alec only bought one. Did he buy that for me or him? Or is it to share? My cheeks tinge pink at the thought, and Alec doesn’t fail to notice.
“Why are you blushing?” Alec immediately stops, as he pokes my rosy cheek. “Are you having naughty thoughts, Riley? Tell me!” I shake my head, laughing at the mere suggestion. “I bet you’re having bad thoughts!”
“Get off, grasshole.” I laugh, batting his grabbing hands away as he tries to look me in the eye. “Your ass must get jealous of all the crap that comes out of your mouth,” I say, putting the straw into my mouth as I take a sip of the drink. A small moan escapes my lips as I do, and I hear Alec snicker beside me. Damn, that is one amazing milkshake. Gosh, why did Alec only buy one of these? I could drink this constantly. I take another gulp of pure heaven, flipping off Alec and his knowing expression as I smile into the straw. “Shut up.”
“I didn’t say anything,” Alec says with another filthy chuckle.
“You looked at me weirdly,” I say, slipping my pumps off and holding them in one hand as we walk down the beach together towards the waves. The cold water laps onto my toes like icy velvet, and my feet sink into the damp sand. I love the beach; it’s by far my favourite place to go. It’s also a great place to think things through as well, and I’ve done my fair share of that in my time. I relax here.
I take a long slurp from the milkshake, and Alec glances over at me with a pout, reaching out to grab the cup. I step backwards, dodging his clutching fingers. No way.
“Can I have some now? I bought it.”
“Not a chance,” I sneer wickedly at him, backing away. “You bought this for me, and I’m not sharing.
Plus, my mouth has been all over it. I am not swapping saliva with you, pretty boy.”
“Aw, is Riley scared of catching cooties from a pretty boy?” Alec teases, darting forward and instantly backing me up into the damp sand and away from the sea. No way is he getting a hold of this. I dance lightly away from him, but he continues to stride towards me with a mischievous spark in his eye. Like a predator stalking his prey. I gulp down some more of the milkshake as I jog away from him, and he darts then. In less than a second, he catapults into me as he grabs the cup, pulling the straw from my mouth to put it in between his own lips. My jaw slacks, and my fists begin to pummel his chest.
Oh no he didn’t.
“Thief! That’s my milkshake – give it back!” My eyes narrow onto Alec’s playful smirk, and I step closer menacingly. “Don’t you dare get your germy mouth on my straw, Wilde!”
“Germy? How old are you?” Alec’s mouth opens to protest, releasing the straw, and I take my opportunity wisely. With a small squeak, I launch myself into him and grab the milkshake in my hold, feeling victorious that I managed to catch him by surprise. Unfortunately, being my clumsy self, my foot hooks round his leg, which causes him to lose his balance. He slips out from in front of me, and because my leg is attached to his, it’s inevitable that I go down with him.
“Ah!” I squeak again as we both come crashing down. I land quite uncomfortably on top of him. Of course I’d somehow manage to do this. As soon as my mind registers the position, my cheeks flame red. Our legs are still wrapped together from my clumsy pounce, and my face is in line with his chin.
Don’t look him in the eye. Don’t, Riley, don’t.
Unfortunately, I can’t help it. My eyes meet his, and this suddenly gets a lot more awkward.
I’m lying on top of Alec Wilde. I hope the ground swallows me whole. Right. Now.
Not knowing how to eliminate the tension, I take another slurp of the milkshake and beam, hoping he’ll laugh it off and push me away from him. Instead Alec watches me with a perplexed expression on his face. It’s scaring me that he’s not saying anything. Why isn’t he saying anything? I should say something. “I should, um, just –” I clamber off him as quickly as I can. “Sorry about that. But hey – I won the milkshake.”
“Yeah.” Alec appears a bit dazed, and he shakes his head. His beanie fell off, and he pulls it firmly back on. “You did.”
“Come on.” I desperately try to act like things didn’t just get weird. “Let’s go home. You said yourself that you need to talk to your mom about what happened today.”
“Oh.” Alec’s eyes snap to mine, a swirling vortex of indescribable emotions. “Okay. Let’s go.”
17
Intoxicated
“Good afternoon, buddies! Your little sarcastic ray of sunshine has arrived!” Violet chuckles as she takes a seat beside us.
“I think there’s a dead slug in your sandwich,” Joe comments, frowning at Violet’s lunch as she sits, “but it’s been run over by a bulldozer or something. That is definitely not ham.”
“It’s called Quorn.” She rolls her eyes. “Artificial meat. I’m a vegetarian. Funnily enough, I don’t even eat dead slugs.”
“What can I say? I’m not a chef.” Joe flashes her an innocent grin. I watch the affair through my actual ham sandwich – I love my meat – but in silence. I can’t seem to shut my mind up about the bloody beach thing yesterday. Alec and I shared a moment there, and I have no way of telling if I’m the only one who felt it or not. Things have been so much more intimate since the night of Kaitlin’s anniversary, and I’m not sure if it’ll ever go back to normal now that I’ve put myself in such a vulnerable position. I opened up to him, and thanks to yesterday, our friendship is on a whole new territory. We haven’t really spoken since we both arrived home last night. I’m just praying it won’t be awkward between us; my moments with him are fast becoming my favourite parts of the day.
