Opia || Rafe Cameron

Chapter 20

I take my surf board from John B as he hands it down from the roof of his car. He stood on the edge of the open door, grabbing our boards from the top. He grabs his own and pulls it off.

"Ready?" He asks looking over at me. I nod at him, following him down to the beach.

I throw my shoes off as soon as we hit the sand and run toward the ocean. I let the cool wind blow through my thick curls, cooling me down on the hot day. The wind blows the sand into my ankles, stinging my skin.

I let out a happy giggle as I put my board in the water. John B sets his board next to mine. Together we paddle out into the open water. I flip over on my board, relaxing my back against top.

John B paddles just board closer to mine so I could hear him as spoke to me.

"Doing better?"

I sit up, so I could look at him. "I am. Thank you for bringing me out here."

"I'm glad you're feeling better."

"Hey, do you- um, do you remember when you kissed me?" I asks hesitantly. My eyes flick away slightly nervous.

"Yeah. Yeah, I remember." He responds awkwardly with a light chuckle.

"Why did you?" I ask seriously.

"What do you mean?"

"Why did you think I was worth kissing?"

"Mila, you're my best friend. I was in a bad place and you've always been there for me. You're amazing and so sweet. Look, it was a good kiss and I'm honestly glad I did it, but I also realized that you were right. It was just a heat of the moment thing."

I nod along with his words, a small smile on my face, as he explains himself. "Thank you, for telling me."

"Yeah of course. Nothing's changed between us, okay?"

"Okay."

"And no Pogue on Pogue macking, right?" I let out a laugh.

"Hey!" I hear from the beach. I look over to see the rest of the Pogues splashing into the water. "Save some wave for us!" JJ yells out.

We spend the next few hours surfing.

Once we're done we all pile back into the van and head back to the chateau. On the drive home the mood in the car was very relaxed. John B played soft pop music. He nods along to the beat of the music. I relax into the passenger seat, leaning against the door.

It was the first time in days I felt comfortable around the Pogues. There were no more lies between all of us. They seemed happy I was around but I knew there was still a slight tension between all of us.

When we arrived at the Chateau it had gotten dark. The sky filled with bright stars that lit up just enough to be able to see as we moved around.

I walk over to the hammocks and climb in. I figured I should probably give the rest of the Pogues space to talk.

But they didn't go inside to talk without me. They all wandered around doing their own thing. My brother made his way over to me, climbing into the hammock next to me. He hangs a leg out, pushing off the ground to swing us gently.

"I'm sorry." I say softly.

"You know, Mi, it's okay. We all make mistakes and you always strive to find the good part of people."

"I should've believed you. I should have just gotten into your boat that day."

"Mila, it's not your fault. I'm not angry with you. I'm sure when you get past all the angst and drug issues, he's probably not even that bad."

"We wasn't. He was a good guy." My heart broke thinking about him. I didn't know where I stood with him. I hated the boy but I was also still crazy in love with him.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Pope asks softly.

"Is that not weird?"

"I want you to talk to me."

"When I was around he would drop the drug thing. He never did drugs when I was around. He treated me really well, I was his priority every time. He was a good listener too, which isn't something you'd expect from a Kook."

"Did you ever- uh-"

"Sleep with him? Yeah."

"Was he good to you about it?"

"Always."