It Started With a Detention ➣ Cash Baker ✔️

06

The drive to the beach was short, Cash and I just sung along to whatever was on the radio. The noises of the arcade games from the boardwalk mixed with the crashing waves of the beach right next to it. I hooked the strings of my bag around my shoulders and Cash grabbed my hand, lacing my fingers with his and led me down to the sand. After a few minutes of walking down the shoreline, we found an open area and I plopped my bag down.

"What are we doing first?" Cash asked me, running a hand through his hair and placing both of them on his hips.

"Water," I said without hesitation. I felt the sun beating down on me through my clothes. I watched Cash strip off his shirt and suddenly felt self-conscious.

"No need to be nervous, I've seen you in a bathing suit before," Cash said, clearly sensing my anxiety. His words didn't soothe me as much as he probably thought they would. I took a deep breath and unbutton my shorts, letting them fall to my ankles and stepping out of them. I pulled the hem of my shirt over my head and folded it, along with my shorts, placing them both on top of my bag. Cash threw his shirt over my bag and grabbed my wrist, leading me to the water.

I was only in to about my ankles while Cash was up to his waist. My arms were wrapped around my stomach and Cash was trying to coax me further into the water.

"It's cold!" I whined and Cash moved through the water until he could wrap his arms around me, carrying me deeper into the water, bridal style. Once he was up to about his chest, he let go, dropping me into the water.

"You're such a dick!" I yelled, gasping for air.

"Shh! You're so loud!" Cash quieted me, putting a finger to his lips. But I didn't care, I was too busy splashing him with the ice-cold ocean water. Before I was about to splash his again, he dove headfirst into a wave. I let the wave lift me gently as it carried under my body. Cash came up from the water and shook his head, intensely letting all the droplets in his hair whip around.

"Hey! Watch it!" I cried out, turning around to not let myself get sprayed with the water from Cash's head. I felt his hands on my waist and I slowly turned around. His touch was warm compared to the numb feeling of the cold water. The water was slightly above my stomach but only up to Cash's waist. I placed my hands on his forearms and he leaned his head down slightly. I felt his hot breath fanning my face as I lifted my chin up towards him. I closed my eyes and felt his lips on mine. The feeling was soft and familiar, too familiar. I pulled away and Cash's eyes searched my face.

"Uh," Cash was at a loss for words.

"We should get out," my voice croaked. "I can barely feel my legs," we made our way back to where my bag was sitting in the sand. I grabbed my towel and wrapped it around my body as Cash got a hold of his sweatshirt, laying it down, and sitting on top of it. I stayed standing as the air around us was filled with an awkward silence. After a few minutes, we grabbed our white shirts and pulled them over our heads. It wasn't until I looked over at Cash and saw the shirt he had on reached halfway down his torso. I burst into laughter and looked down at the shirt I was wearing that went a quarter of the way down my thighs. I reached the hem of the shirt, attempting to pull it over my head to take it off when Cash stopped me.

"Don't," he said, grabbing my arms and pulling the shirt back down onto my body. "It looks good on you."

"I could say the same about the one you're wearing," I said and broke out into a fit of giggles. I could tell how hard Cash was trying not to laugh as he ripped my crop shirt over his body and stuffed it into the bag. He did the same with his light grey sweatshirt that now had a dark grey spot from where he had sat on it. He placed my towel around his neck, letting both ends dangle on either side of his chest.

---

"I can't believe you remember that I don't like ketchup," I said, biting into my hotdog.

"Of course I remember, silly, you don't like any condiments. You like your hotdogs naked," Cash said, wiping his mouth with the napkins that felt like sandpaper. After we had left the beach, we headed to the boardwalk and found a booth that sold hotdogs. We were now sitting at one of the small tables in front of the booth, neither one of us bringing up that moment in the ocean.

"Okay, when you call them 'naked', it's weird," I told Cash.

"You're the weird one who doesn't like to dress her hotdog!"

"Excuse me? Dress my hotdog?"

"Well, yeah, without condiments, it's naked so with ketchup and stuff like that, it's dressed."

"You're officially the weirdo here," I remarked, throwing away my trash.

"I'm the one with condiments on my hotdog," Cash scolded, over pronouncing the 'with'. I looked around the boardwalk as I waited for Cash to finish his hotdog.

"It's getting late, should we head back?" I asked and Cash nodded. It wasn't that late honestly but the sun was slowly starting to set and I knew that my mom was probably already back home from running errands. I grabbed Cash's trash and threw it away as he took my drawstring bag and swung it around his shoulders.

So..." Cash trailed off, grabbing my hand and lacing our fingers together as we walked back to the parking lot. "Mav's throwing a party tonight."

"Oh? Why?" I questioned, a little confused as to why Cash was telling me this information.

"Well, you know, he's not in high school anymore so he has it set in his head that he can basically do what he wants. Plus, my parents are out of town until tomorrow," Cash explained. "Anyways, I was wondering if you wanted to come?" He asked, shyly.

I couldn't help but smile at how nervous he was to ask me that, "I don't think I should. I'm already lying to my mom enough as it is," I felt bad turning Cash down but honestly I wasn't in the mood to go get drunk and do something stupid.

"Oh, ok," Cash looked defeated as he pulled his keys out to unlock his car. "It's all good, I wouldn't want to go either, except I live there so it's mandatory," I knew that was a lie and he was just trying to not make me feel guilty. Nothing was said during the car ride back to my apartment, there wasn't really anything to say. Cash parked outside the building and turned his body slightly to face me. I unbuckled my seatbelt and did the same to face him.

"Someone got a little burnt," Cash said, putting his hands to my face and rubbing my cheeks with his thumbs. I felt myself blush but I didn't think Cash could tell. He inched his face towards me and his lips brushed against mine.

"Goodnight Cash," I whispered before pulling away.

"Unbelievable," Cash licked his lips and shook his head. "See you later, Carter."

---

"Whose shirt is that?" Was the first question I got when entering the apartment after leaving Cash's car.

"A friends," I responded. I thought I was safe from my mother until she emerged from the bathroom with a towel wrapped around her hair and loose clothing covering her body which was considered pajamas for her.

"A boy 'friend' or a girl 'friend'?" She asked, making her way to the fridge in the kitchen.

"Would it matter?" I asked, clearly testing her patience.

"You hungry? Dinner's probably just leftovers," she sighed, taking some containers out of the fridge and placing them on the counter.

"No, I already ate," I called out, making my way down the hall to my room.

"With your friend?" She asked, aggravated.

"Yes, with my friend," I spoke, mocking her tone and shutting the door to my bedroom.

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