Breathless

Chapter 3

It's weird. I can't seem to quit thinking about him. Sitting in my Grandparents lake house, watching the rain pelt again the great Lakes, and remember him saying he loves watching weather.

Or having one of my grandma's cookies and remembering he loves chocolate chip cookies.

I sigh quietly, sinking my feet into the sand. We're at the beach at the great Lakes. My entire family is here. I've got on a black bikini and a pushup bra.

In school I was really fat and I got bullied a lot and I sunk into a depression and it got really bad and I tried to run away. My family helped me realize that instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I can make a change. I ended up at the gym every day. Now my ass is perfectly toned and I'm very muscular.

So I sound conceded, but I look good in my bikini.

The beach we're at is the kind you drive your car up to it so I'm sitting on a towel in the sand and all if my family is looking at the group next to us. They're driving a Chevy Suburban and we have like, three SUV's with us.

"-so cute!" Shannon finishes her sentence.

I move closer to my family.

"What are you guys whispering about?" I ask all my sisters.

Annie grins.

"Well, baby sis, there is fine meat over there." Madeline says, nodding to the family next to us.

I sit down next to them, studying the family. There seems to be five guys and three girls. Two out of five of the guys are young. They're next to us, but I don't have my glasses on or my contacts in, so I can't see their faces that clearly.

All I know is that they're attractive and have nice bodies. Both guys are shirtless.

"One of you say something!" Grandma says.

I know the family is going to harass us if we don't say something and we'll never hear the end of it.

I cringe.

We all cringe. Me, my three sisters, and my three cousins all have wrinkles noses and stress lines at the thought of going over there, to the hot male models.

"Come on!" Mom says.

Everyone starts harassing us at once.

"Alright!" I say loudly, silencing them. "Stop it!"

They silence.

They're so cute, and one of them is walking towards the sand.

"I know him." Madeline says.

"Yeah, he looks familiar." My cousin, Rosalie says.

I grab the volleyball next to me and stand up, throwing it over there.

"Erin!" Mom hisses.

I knocked a soda all over the hot guy, who is now on the water.

My jaw drops.

Oh god.

I'm staying single.

Fuck this.

It takes all my willpower not to run off.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" I walk over to him. I hear my family laughing.

The guy studies me for a second, and then hands me the volleyball.

"You don't recognize me?" he laughs.

I look up.

Oh, no shit.

No wonder I thought he was hot.

It's Christian. The airplane guy.

"Oh, you're the guy from the airplane." I smile. "Christian, right?"

"Yeah." He nods. "You're the gummy worm girl."

"Yeah." I laugh, nervous. "I'm sorry for covering you in soda."

"It's okay. What's that about? You weren't really playing volleyball..." he trails off.

"Uh, remember my saying my family is thirty for guys?" I ak quietly.

Realization covers his face.

He laughs. "And this was your way of coming over to talk to me?"

I hesitate, smiling. "Possibly." I say.

"How did you not recognize me?"

"Well, I'm not wearing my contacts and I don't have my glasses on, and I can't see far away."

He nods slowly.

"Okay."

He grabs a bottle of water and pours it down his chest, and I'm literally melting.

I feel my insides doing backflips and he's so fucking hot and wet.

Holy shit.

"You know, I can probably get them off your back." He says.

"How?" I ask.

He grabs his phone. I recognize it as his because he used it to show me photographs of his dog when we were on the plane.

"Put your number in." he shrugs.

Oh shit.

"Okay." I shrug. "What do you want me to put it as?"

"Erin Simon." He shrugs.

"You remember my name?" I ask, typing my cell phone number in and adding me as a contact.

"Yeah. It's only been a week." He laughs.

"I normally forget names after like, two hours." I laugh, handing him his phone.

"Yeah, me too, but I can't forget yours."

"Why not?" I ask, thinking I did something to make him remember me.

He shrugs. "I don't know. I just can't."

"Oh." I frown.

"But you remembered mine. Why?" he asks.

I shrug. "You're hard to forget."

He smiles. "Alright. I won't bother you since I've got your number. I just wanted to get them off your back." He says.

"Thank you." I laugh.

"Alright, they look like they're ready to torture you for answers. Good luck."

"Thanks. It was really awesome to meet you."

"Yeah, you're an awesome person."

"Thank you. So are you. Oh, and feel free to bother me."

I walk back to my family.

"Holy shit!" Madeline nearly yells.

"Shut up!" I hiss, sitting back down.

"He's hot as hell! Is he a Calvin Klein model?" Katie, my cousin asks.

"He's the owner of a pet store in San Francisco. He's not a Calvin Klein model." I say.

"How old is he?" Katie asks.

She's thirty five, so she's obviously scared about being alone forever.

"He's twenty three."

Jaws drop.

"Oh my god." Mom says.

"Honestly, calm down." I say, slightly irritated. "You guys make is terrifying to find a guy. Lay off!"

"Erin..." Mom trails off. She looks at her nieces and daughters. "Is that true?"

"Yes!" we all say in sync.