Belle laughed. “You’re the king?”
“And you’re the queen,” I said.
Belle stuck her hand out and started snapping her fingers. “Excuse me, I don’t have all night here. Can you play something soon?”
Uly and Hil looked at Belle.
Eyes wide.
Mara and Vera laughed.
Someone else laughed too.
“Oh, fuck,” I whispered.
“Who laughed?” Hil asked.
“Let it go, Hil,” Mara said.
“No,” Hil said.
“He did,” some guy said.
He pointed to another guy.
“Sorry, man,” the other guy said. “Thought we were just chilling.”
“Chilling,” Hil said. “I don’t feel like getting up. Someone hit him for me.”
Without question, the guy who snitched punched the other guy in the face.
Uly then instantly started to play a song.
It was actually kind of cool to see Uly and Hil in their element when they jammed out. They definitely wrote good music together. They had a thing. They had a bigger thing in the past but then Penelope happened.
I thought about it sometimes.
If they got signed and took off.
Then I’d go down to Ink-a-Tat and just be there all the time.
With Belle by my side.
Of course I’d have to keep an eye on Hae.
I smiled and looked at Belle as Uly started to sing.
They were so damn good in this setting too.
Everyone watching because if they didn’t. they’d get a punch to the mouth. But once they heard Uly and Hil, they were all hooked. Then again, almost everyone there had already heard the songs.
Two girls started to sing along.
Dancing a little as they sat there.
Vera started to make a move and Belle stood up.
She grabbed Vera by the wrist and pulled her away.
Jealousy ran deep there. A wildfire that showed their love but in a dangerous way.
Hil looked at me and smiled.
Then he mouthed I fucking love her.
And without missing a beat, he started to sing his part.
Mara slipped away and walked around us to go talk to Belle and Vera.
I looked over my shoulder and Belle had her finger in Vera’s face.
Vera pointed to the girls that were still singing. She started to wave her middle finger.
And everyone thought we were the wild ones, right?
* * *
The little concert ended surprisingly well.
Raza had worked his way over, along with a big group of people.
There were no broken guitars and no fists thrown.
And even me… I didn’t break a guitar.
At the same time though, Uly and Hil didn’t ask me to play guitar. So my previous messages had gotten across. Which made breaking both guitars well worth it.
The girls were down at the water, their feet splashing around in the waves.
“Look at that, Raza,” Hil said as he put his arm around Raza. “No punches were thrown.”
“I’m shocked,” he said. “I don’t know what to make of it.”
“Hey, if it bothers you, I’ll hit you,” Uly said.
“Well, wait a second,” I said. “Someone did punch someone.”
“That’s right,” Hil said.
“What?” Raza asked.
“I told some asshole to punch another asshole.”
“Is that some kind of joke?” Raza asked.
“You’re still hung up on the cherry float, huh?” Hil asked with a grin. “I bet you want your own cherry float.”
“I don’t have a waterbed,” Raza said.
“But you have the ocean,” Uly said. “Imagine that…”
“Wouldn’t that attract sharks?” I asked.
“Oh, fuck, that makes it better,” Hil said. “The risk in dying while getting laid is just so… perfect.”
“You’re all fucked in the head,” Raza said. “I like my own bed. I have my own set up.”
“Yeah,” Uly said. “Tissues and your mother’s hand lotion.”
Hil started to laugh.
“Raza,” I said. “You use the good hand lotion for that? For extra dry skin, right?”
“Oh, fuck, man,” Hil said. “All that chaffing will make anyone’s skin dry.”
“Look at his hands,” Uly said. “Find out which one has calluses from all the hard work.”
“Fuck you,” Raza said. “What the fuck is wrong with you tonight?”
I stepped toward Raza and looked down at him. “This is what happens when we don’t get to beat someone up.”
“So, what do you think, Raza?” Uly asked as he closed in on him too.
“What?” Raza asked.
Hil moved closer too. “I think we should beat someone up. Just get it out of the way.”
“Guys,” Raza said. “Come on. I’m just fucking around too. Hey, I have a joke for you.”
“Try me,” Hil said.
“You know the guys that dig up dinosaur bones, right? Paleontologists… right?”
“Yeah,” Uly said.
“How do you make one of them blush?” Raza asked.
“Oh, this is fucking lame,” Hil said. “Something to do with a big bone?”
“No,” Raza said.
“Then what is it?” I asked.
“Okay,” Raza said. “You give him a used tampon and ask him what period it’s from.”
Raza laughed.
None of us did.
Hil shoved Raza away.
We turned our backs and I looked at Hil.
“That was pretty fucking good,” I said.
Hil smiled. “I know.”
“Hey, where is…” Uly’s voice stopped.
Someone yelled the word FIGHT!
I looked around for the fight and my eyes ended up at the water.
Just in time to see Belle going headfirst into a wave.
Chapter 7
I made it three steps when Uly stopped me.
