Beyond the Ordinary

Chapter 75

A/N - Photo above: Corey (far left), Kate (middle), Amy (far right). 

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AXEL 

I arrive at Kate's house, beeping the horn to let her know that I'm here. Soon enough, she gets out of a white Jeep SUV and just like always, she looks so beautiful. She's wearing a different bathing suit than I'd seen only days ago and her hair is pulled up into a loose ponytail. She waves to me with a shy smile before opening the trunk of the car, showing a white dog with brown eyes, that look almost black, just like mine. Kate attaches a red leash to her dog, Max, and leads up to my window.

"Can you open your trunk?" She asks me.

I nod and press the button on the door to open the trunk. I hear it pop open and the car shakes slightly as her dog hops in. She removes the leash from the dog and kisses its head before shutting the trunk door. I find myself feeling slightly jealous since she still has yet to kiss my forehead.

She opens the passenger door and slides in beside me. "Hey," she says shyly.

Not being to take it anymore, I put my hand on her cheek and pull her in for a kiss. I'd missed her so much and when I feel myself start to get carried away, I pull away from her reluctantly. "I missed you," I admit, feeling shy.

Kate takes my hand and the doors to the backseat suddenly open. A girl with long dark hair steps in first, cuddling against a boy that had entered from the other side. Then a tall girl with brown hair and highlights comes in and slides in next to the dark-haired girl and shuts the door. "Shit, sorry that took so long, I had to put my car keys back inside," she says, then she notices my presence, and a smile grows onto her face, "Hi, I"m Corey," she says, introducing herself.

"Axel," I respond.

She laughs. "Oh, I know. I've heard all about you."

Kate flushes and I laugh. "You obviously have no filter," I say.

She shakes her head. "Nope," she says, popping the 'p'.

"I'm Amy," the dark-haired girl says, so quietly that I almost don't hear her.

"Nice to meet ya," I say.

"And I'm Kyle, her boyfriend. I'm happy to see you're no longer Kate's boy toy," the boy next to the dark-haired girl, Amy, says.

I look over and Kate is blushing even harder.

"Jesus, Kyle, do you ever know when to shut the fuck up?" The girl with highlights, Corey, boldly asks.

I'm not sure why, but I start to laugh. Like really laugh. My stomach starts to ache so I force myself to stop and I reverse out of the street and head to Fairmont.

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We manage to get into the club, and thankfully, it's basically empty. The only people that remain are an old couple that looks like they're about to leave anyway.

I pull into the parking lot and find an empty parking spot before cutting the engine. Kate gets a tennis ball out of the center console that she'd put in there halfway through the car ride, and gets out of my car to get Max. I get out along with everyone else and we run up to the beach, Kate jogging behind us with an excited Max running right beside her. Once we find a spot that shaded from the sun, we sit down and Kate removes the leash from Max's collar and takes off towards the water.

"Great, please tell me that someone brought towels," I say, imagining a wet dog in my car.

Corey smiles. "Don't think so little of me, Axel. You only just met me," she says, tossing me a blue towel. "I grabbed a few when I went to put my car keys inside. I realized we'd forgotten them so I grabbed like six. Thinking we could use the extras to suntan or whatever," she says, laying her own towel across the sand and closing her eyes, the sun casting its heat on her already tan skin.

With a sigh, I gaze out at the water, watching Kate toss the ball again and again for Max. Getting bored with her friends, I head out to join her.

"Need some company?" I ask her over the sound of the waves.

Kate smiles, the sun casting across her face, making her look like she's glowing. She hands me the ball and Max finally notices my presence, swimming up to me, staring at the yellow ball in my hand. With a smile, I throw the ball not too far ahead of us and Kate takes my hand under the water, her skin feeling clammy from being in the water for so long.

The sun starts to go down and we head back to the beach, Max following close to Kate, the ball still in his mouth.