Chapter 21

June~

Alex's POV

"Summer vacation, here we come!" Sam yelled at the top of her lungs. She was standing on the seat of the jeep, letting her hair whip gracefully through the wind. Chris drove us through the woven road, the smell of sea salt in the air. We were driving toward Malibu beach for a couple nights. Elias sat in the passenger seat sleeping soundly. Behind us Austin was driving with Lexi, Tyler, and Victoria (Surprise, surprise!).

We hadn't really seen each other since graduation since we were busy getting ready for college. Chris and I were still looking for flats, but we were hoping to find some roommates. Sam and her parents were trying to figure out her situation as well. Good news was, she didn't have to be there until late September which meant she could help me and Chris move into our flat. As for Elias, we hadn't spent much time either. Missing each other, we decided to spend a couple of nights away from the getting-ready-to-leave-for-college life.

"Are we almost their yet?" Elias groaned turning onto his side. Chris fumbled with the map, trying to read it.

"Well I'd know if my beautiful navigator would tell me where the exit is." He said exasperated. Sam was about to grab the map from him, but Elias grabbed it first.

"Oh, I'm sorry babe. I'll help you," Elias winked to him. Sam and I punched him on his shoulder teasingly.

"Not you asshole, he was talking to his girlfriend." Sam smirked taking the map from him. Elias 'humphed' turning away from Chris.

"God Chris. Can't you just tell her you're not interested in her? Tell her I'm your only love." Elias said as he stroked Chris's arm.

"Sorry Sam, but 'tis true. Elias is my one true love!" Chris screamed to no one in particular. Sam smacked him on the back of his head and sunk into her seat angrily. A smirk played on her face as she slung her arm over my shoulders, pulling me into her.

"Fine, then I get Alex." She smiled kissing my cheek. I slapped my hand against my forehead feeling embarrassed. Elias's eyes widened as he started swatting Sam.

"Don't touch her. You can't have her!" He frowned like a child who just lost his puppy. Sam pulled me in tighter.

"Then I get Chris." She stated closing her eyes slightly. Elias rubbed his chin before shaking his head.

"Nah, you can have Alex. She can't pleasure me like Chris does." He chuckled, kissing Chris's hand. Chris pulled his hand away in horror.

"Not cool dude." He stated as he turned off the freeway.

"Jerk." I cursed slapping his head. A loud 'owe' escaped his lips as he laughed. The rest of the way we talked about how excited we were for college, but deep down we were pretty scared. The whole idea of failing scared us all, but we tried not to show it.

The atmosphere grew colder as we reached the beach. We parked in front of a large cabin-it belonged to Austin's grandparents of course- and began unloading the trunk. The cabin had two floors with three similar rooms. The living room was made up of two love seats, a small coffee table made from a surfboard and a small flat screen.

"Woot woot! When do we start surfing?" Tyler shouted as he ran toward the kitchen. Chuckling, I jogged up the stairs to one of the rooms. It had a bunk bed on one side and a single twins bed on the other. I placed my bags on the single bed and walked toward the small deck that over looked the ocean. I walked out and stretched out my arms toward the sky. The sun played warmly on my skin. I leaned against the railing and watched a few kids play volleyball.

"Hey," Elias leaned on the railing next to me. He was already in his wet suit, his surf board beside him.

"Hi," I smiled turning toward him. His eyes locked with mine, dark swirls of caramel.

"We're going to go surfing if you want to come?" He smiled nodding toward his surf board. I shook my head as I pushed some of my curls behind my ear.

"No thanks. I'm pretty beat. I think I'll take a nap for a while before dinner." I sighed yawning. He frowned a bit, before planting a soft kiss on my lips.

"Okay." He sighed walking away. Before he walked out the door, he turned back toward me. "Oh. Wear something nice tonight. I wanted to take you out." He smiled again before quickly running off. I felt my cheeks blush as my lips widened ear to ear. I felt my insides flutter as I jumped onto the bed. I set my alarm for six thirty and slipped between the sheets.