“Let this one go, man,” he said.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I yelled.
Belle was in the goddamn ocean, fighting with some girl.
Soaking wet, throwing punches, grabbing hair, each of them using the waves like they were brick walls to throw each other into.
Then I realized what was happening.
“Lizzy,” Hil said.
“Fuck,” I said.
It was goddamn Lizzy. The girl that backstabbed Belle a little while back. Bullshit stuff that had to do with Belle’s personal life and her history with Werthwood. It was a shit situation and it didn’t end well then.
Or now.
Lizzy wasn’t alone either.
She was with Ella and Haley.
Her new friends.
“I had no idea this was happening,” a voice said from behind me.
I turned and saw Danica rushing toward me.
“What the fuck is this?” I yelled at her.
“Bad blood,” she said. “Belle was talking about Lizzy a couple days ago.”
There was a crowd forming, cheering on the fight.
“I mean, it’s two girls fighting while soaking wet,” Hil said. “I can’t complain.”
“I can,” I said.
“Fuck, shit,” Uly said.
He started to move forward.
I saw Mara approach Ella and Haley.
Those two - along with Lizzy - made Mara cry last time we were at Raza’s.
It was a messy night that night.
And now Mara was facing off with both.
“This is going to get fucking wild,” Hil said. “I can’t look away.”
“I told you no fighting!” Raza yelled from behind me.
I turned my head. “I’m not fighting anyone.”
“Your girlfriend is!” he yelled.
“Hey, Danica,” I said. “Want to help me?”
>
“What?”
“Slap Raza.”
Danica shrugged her shoulders and slapped Raza across the face.
“Uly, don’t get involved, man,” Hil called out.
Uly opened his mouth to say something and Mara made her move.
She swung both hands at the same time. Hitting both Ella and Haley with a hand.
They both then pounced onto Mara.
“Fuck this,” Uly yelled. “Hey!”
His voice echoed around.
“Shit,” I said as I started to run after Uly.
In the ocean, Belle and Lizzy were still tangled up.
It looked like Lizzy had nothing but cheap hair pulling moves. Belle was throwing fists though.
That’s good, angel. Make that bitch pay.
The level of anger all of this ignited in me was kind of scary.
But almost a relief.
It reminded me of who I was and why I was at BFH.
And why I really wanted to stay.
I got a hand on Uly’s shoulder and he tried to shake me away.
“You…”
Hil let out a whistle to Vera.
Vera nodded.
She ran forward and jumped on Haley’s back.
Haley went down into the sand, face first.
Everyone let out an ooohhh sound.
Then Vera started throwing punches like she was out for serious blood.
“Holy shit,” I said to Hil. “Your girl can throw.”
“Fuck, yeah, she can,” Hil said. “Oh, god, I love her.”
Meanwhile, Mara and Ella were slapping at each other. Like they were afraid to hurt each other.
“You poor cunt!” Ella yelled.
Mara suddenly stopped.
She stepped back.
“Wait for it, Uly,” Hil said. “Oh… shit…”
“That’s right,” Ella said. “You don’t belong here. Or anywhere.”
Mara looked at Uly.
Uly nodded.
We all nodded to Mara.
We all had her back.
Even if my eyes kept looking to the water to make sure Belle was holding her own.
Which she was. And then some.
Mara screamed at the top of her lungs.
It pierced my ears and she dove at Ella.
She tackled Ella like she was a damn football player.
Ella hit the sand hard and Mara slapped her so hard, the sound echoed for miles.
Ella rolled up into herself and Mara hurried to Uly for comfort.
That’s when Vera stood up from Haley.
She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know who you are, bitch, but I’m sure you deserved that.”
“Fuck yeah, she did,” Hil called out.
They ran at each other and Vera jumped into his arms and they started kissing.
I walked down to the water.
Belle had Lizzy by the hair and was dragging her out of the water like a toy.
Lizzy kicked her legs and screamed for help.
I started to smile at Belle.
Loving the way she looked soaking wet.
And that’s when someone yelled the one word that could fuck up the night for everyone.
“COPS!”
* * *
I ran to Belle and grabbed her hand. “Let her go.”
“I can’t,” she said to me.
“You fucking bitch!” Lizzy screamed.
“Belle, the cops are here. We have to run. Right now.”
Belle opened her hand and reached for me.
“I’m soaked, Ash,” she said. “My phone is broken…”
“Fuck that,” I said. “Let’s go.”
We started to run.
Belle didn’t have shoes on.
And she was soaked head to toe.
I looked over my shoulder and saw the lights of the flashlights as the cops came out of the back of Raza’s.
Raza was totally screwed but that was his problem.
And as far as Uly and Hil went, they knew how to bail out of this situation.
This was the exact reason I parked the SUV far enough from Raza’s house, so I wouldn’t be tied to the place or the party.
I looked to my right at Belle and she looked at me.
