Aqua Waters | ✔

Four - Edited

f o u r

"Happy birthday!" A zestful stranger's face peered over my bed, jolting me from my sleep with her loud squeal.

I jumped from the sheets, my heart racing in my chest. My breaths were short, my skin clammy. The dream I was having still trapped my mind.

"What the hell?" I shouted, scooting up against the wall next to my bed. I realized I was covering myself with the blankets, tugging at the edges to make sure they protected me from whatever was attacking.

Once I finally realized the intruder was Sammy, I calmed down. "What are you doing in here?"

"It's time to go surfing," Sammy beamed, grabbing the curtains and pulling them open. She stood there awkwardly and stared into the barely lit sky. "Okay, that didn't work," she mumbled, turning back towards me. She made her way to the bed once more, grabbing at the blankets I was still using for cover.

"Fine, I'm getting up." I dragged my tired body out of bed, running my hand through the rat nests of my hair.

The boxes lined the walls with all my things still packed away. "What am I supposed to wear?" I yawned before opening my suitcase. I paused a moment before looking to take in what Sammy was wearing. She wore a pair of shorts that barely covered her butt and a white t-shirt with a sweatshirt that was tied around her waist. Her hair fell in kinky waves, cascading almost further than her shorts.

"You realize it's cold here, right? It's not going to be a nice sunny day at the beach. This isn't California," I teased, digging to pull out my own pair of shorts. I ushered Sammy out of the room before quickly getting dressed. Rushing to the bathroom, I grabbed the hairbrush to make some progress on my mess of hair.

"Olyvya, we have to go!" Sammy shouted from the other side of the house. Was she in the kitchen?

I threw the brush down on the counter, deciding that this was as good as it was going to get. We were going to be in the ocean soon anyway.

"Coming!" I shouted back, heading down the hallway to grab my hoodie from last night. Quickly throwing it on, I stopped in the kitchen to meet back up with Sammy. It didn't take us long to throw our shoes on and head for the beach. heading out the door and on our way to the beach once more.

The air this morning was warmer, the sun peaking above the mountains yet again. Sammy seemed excited as her strides took her further away from me with each step. My little legs couldn't keep up with her smooth movements.

When we arrived at the beach, the man was waiting for us, easily visible after we popped through the foliage. He wore a full wetsuit and had a surfboard stuck standing upright next to him. His feet were bare, and he dug them into the sand, not realizing we had arrived.

When Sammy and I walked around the corner, stopping to take our own shoes off, he pushed himself up off the ground, looking like we had startled him.

"Morning," he mumbled before closing the distance between us. Sammy waved, showing her more open personality. Meanwhile, I stood there staring at his beautiful green eyes.

He smiled before taking our shoes from us, setting them neatly next to his. The waves crashed gently against the beach, moving in a slow, constant motion. My heart fluttered at the thought of the sandy water crashing against my body. I'd never gone surfing before, but it was something I had always wanted to learn. Sammy used to tease me all the time about living in such a beautiful state for the sport and never even attempting to get in the water with a board. She had tried to make me go a couple of times with her family growing up, since they lived not too far from the Pacific.

"So, I see you guys are trespassing again," he chuckled, putting his hands out to his side as if he was introducing the area to us once more. I brought my attention back to him, the wind blowing gently, sending chills down my body. Sammy and I shot each other questioning glances. Was he being serious?

"I'm kidding guys...trying to clear the air a little bit." He paused for a moment before speaking again. "Hi, my name is Gage." He stuck his hand out. Sammy gladly took it in hers, giving him a nice shake, before dropping her hand back to her side.

I couldn't help but smile at myself. His lips curled upward. He introduced himself to us, showing he had a playful side to him. I was curious about this stranger in front of us. He seemed so confident. So sure of himself. I wished I was a little more like that.

I felt small standing on the beach next to Sammy, who was so outgoing, and Gage, who seemed to be so sure of himself. The breeze caught the loose strands of hair sticking up on top of his head, making them dance ever so slightly in the morning air.

"Olyvya," I mumbled, still captivated by his sea-green eyes. I felt like I hadn't even touched the water, but I was already drowning. Damn It Olyvya, knock it off. I had no clue who this man was. For all I knew, he could be out here trying to murder us. It wouldn't be too hard to drown us and act like nothing ever happened.

Sammy introduced herself as well, before another awkward lull of silence took over.

"Well, are we going surfing?" Gage clapped his hands, turning to grab his board before stopping midway. "Where are your wetsuits? No surfboards?" He looked between the two of us expectantly. It was like the realization had just hit him. I kicked at the sand, unaware of the fact we were supposed to bring our own gear.

"Uh, we don't have any?" Sammy looked at me, silently begging for any kind of help.

I shrugged. We literally didn't have any. Gage never took the time to ask us, and we were too quick to run away or to pester him, either. Then again, we should have thought about this while we were lounging around, eating our disgusting Hawaiian pizza. A shiver ran down my spine just thinking about last night's dinner.

Were we really that stupid? A pink hue took over my cheeks, heat flaring on my skin.

How could we ever think this was a good idea? It was like the weight of what was happening crashed over my shoulders. Gage... a total stranger, had invited us to go surfing with him, all because we were trespassing. What was wrong with him? What was wrong with us?

We had agreed, so obviously we weren't right in the head either.

"I have surfboards, but I don't have anything else. You guys are going to freeze out there if you don't have a wet suit. Especially this early in the morning." Gage folded his arms like he was disappointed with us. He turned towards the house.

"No, we won't." I folded my arms to match his. A sudden wave of confidence hit me. At this point, I was determined to get out on a board. I was woken up early and nothing was going to stop me from getting into the water today. It felt weird not to. Like we were on a journey and we were just about to give up right before the good part.

Gage shrugged, heading towards the mansion of a house that had caught my attention yesterday. Sammy and I were locked in our spot. It felt like rocks were holding us in place.

Once he was halfway up the beach, he turned to look at both of us, waving us in his direction. "Are you guys coming or not?" He turned, his strides taking him away faster than I could ever catch up without sprinting. I mentally cursed my short legs.

My heart screamed with excitement, eager to see the inside of the mansion.