Awakened

Fifteen

As soon as I open my eyes the smell of pancakes makes my mouth water. I look over and Sam is no longer in the bed. She must have gotten up before me. I sit up and stretch my arms over my head. My phone is vibrating on the nightstand, and I see my mother's name flashing on the caller ID.

"Hi mom." I say sleepily.

"Happy birthday!!!" both of my parents sing in unison. It is nice to hear their voices. "Thanks, I miss you guys." I say. "We miss you darling! How are things at Michelle's? Are you having fun?" I spend a few more minutes talking to my parents. I tell them about Sam and Thomas, and that I love it here. I don't mention Beau.

"Here comes the birthday girl!" Shelly says as I make my way down the stairs.

"Hey there, Sleeping Beauty. I was beginning to think you'd sleep the day away!" Sam jokes. I laugh, and take a seat next to her at the kitchen table. Shelly prepared blueberry pancakes, and they are absolutely delicious.

"These are great, thank you." I say to her, and she hugs me.

"What are you girls going to do today?" she asks while removing the empty plates from the table.

"Thomas wants us to come over sometime soon to help get the house ready, but I kind of want to hit the beach for a few hours first. What do you think Katherine?" she asks, and I nod in agreement. The beach sounds perfect.

We run upstairs and pull on our bathing suits. I grab the tanning oil from the bathroom and throw it in my bag. When we step outside the salty air and sunshine bring a smile to my face.

"I will never get tired of this weather." I say with my face tilted towards the sun.

"Hey, you two coming over here?" I hear Thomas call from his side of the small iron fence.

"Not just yet, we're going to hit the beach for a bit." Sam calls back.

"I'll meet you down there!" he responds, and Sam nods. We make our way down the wooden walkway, and spread our towels on the hot sand. I toss Sam the tanning oil, and she spreads it across her pale skin. The black one-piece she is wearing is simple and flattering, and suits her perfectly. She seems so confident, and I envy that about her. Everything about her look seems so effortless. She tosses the bottle back to me. I begin to rub the oil on my arms and Thomas walks up and lays a third towel on the sand next to mine.

"Hello there, pretty ladies." He says as he lays on the towel.

"Quite the charmer today, aren't you?" I tease. As I rub the oil on my legs, I realize he is watching intently. I feel the familiar heat rising to my cheeks as I blush, but I try to prevent him from noticing this. I slowly move my hands towards my stomach, and then up to my chest. I am aware that he is still watching, and for some reason this excites me. I don't exactly know how to be sexy, but right now I feel like whatever it is that I am doing is turning Thomas on. I arch my back ever so slightly, and spread a bit more of the oil on my thighs. As I screw the top back on the bottle, I see him clench his jaw and shift his legs.

"So what all do we need from the store?" I hear Sam ask, and she is facing Thomas.

"Uh, what? Sorry... What did you say?" He stammers back. I fight the smile tugging on my lips, and my inner Goddess is quite satisfied with herself.

After a few hours spent both on the beach and splashing in the waves, we begin the short walk back towards the condos.

"So, how will we get the alcohol?" I ask them once we reach the walkway.

"Oh, Beau will probably go get it. We can go to my place and make a list for him." Thomas replies coolly. He stays close by my side, and opens the door for us once we arrive to his house. Beau is standing in front of the open refrigerator when we enter, and he turns to face us.

"Hey, if we make you a list can you run to the store for tonight?" Beau nods in response to his brothers question. His eyes then shift to me, and then look me up and down. I try not to offer him any type of response with my body language, but I am not sure that I am very convincing. Thomas grabs a pen and pad of paper from the counter, and comes back to stand at my side.

"What do you want to drink tonight, birthday girl?" He asks, and his voice sounds much more flirty than normal. It surprises me a little that he is being so bold in front of Sam and Beau.

"I'm not sure, I think I'm okay with whatever you normally get for things like this." I answer. The three discuss a few options, and Thomas scratches a list onto the pad. He rips off the page, and hands it to his brother.

We all chat in the kitchen for a while longer before Sam mentions that we should head back to  my place to start getting ready. Beau pulls his phone from his pocket and seems to be responding to several messages. His phone begins to ring, and instead of answering he silences it on each ring.

"What is all that about?" Thomas asks.

"Oh you know, the usual." His grin is devious, and I can't help but purse my lips.

"You can be such a dog." Sam says jokingly, and Beau winks at her.

"I can't help it that there will be dozens of ladies here tonight, and that they all want me to know they're coming." He responds, and all this does is piss me off.

"Dozens? So much for a small get together, huh?" I say flatly.

"I may have invited a few more people." He answers, and I know he is trying to get a reaction out of me.

"Oh, that's good then. At least you will have plenty to choose from, though I'm not sure that you are very picky to begin with." Before I can second guess myself the words are out into the universe, and Beau's mouth drops open.

"Oh, shit." Sam says, and grabs my hand to pull me towards the door. Thomas is laughing loudly, and Beau still hasn't moved. "On that note, we're going to get ready. See you guys later." she calls back to them as we exit.

Once outside Sam can't control her laughter. "What the hell got into you in there?" She asks.

I shake my head, "I have no clue... He can just be infuriating sometimes. I have never in my life been around someone who is so consumed with himself. " We push open the door to Shelly's condo and walk inside.

"I mean I am 100% on board with you girl. I just did NOT expect you to go all Betty Badass on him. It was awesome though." She is still laughing when we reach my bedroom, and I shake my head.

"I'm getting in the shower, help yourself to anything you need." I tell her as I close the bathroom door.

As the hot water hits my body I close my eyes. What remains of the oil washes from my skin, and I think back to the way Thomas was following every movement of my hands. The way his breath hitched when I arched my back brings a smile to my lips. I learned something today. I learned that I was capable of being sexy. I had to stop viewing myself as this weak child who was so far behind everyone else. I grab my razor and make sure every inch of my body is smooth. I am going to be showing a little skin tonight, and I want everything to be perfect.