Imagination || L.H.

Chapter 32

The wind whips my hair behind me like a flag as Ash and I roll the metal can full of wood onto the beach, making sure to stick closer to the dunes. Luke and Michael have the camping chairs resting on their shoulders, following us over to our chosen location. Calum trails close behind them, a six pack of beer clutched in one hand and two bottles of tequila cradled with his other arm. Ashton makes sure the can is secure as I hold a lit match next to a piece of the newspaper we crumpled up and threw in, dropping the matchstick as it catches fire.

We turn to help Luke and Michael arrange the chairs around the can. I count them, doubling checking that we have the right amount. We need one for me, Luke, Calum, Michael, Ashton, Liv, Cassie and April. I breathe a sigh of relief when I see all eight are in place.

"I think this is the last of it," Cal announces as he sets the alcohol down next to his chair.

I sigh as I twist my hair up into a ponytail, adjusting my white cut off shorts and fixing my light blue tank top. We'd all thrown our swimsuits on underneath our clothes and it was weird seeing my best friends in something other than black skinny jeans.

Luke takes a seat in a nearby chair, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward him. I smile as I sit down on his lap, resting my head against his shoulder. The breeze rustles by, carrying the smell of sea salt and sand. Luke's worn gray T-shirt doesn't feature a rock band on it for once. It's warm and smells like him. I wrap my arms around his neck and press soft, slow kisses to his neck. He shudders, clutching me closer.

"Hey, lovebirds, they're here." Michael's voice interrupts the peaceful silence and I sigh, getting to my feet to greet my friends. Luke stands, sliding an arm around my waist as we walk to meet my coworkers half way.

Cassie makes her way over the dunes first, throwing her arms around my neck as she reaches me. "Hey! I feel like it's been forever since I've seen you! We've missed you at the shop!"

Liv shyly steps up to hug me next. She looks cute in her jean shorts and pale pink shirt. I can only hope Michael will open his eyes for once and realize it. "It's good to see you, Kat," she says with a smile.

"You too," I reply sincerely.

April comes over the dune, opening her arms as she walks toward me. Stylish sunglasses are perched on her nose and she's not even wearing a shirt over her bikini, going with only really short jean shorts. "Kat! I've missed you, girl. No one does the rock and roll slide like you."

I laughed, pulling back and stepping back into Luke's arms. "I've missed you guys too." Clearing my throat, I add, "And I know technically you already know them, but let me introduce everyone. Calum over there with the beer." Cal lifts his can into the air, giving the girls a silent what's up. "Ashton's the one currently trying to light a crab on fire." We all look at Ash, who drops the poor little crab into the metal barrel, leaning forward intently. "Michael's the one making a sand castle." Mikey's on his knees in the wet sand close to the waves, scooping up handfuls and slapping them together. "And this is Luke, my boyfriend."

Luke raises his hand, awkwardly waving.

April lowers her sunglasses, assessing the boy on my right. "I knew there was something going on with you two." Her eyes zero in on the hickey peeking out from the collar of his shirt and both of her eyebrows shoot up to her hairline. "Maybe more than I thought," she mutters.

I look away, blushing. Luke ducks his head, going red.

Clearing my throat again, I say, "We have beer and tequila, and plenty of chairs for everyone. Feel free to swim or just sit and chill. This is really just about hanging out with each other."

Ashton has a stick and is poking the crab with it, nudging it closer to the flame. "C'mon, little crab," he says under his breath. "Catch fire."

Cassie skips over to him, peering inside the barrel. "May I?" she asks, holding out her hand for the stick.

He shrugs, passing it over. "Sure, but I doubt you're gonna get it to-"

I watch as Cassie lights the end of the stick on fire and touches it to the crab. The fire catches on the unprotected skin and the crab goes up in smoke. Ashton looks at Cassidy in astonishment. I smile as they sit down in the chairs and start talking.

"Ay, yo, dickweed," April says, plopping down in the chair next to Calum. She folds up her sunglasses and hooks them on her bikini top. "Pass me a bottle of the tequila."

He hands it over wordlessly and they clink their respective glass together before raising them to their lips. I whirl to see Liv tentatively walking over to where Michael is building his sand castle in the surf. She says something to him that I can't quite make out and then stoops to join in. I smile at all of my friends, turning to Luke. His eyes match the light blue of the sky as the sun slowly makes its way down to the horizon. "Wanna go for a walk? They won't miss us," he adds, nodding at everyone.

"Sure," I say, slipping my hand into his.

The sand slides between my toes as we walk, gently swinging our hands. I drag him toward the water's edge, laughing as the water splashes further up than I expected. Luke smiles softly, stooping to snatch up a seashell. He shows it to me before pocketing it, glancing out over the ocean. The wind tears at my ponytail, messing it up completely, so I take out my hair tie, shaking my hair out so it hangs past my shoulders.

Luke drops my hand and races ahead only to turn back around and kick water at me. I let out a surprised shriek of delight, splashing him with water to retaliate. We slowly make our way down the beach, kicking up bits of surf and giggling. I trip in a sudden hole in the sand and Luke catches me before I face plant into the wet sand.

I stretch onto my tiptoes to wrap my arms around his neck. The fading sunlight glints off his blond hair, the combined blue of the sky and the water highlighting the blue of his eyes. "I love you," I say.

"I love you too," he says, leaning down to kiss me.

Our fingers tangle in each other's hair and I slip my hands under his shirt, running my fingers over his bare abdomen. One of his hands cups the side of my face while the other slides down the length of my body. I shiver, pressing closer to him.

"Should we be making out on the beach?" I murmur as I kiss him even harder, wanting to be as physically close as possible.

He breaks away just long enough to mutter, "Probably not, but I really don't care."

Luke walks backward, pulling me a hidden spot between two dunes. I jump up and wrap my legs around his waist. His hands keep me up as he walks me into one of the wooden poles holding up a walkway leading down to the beach. I arch my back, gasping as I slide my tongue into his mouth. He groans, pressing me harder into the pole. The smell of the beach clings to him as I break away for breath, panting. His lips make slow circles across my jawline and down my neck. I tighten my arms around his neck, bringing him even closer.

"We should probably head back now or we won't be able to stop," I mumble, closing my eyes briefly as his mouth moves against my skin.

Luke's voice is raspy when he responds. "Maybe that won't be such a bad thing."

I giggle, my laugh turning into a moan as he drags his tongue up the length of my neck. "Luke, c'mon, let's go."

He sighs and I drop back down to the ground. As we walk, we fix our clothes and hair to cover up the fact that we were ever making out. Our friends come into view shortly and I smile. They're all seated around the fire, laughing as they pass around the bottles of tequila. Everything's perfect. Everything except the fact that my boyfriend is broken beyond repair and I don't know quite how to fix him.