* * * * * * * * * *

Beep. Beep. Beep. My eyes fluttered open to see the sun setting outside. Yawning, I slipped out of bed and walked out onto the deck. The sky was painted with oranges and yellows, kissing the horizon. I looked down toward the beach to see everyone still laying out. Grinning, I walked toward my bag and pulled out a pair of torn red jeans and my leather jacket. I walked toward the bathroom and changed. After applying eye liner and mascara, I turned on the curler and fixed my hair. By the time I had finished pulling on my black combat boots, everyone was already downstairs fixing dinner. I applied a thin layer of red lipstick before jogging downstairs. Everyone was chatting at the island while Tyler and Austin were cooking.

"Hey sleepy head, got a hot date?" Sam winked at me. I giggled nervously as I sat on her lap.

"Er yeah. Where's Elias?" I asked looking around.

"He's upstairs getting ready." Victoria mumbled through her full mouth. I nodded and watched as Austin placed burgers onto a plate. I felt my stomach growl realizing I hadn't eaten since we left this morning at six.

"Someone sounds hungry." Chris said pushing a bag of chips toward me. I smiled at him as I took a hand full and placed a few in my mouth.

"Don't eat all that or it'll spoil your appetite." Elias said as he came downstairs. His hair was still damp, dripping onto his military style coat. He had on a pair of black skinny jeans and black/white high tops. Smirking, I placed a few more in my mouth before joining him at the door.

"See you kids later!" Chris yelled.

"Yeah use protection!" Tyler and Sam yelled in unison. We both laughed as we walked into the chilly air. He slipped his hand into mine as we walked toward the Pierre.

"So what are we doing on this fine evening?" I asked in a fake British accent.

"Well my fine lady, I thought we could eat some fish under the stars or take a stroll through hell." He said in a low frightful voice. I punched him in the arm chuckling.

"You and your dark sense of humor." I laughed tightening my grip in his hand. He grinned happily, kissing my hair.

"I'm taking you out to eat like normal people." He smiled as we walked along the pierre. I frowned playfully.

"But I don't like normal people..." I trailed off looking down at my feet.

"But you are normal." Elias laughed pulling me along.

"Whatever," I growled. The water beneath us sparkled in the moonlight. I breathed in the cool air, feeling it tickle my lungs. We walked up to a small restaurant and walked in.

It was filled with a few people, but it was nice. We walked toward a tall dark-hair middle aged women who stood tiredly behind a desk.

"To go or staying?" The hostess asked.

"To go please." Elias smiled. She gave him a menu and sat us down in the waiting area.

"We aren't staying?" I asked confused. Elias shook his head and walked toward the hostess. I slumped back in my seat crossing my arms over my chest. He walked back and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"I thought we'd have dinner out on the beach." He smiled pulling me closer.

"Isn't it closed?" I asked placing my head on his shoulder.

"Not to residents." He smiled holding up a wrist band. He took another out of his pocket and wrapped it around my wrist.

"But we aren't." I whispered hoping no one would hear me. He placed a finger over his lips.

"I know, but I grabbed some of these when the life guard wasn't watching." He smirked feeling clever. I shook my head in disbelief, but gave in. A few minutes later, the hostess gave us our bag and we walked off the Pierre toward the beach. We sat as closely as possible to the water trying to stay clear from getting wet. He pulled out a box and handed it to me. As we ate, we continued to admire the dancing water as we enjoyed each other's silent company. This was the most time we had spent since graduation, but it was silent.

Elias began humming to himself as he lied back onto the cold sand. Finishing my food, I lied beside him not caring whether my hair got dirty or not. He continued to hum as he rubbed circles with his thumb on the back of my hand. I felt myself begin to grow tired, but was stopped by Elias's words.

"So what's going to happen once you leave for school?" He asked trying to sound nonchalant. I examined the stars, hoping they'd give me another answer than the one that was engraved already into my mind.

"I'm not sure." I lied, "Let's not worry about it. Let's just enjoy right now, okay?" I smiled turning toward him. He turned his head toward me smiling, but his eyes were full of dark pools swirling with sadness. We lied there staring at each other for a long time before he slowly leaned in. He placed his lips gently on mine, kissing me passionately before pulling away.

"Okay."