I can sense Dylan’s stare boring into the side of my face, but I daren’t turn and meet his eye. Although things have more or less returned to normal between us, we’re not quite there yet. There is an unspoken tension. I still catch him staring at me when we’re in the same room, or blushing or talking about me to his friends. It makes me uncomfortable and a bit embarrassed.
I think it’s best for me to just act like I don’t notice him staring at me.
Alec is sitting next to Joe on the opposite side of the table, and Violet and I are paired together. Chase is apparently ditching to go on a date or something, according to rumour. To be honest I wouldn’t put it past him, but at least he’s a lovable player. If such a thing exists, that is.
“Riley.” Dylan’s voice interrupts my thoughts and I look up at last. I feel uneasy, but I’m not the only one judging by Dylan’s rosy cheeks and awkward posture. What’s up with him?
“Yeah?” I ask.
“I need to talk to you. Can we go and speak alone for a second?”
He’s going to bring it up again.
Alec tenses next to me, and I jerk backwards as though someone’s touched white-hot metal to my skin. I don’t want to go anywhere. I have that foreshadowing stir of nervousness in the pit of my stomach. I shoot a vaguely panicked look at Violet, and her expression mirrors mine.
“Er, um, no!” I blurt out before I can stop myself, and my hand slaps over my mouth. Oh crap, why did I just say that? Everyone on the table turns to look at me now. Whereas Dylan looks a little shell-shocked, Violet looks relieved and Joe looks curious. As for Alec, he just appears lost in thought.
“Oh, okay.” Dylan swallows. “So you want me to talk here then?” To say he looks hesitant would be a huge understatement. He’s flushed bright red now, and he’s swallowing as though there’s no saliva left in his mouth. I feel really bad for making him feel like that. Why did I have to make such a big deal out of an innocent private conversation?
“No, no, of course not,” I say, standing up. “We can go somewhere, sorry.”
Judging by the daring expression on Alec’s face though, as he stares at Dylan, that isn’t the case. A look of realisation dawns on Joe, and then ever so subtly, Joe mutters out what sounds suspiciously like, “Dylan, let’s talk this out first.”
“Did you maybe want to go out on Saturday night?” Dylan finally blurts.
Before I’ve even had time to register Dylan’s question, Alec’s palms slap down on the table, and a loud smacking noise ricochets around the room. That had to have hurt, but funnily enough Alec doesn’t seem to mind. A lot of people are staring at us now, and my jaw has dropped to the floor, but I snap it shut as I watch Alec climb out of the booth angrily. His jaw is set in annoyance, and he looks like he’s gritting his teeth behind his closed lips.
He was expecting this, I realise.
What the hell am I supposed to do now? I watch, conflicted, as Alec jogs away from the scene. Should I go after him? Or should I talk to Dylan?
“I’m so sorry, Dylan,” I plead, “I can’t. I really can’t. I can’t do it to you.”
As I stand up from the table, he grabs my arm. “Wait,” he protests.
“I would be leading you on,” I reply softly. “I like him, Dylan. It wouldn’t be fair to you, if I said yes. I wish sometimes that I didn’t, but I do.”
Dylan sighs but nods stiffly before staring straight ahead, ignoring Joe’s glare directed at him. I feel terrible, but I know I’ve done the right thing. I tug away from Dylan’s defeated grip and following the direction of Violet’s urgent pointing, I chase after Alec.
God knows I’ve hurt enough people. I can’t hurt him too.
As I turn the corner, I spot him up ahead, pacing up and down. He still looks furious, and I’m a little hesitant to approach him when steam is practically exploding from his ears. I guess I’d just like to think that he’d do the same for me, so I’m going to approach him and fix this as best I can.
“Alec.” My voice is kind of hoarse as I step closer, and his head snaps up to look at me. The
ocean depths of his eyes are stormy and grey with anger. They soften slightly as they see me, but it doesn’t last long. After a short second of sweetness, the walls go up again, and he looks even angrier than he did before.
“What is it, Riley?” he sighs, features creased in exasperation and annoyance.
“I said no.”
An unexplainable emotion crosses his features, but then we lose eye contact and he shakes his head as though trying to erase some thoughts from his mind. “Whatever.” He shrugs. “Why should I even care?”
I step backwards at the hurt of his words. After storming out, and after Joe’s not-so-subtle mention of talking it out, he’s still going to act aloof? Like he doesn’t care one bit? I opened myself up to him. I’ve put myself at my most vulnerable, telling him things I never dreamed I would and making it clear just how much I care about him. After storming out of the room in anger, I’m disappointed that he still feels the need to pretend like he doesn’t care. Be that as a friend or something more, I know he cares about me. I’ve seen it.
“You’re right,” I mutter. “I guess you shouldn’t.” Without looking back up at him, I turn round and walk away.
“Riley, what’s the matter?” Mom’s worried voice comes from the hallway as she watches me enter my bedroom and drop my rucksack to the floor. I didn’t shout hello to her when I got back home – that’s why she paid attention to me. Mistake on my part. I don’t look over at her, but I know she’s staring. There’s nothing wrong. I’m just numb.
I suppose that’s better than feeling pain, which is what I felt initially.