Three Weeks [COMPLETED]

Chapter 21 - "My place?"

The swim to the shore was not far and Kit, Edison, and the few others who decided to join them, made it there before Drew brought the first group in the dinghy. Once they had claimed their spot on the beach, they settled quickly.

It was still early in the afternoon and hot. The girls arranged their towels and laid out like hot-dogs on a grill. A group started a game of frizzbee football right along the water to allow them to tackle each other into the ocean. Another group started a game of volleyball.

From the way the girls called Edison over, it seemed he usually joined the tanning crowd, which, came as no surprise to Kit. But he only gave them a quick wave before he followed Kit to join the volleyball game.

Volleyball brought out Edison's competitive side and Kit rose to the challenge. He was more athletic than she was, but what she lacked in skills, she made up for in enthusiasm. They were on opposing teams and their intense playing pulled both teams into a competitive game. Kit's team only admitted defeat when it turned too dark to continue.

A fire pit had been setup and the two teams joined the crowd roasting hot dogs over the flames. Amanda led the dinner conversation down memory lane, excluding Kit, but she didn't mind. She was too busy trying to sabotage Edison cooking his hot dog.

The sky grew darker and the conversation turned lazy as everyone finished eating and settled back into their seats.

Edison pulled Kit to him, wrapping his arm around her. He smelled like salt water and smoke. He smelled like summer. After an afternoon in the sun, she was feeling lazy, and she rested her head against his shoulder.

As if an alarm had gone off, alerting Amanda of their closeness, a moment after Kit's head rested against Edison, Amanda was talking loudly and suggesting a game.

"Let's play a game! Why not get to know the new girl?" she said.

"That's not a game," Neil argued.

"Who cares?" she shot back. She turned and focused on Kit. "Come on. She shows up out of nowhere, nobody knows a thing about her, and she's suddenly always around. I think we deserve some answers."

No one countered Amanda as all their attention turned to Kit. Kit was sure everyone else was as curious for answers as Amanda. Even Edison seemed to be holding his breath, eager to see what she would say.

She smiled and shrugged. "Sure. What do you want to know?"

"Where are you from?" Amanda spat out.

Kit looked around the group to find all eyes on her. She dropped her gaze to her lap, pretending to think about her answer. She cleared her throat and added a hint of hesitancy to her voice before she spoke.

"New York," she said.

"Why did you come to Lighthouse Point?" Amanda followed up quickly.

Kit paused, and could feel the interest of the crowd rise, as if they had collectively leaned forward to hear more clearly.

"I was in a relationship that ended abruptly," she said. She was proud of the waver in her voice. "I worked part-time with this company. They were thinking about setting up a branch in this area. They needed people to check it out. I needed a change, so I came here."

As Kit pretended to stumble over her words, she could feel Edison tensing up. She wondered if he had figured out she was pulling her back story from one of the first conversations they had shared. The one where he had told her about all the rumors surrounding her.

"And your parents just let you come here alone?" Amanda asked. Her face was a mix of awe and disbelief. Like she was receiving news that was too good to be true.