She smiled.
I smiled back.
Behind us all I could hear was yelling.
The cops ordering people to stop running. To get down. To show their hands. The scattering of the party as some of the drunk assholes called out to the cops like complete idiots. I secretly hoped two of those asshole idiots weren’t Uly and Hil.
Especially Hil.
If he fucked up, I’d hear about it and feel it.
But that was a whole other thing to deal with, if and when it happened.
All I could think about at that moment was getting Belle away from Raza’s.
And getting her into some dry clothes.
And maybe finding her some shoes too.
We ran until the party was out of sight.
We ran until the noise was overtaken by the sound of the ocean.
Hand in hand, laughing at one another, it was probably the freest I had ever felt in my entire life. In an ironic sense, we shouldn’t have felt all that free. Not with the cops busting up the party.
When I finally stopped, I turned and let Belle crash into me.
She gasped for a breath.
“I’m soaked, Ash,” she said.
“I know,” I said. “You and Lizzy…”
Belle looked up at me. “I wanted to drown that bitch.”
I touched Belle’s face. “I know you did.”
“Did Mara and Vera fight too?”
“Not each other,” I said with a grin.
“Duh.”
“Yes, they got into it with Ella and Haley. Mara just about lost her mind too. I think that geeky shell of hers is cracked for good now.”
“Uly will do that to anyone,” Belle said. She looked back. “Fuck. I hope they’re okay.”
“They’re smart,” I said. “They know how to bail out of a party.”
“You drove everyone here,” Belle said.
That was true.
I nodded. “Hey. Maybe Vera will call for a ride. Right? Her and her fancy rides she always gets. I’m not all that worried about it.”
“We should be,” Belle said.
“Why? We’re alone. On the beach. Nobody will ever find us here. And believe it or not, angel, the SUV is right behind us.”
“What?”
“It’s where I parked,” I said. “I know all the spots and how to hide. So we can get into the SUV and go find Uly and Hil… and Mara and Vera… or we can… just hang out here.”
“As I stand in wet clothes?”
“Want me to jump into the ocean to make us even?” I asked.
“Yeah, I do,” Belle said.
I laughed.
My thumbs stroked her cheek.
I kissed her.
“Listen, angel, I have a better idea on what to do with all those wet clothes.”
* * *
I made sure we were definitely in the clear.
I half expected to find Uly, Hil, Mara, and Vera at the SUV.
But I was smarter than everyone else.
There were intentions that always floated between my mind and heart with Belle. Any chance to get her alone and be alone and I was going to take it.
Which meant I dropped everyone off at Raza’s and then parked the SUV.
The SUV was empty and I carefully parked it as close to the beach as I could get it. Perfectly hidden. The back facing the ocean. Where I could open the back door, throw down a few blankets, and just like that…
A romantic night with Belle.
On top of that, everyone else’s stuff was there.
That included a couple of towels.
I held up the towel and put it around Belle, but didn’t close it.
She stood on another towel as she took off her wet clothes.
“This isn’t fair, you know,” she said.
“What?”
“I’m over here giving you a show,” she said.
“You’re the one who got into a fight, angel.”
“Because I hang around you too much.”
“Always my fault,” I said. “And why the hell am I holding a towel like this? There’s nobody around here.”
“Just in case,” she said.
When she had her jeans and shirt off, I wrapped the towel around her and hugged her.
“Your turn,” she teased.
I just smiled because I already had it planned out.
I climbed into the back of the SUV and opened one of the blankets.
“Ash…”
“Next to the ocean, angel,” I whispered.
Belle bit her lip and looked back.
Then she smiled and joined me.
We wasted no time kissing, not wanting to let another minute of the night get away from us.
I moved the towel away and brushed my lips to her shoulder.
Belle moved fast, clawing at my shirt.
I moved just as fast, getting rid of all the clothes between us.
Her body was cold as I hugged her tight, guiding her down to the blankets in the back of the SUV. She shivered and slithered against me, making me growl as I was incapable of resisting her.
“I’m so fucking cold right now,” Belle whispered to me.
“That’s perfect,” I said.
I pulled the blankets over us and we both looked at the ocean.
Ready for each other ,but taking a moment to take in the view and each other.
Running together from a party because of the cops. Now hiding where nobody could find us. And I was pretty damn sure I heard my phone buzzing a few minutes ago. But I wasn’t going to fucking answer it for anything in the world.
And if Uly and Hil got pissed at me, they’d get over it. Because they would have damn well done the same with Mara and Vera.
I was done looking at the ocean.
I had Belle.
All of Belle to myself…
I kissed her neck and she giggled.
My right hand slowly moved along her leg. Then between her legs where I found heaven.
Belle sucked in a breath and held it.
She shut her eyes and tried to collect herself as I felt just how ready she was.
Her hands touched the back of my shoulders and pulled at me.
ASH: a bay falls high novel Page 7