"Pleeeaaasssee forgive me, Jessica!" Karter pleaded with her friend, "it's been three days and you still won't talk to me?"
Jessica just had her arms firmly crossed while Bri looked on in worry. The three friends sat on the beach under a large umbrella as the afternoon sun slowly crept towards the horizon. Karter futzed around with the cord on her surfboard leash as she tried to get Jessica to talk to her.
Saturday night/ Sunday morning had been the most nervous Jessica had been in a long time. If there was one constant in her life if was the giant oaf of a sweetheart Karter, and losing her among the crowd of drunken teenagers was a truly frightening ordeal. Anything could have happened to her, horrible things might have occured...
Jessica squeezed her eyes to try and lose the thought from her mind and continued to refuse to speak to Karter.
"Okay," Karter said sadly, "I'll be back in a bit." She brushed off the sand from her butt and with her surfboard under one arm, she jogged over to meet Camden.
Camden had been her surfing buddy since the early days and the two had grown up together on the waves. He waved to Karter and draped his arm over her shoulder when she reached him, "what's up short stuff?"
"I did something really stupid."
Camden laughed, but when Karter's expession didn't change he became worried, "what happened?"
"Saturday I drank waayy too much and got into some trouble and Jessica's still pissed at me but I don't really blame her," she explained as they walked towards the ocean, "it was just so stupid!"
"What?!" Camden stopped walking, "are you hurt?"
"No, apparently I just punched a girl for talking crap about a friend. But then afterwards Jessica wasn't able to get a hold of me."
"Who was she talking shit about? Bri?"
"Heh, no," Karter scratched the back of her leg with her foot, "it was a kid from my grade, Caleb. We're kind of fake dating so I can prove a point to Jessica."
Camden raised an eyebrow, "'fake dating'?"
Karter just waved it off, "yeah but it's not that big of a deal. I just want to show Jessica that height shouldn't matter when in a relationship."
Camden rolled his eyes but there was a smile on his face, "you're insane, you know that?"
"All day, everyday," Karter punched his shoulder, "race ya!" She said as she sprinted towards the water.
"No fair!"
-
"And don't forget about the competition coming up," Camden reminded Karter as they walked back towards Bri and Jessica. After an hour of only a few good waves, and more swimming than surfing, they decided to head back in.
"Yup, I've been planning on it!"
They plopped their boards in the sand and sat down with the two girls. Bri had bought some cool drinks and sandwiches, which the two surfers were incredibly grateful for.
Karter took a seat next to Jessica, "do you want half of my cookie?"
She didn't respond and turned to face Bri. Camden shot Karter a sympathetic look and decided to try a shot at it, "she's really sorry you know." All he got in return was a glare, so he decided that it wasn't his war to fight.
Minus a grumpy Jessica, the friends discussed their plans for the fall.
"You still planning on going to Inland U with me?" Camden asked Karter. He was a year older than the three and already working his way through college.
"Of course!" She high fived him.
"And you still working towards Standford?" He asked Bri.
"Yeah," she laughed nervously, "I'm actually moving in early this summer."
"No way!" Camden cheered.
"Yup, she's definitely our little smartie!" Karter gave her tight side hug and Bri just blushed at the praise.
"What's up guys?" A new voice added to the group. They turned to see Logan walking up with Caleb in tow. Logan plopped down next to Bri like it was nobody's business and grabbed one of the extra cookies that sat in the middle of the group.
"Okay, I told him not to bother you guys but he completely ignored me," Caleb said as he stood awkwardly behind Logan who looked happy with the attention.
"Hey, I'm just giving you a chance to chill with your girlfriend and her friends."
Camden's ears perked up and he looked over to examine his friend's fake boyfriend.
He was a good looking kid, but the first thing Camden noticed was his height. Even though he was sitting down, he could still tell Caleb wasn't on the tall side, and suddenly Karter's objective was clear.
Karter scooted over a bit to make room for Caleb and he gave her a thankful look.
"Hey, you two should come to our surfing competition next Saturday," Camden suggested.
Karter nodded her head in agreement, "yeah!"
"We'll be sure to make it!" Logan said excitedly.
This better go smoother than his last idea, Caleb thought.
● ● ●
2/12/18
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