Chapter Fourteen

Blake excused him and his friend pretty quickly and left quickly after that. I watched as Darius mingled with the guys normally closing my jaw, i probably looked like a Venus fly trap. Did he mean what- oh come on Ivory he was joking. Of course he didn’t mean it. Did you forget, the guy hates you?

“See ya Aluminium,” I looked up as Henry started to wave.

“Where are they going?” I asked. Darius walked over after giving them all a handshake, of course I thought rolling my eyes, so business like.

“Home,” he said. I frowned, damn I liked them. They were nice unlike other people I’ve met in my life. They were friends, without looking at our money or our past, they met us on the beach and for all I knew, they probably thought we were like normal people.

“Come on let’s go,”

“Where are we going?” I asked as we headed back to our spot on the beach.

“I need to make a phone call and you said you were going to collect seaweed or something,”

“Shells,” I corrected him.

“That,” he said. I grabbed my plastic bag from the ground and walked towards the rock pools while he leaned against the palm tree taking out his phone and I rolled my eyes. SO much for a break from work, or what it non work related.

I didn’t care anyways. I looked down at the rock pools smiling. Time to find my lovely shells. I bent down picking up a plain creamy shell turning it over in my hands. It was perfect with a small scar along the right top, a crack. I wiped it on my dress placing it into the bag.

It was a good ten minutes later I placed another shell in my bag and looked around. The beach was starting to get emptier as I move towards the rock pool shores away from the surfing area.

I squinted against the bright sun focusing my eyes on the shiny object. Was that a shell? I dropped my bag on the shell and walked towards the object that was closer to the forest than the beach. As i got closer I realised that the object was indeed a shell.

I picked it up and brushed the sand of smiling when I saw the nearly rainbow like colours on the pearl like shell. I turned the shell around in my hands and stopped when i saw the letter engraved into it and froze.

10 months ago

“What are you doing?”

I looked up and pulled the shell under me, “Nothing,” I sang. James raised an eyebrow.

“Show me,” he said grasping my sides and rolling me over. I lay back on the sand hiding the shell in my hand “Over my dead body,”

He made a grab for me and I stood up quickly turning around and breaking a run for it.

“Iv!” he yelled. I looked over my shoulder to see him running after me.

I yelped running faster as I felt two hands around my waist pulling me back against a chest.

“Ivory” said the stern voice.

Laughter bubbled from me as he held me against him and I leaned in his hands trying to pull out.

“Let me go!” I snapped. He spun me around so now I was looking into his eyes.

“Ivory,”

“Yes?”

“Show me,” he said. With one arm wrapped around my waist he leaned in his mouth centimetres away from mine.

“Is that all you going to say?,” I asked raising an eyebrow. he chuckled and I could feel the rumble from his chest.

“What is it?” he asked his finger tracing my lips. My eyes fluttered close as he traced my lips and stroked my cheek running his finger down the nape of my neck across to my shoulder and down my arm till he reached my palm where I was holding the shell.

“You going to tell me little Ivory?” he asked. I opened my eyes staring at him.

“It’s a shell,”

“I figured,” he said laughing.

“With our initials engraved,” I said.

He smiled “Show me,”  his fingers tried opening mine and I released them giving him the shell. It was a colourful shell, one I’ve never seen before and he turned it over a smile etching onto his face.

“I love it,” he said pecking my lips.

“Mine,” I snapped reaching for it. He held it above my head and I frowned folding my hands across my chest or trying to since he was still holding me and I leaned back.

“Nope, I’m going to keep it forever,” he said.

“Forever?’” I said scoffing. He leaned forward and I leaned back as far as I could.

“Forever,” he said his lips so close I could nearly feel them.

Present Time

“Hey!”

I blinked looking into a pair of green eyes and yelped leaping backwards tripping over into the sand. I looked up at Darius who was staring at me.

“What the heck, you scared the shit out of me,” I snapped.

He raised an eyebrow “You were standing there like an idiot frozen imbecile for the past three minutes while I was talking,”

“You were talking?” I asked standing up and brushing the dust of my dress.

“Yes, what’s that?” he asked nodding towards my hand.

“Nothing just a shell,” I said holding it up. The initials wasn’t  ours, and it wasn’t the exact shell I had but it was so close it reminded me of the time I wanted to forget.

“Anyways we should go,”

“Huh?” I asked.

“It’s nearly time for the football match,” he said. I nodded smiling and grabbed the bag of shells he was holding for me.

“By the way, you’re loading the car,” he said smirking and walking off. I stopped my  mouth falling open.

“Hey that’s not fair!” I yelled at his retreating figure.

Just incase you didn't realise, the flashback was in the middle of this chapter