Everything's Changing Now

“So…what happened while we were gone?” Charis whispered to Sophie while they headed to the beach. The two girls lagged behind the guys so they could talk.

“Nothing. I didn’t think it was the right time to say anything, Stephen seemed kinda aloof, like he was thinking about something else,” Sophie fibbed. She and Stephen had decided to tell their friends, if asked, that neither of them had brought anything up so they could make everyone else as angry as possible. It had also been decided that the rest of the group had been trying to set them up since Sophie and Delaney had arrived, and the two wanted to see how far their efforts would go.

“What? I gave you two hours alone, there wasn’t a five minute break where he was acting normal, or whatever?” Charis forcefully whispered, not wanting to draw attention to herself and Sophie.

“No, a good time will come eventually. It’s not like either of us is going anywhere,” Sophie replied, grinning to herself that her and Stephen’s plan was working. She usually wasn’t one for making people angry, but this was something too funny to pass up.

Once the group reached the beach, Sophie and Josh stayed behind to lather on sunscreen while the other three ran ahead to the water. Even though it was already three o’clock, Sophie knew she’d get a terrible burn if she didn’t put any on, and Josh had fairer skin than she did.

“We should’ve put this shit on back at the tents…” Josh mumbled to himself, getting a nod from Sophie. “Hey, are you and Stephen together yet? I know that’s why Charis made me go with her and Justin. Which was a terrible experience, by the way. I had to spend two hours with them while they made out and left me alone. You owe me.”

“I don’t know why you think we’re together, and I’m really sorry about your unfortunate afternoon,” Sophie laughed.

“I’ve known Stephen for a long time, and the way he sometimes looks at you and acts around you, I’ve only seen it once before. He’s not someone that likes girls easily, and he’s definitely fallen hard for you,” Josh responded in a moment of non-stupidity. “And I may not have known you for long, but most girls don’t hide their feelings easily, and you’re not part of that exception.”

Sophie didn’t know how to respond to what Josh had just said, or how he was able to read her so clearly. She had never thought of herself as someone who wore her heart on her sleeve, but maybe Stephen was the one who would change that. She sat down silently, waiting for the sunscreen to dry. She couldn’t force a relationship onto Stephen, even if it was what she wanted most. Her part was done, she had wait for him to come around, and there was nothing she or anyone else could do to change that.

“Come on, it’s been fifteen minutes, we can go in now,” Josh said, offering a hand to Sophie. She accepted it and brushed the sand off her legs. Maybe Josh wasn’t as big of an idiot as she thought, she could see them getting to be close friends. “I know there’s nothing you can do to make Stephen want to be your boyfriend, but you should show him that it would be a good thing. He’d probably listen to you over any of us.”

Sophie thought about what Josh had said as she walked to the water. Justin, Stephen, and John were playing a game of Frisbee and the girls, Brian, and Taylor were standing and talking. She decided on joining in on the game of Frisbee, that would provoke less talking and therefore less questioning. Stephen smiled as she came towards their game, and John, noticing this action, called out to him.

“You guys together yet? It’s been over a month you’ve been oogling each other,” John eloquently said. His brother flipped him off and threw the Frisbee way over his head so it couldn’t be caught. He returned Stephen’s gesture as he waded to retrieve it. Sophie and Justin laughed, and the game continued when John returned. Frisbee lasted for another half hour, until someone suggested they play Chicken. First, it was only the girls on guys’ shoulders, until Stephen hopped onto Justin’s shoulders to face Sophie, who was on Delaney’s shoulders.

“You’re going down,” Sophie threatened, making a motion across her throat to signify death.

“Hah, you have that backwards,” Stephen grinned as he prompted Justin to move towards the two girls. He and Sophie proceeded in a slap fight for thirty seconds until Stephen grabbed Sophie by the waist and threw her into the water, falling in with her and causing their partners to fall in as well. Once the four surfaced, Stephen continued to hug Sophie’s waist so she couldn’t retaliate.

“That’s not fair! You totally cheated!” Sophie called out, laughing.

“Not at all! There are no rules in a game where the object is to get the other person in the water, I played extremely fair,” Stephen grinned, enjoying making Sophie angry.

“I’d take the usual scratch marks over your play, cheater,” Sophie remarked, sticking her tongue out at him. Stephen continued to laugh. He picked Sophie up, and, despite her protests, threw her into deeper water so she’d go under again. When she made it back up, she proceeded towards Stephen and started splashing him. Soon the whole group started in on the water fight, and Stephen grabbed Sophie again and pulled her away. Before she could say or do anything, he gave her a quick kiss on the lips before throwing her underwater again.