Be My Life Jacket
“All you said was that I should try not to drown.”
“I’m going out.” I told my aunt an uncle, grabbing my aunt’s keys off the counter and putting them in the pocket of my swim trunks.
“Are you going to the beach again?” My aunt asked, smirking.
“Yes. But this time with just one friend.” I replied, sticking my tongue out.
“Sam?” My uncle asked.
“Nope.” I replied, leaving before an further questioning could occur.
I hopped in the car, turning it on. Luckily I remembered all the directions Sam had given me the first time I went, and I was there in 20 minutes.
I spotted Landon at a bench in the grassy area, tapping away at his phone. I made my way over to him, nervously taking a seat beside him.
“Hey.” I said, making him jump. He shut his phone and set on the table.
“I thought for sure you weren’t going to show.” He admitted.
“Why would I skip out?” I asked, eyebrows scrunching together. “That’s beyond rude.”
“Because you seemed pretty nervous yesterday.” He shrugged.
“I- I wasn’t nervous.” I stuttered, contradicting what I just said.
“Anyway.” He started, changing the subject. “ Let’s get to swimming.” With that, he pulled his shirt off, letting it fall on the picnic table. I hesitated before taking mine off. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me shirtless before.
When I glanced back over at him, I felt butterflies erupting in my stomach. His washboard abs were a stark contrast to my flat stomach. It made me wonder what he even saw in me that made me ‘cute.’
We each slipped our shoes and socks off, heading toward the water. The warm sand under my feet and slipping between my toes felt so good as we walked.
“Coming through.” Someone shouted. The next thing I knew, something hard rammed into my head and black spots filled my vision. I collapsed on the ground and the last thing I remember was a warm pair of arms enveloping me.
“-ick!” I heard someone say. “Mick, wake up.”
My eyes fluttered open and I was absorbed those all too familiar pair of mocha eyes.
“Oh my god.” Landon breathed, giving me a hug. It was quite an awkward one, due to the fact that we’d just met, formally, yesterday.
“All you said was that I should try not to drown.” I smirked, trying to sit up, but it seemed that both my head and side wanted to keep me from doing so. I went back to laying the sand. “What happened anyway?” I wanted to know.
“Some surfer came out of no where and knocked you in the head with their board. Then without knowing they’d knocked you down, they trampled all over you. It was a pretty bad blow.” He explained, sitting down next to me.
“That would explain the throbbing in my head and side.” I sighed. “Maybe next time we could just see a movie or something.”
“Next time?” He asked, cocking a brow.
“I- I just thought-,”
“I’m just kidding, Mick. I’d love to see a movie with you.” He laughed.
“That wasn’t funny.” I complained.
“I’ll take you home.” He offered. “I’ll come back and get my car later.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I replied. “I can drive.” I tried my best to push myself up, but immediately stopped when I felt a shooting pain in my side. I fell back to the ground with what could only be described as a howl of pain.
Without a word, Landon stood up, picking me up. I tried not to yelp in pain as my injured side brushed against his chest.
He brought me to my car, sliding me in the back seat. I fished my keys out of my pocket, handing them to him. I gave him directions back to my house, feeling relieved when we finally arrived.
He opened the door for me and helped me out of the car. My aunt came bursting through the door, eying us carefully. I blushed deeply when I realized both of us were shirtless.
“What happened?” She almost yelled.
“I got hit with a surfboard and then got trampled on.” I explained as we made our way into the house. Once on the couch, Landon left with a simple “Text me.”
“Who was that boy?” My aunt asked. “He was cute.”
“My friend, Landon.” I replied. It wasn’t technically a lie.
They didn’t say another word as I dozed off on the couch, thinking about my day. I couldn’t wait to tell Sam.
“Are you going to the beach again?” My aunt asked, smirking.
“Yes. But this time with just one friend.” I replied, sticking my tongue out.
“Sam?” My uncle asked.
“Nope.” I replied, leaving before an further questioning could occur.
I hopped in the car, turning it on. Luckily I remembered all the directions Sam had given me the first time I went, and I was there in 20 minutes.
I spotted Landon at a bench in the grassy area, tapping away at his phone. I made my way over to him, nervously taking a seat beside him.
“Hey.” I said, making him jump. He shut his phone and set on the table.
“I thought for sure you weren’t going to show.” He admitted.
“Why would I skip out?” I asked, eyebrows scrunching together. “That’s beyond rude.”
“Because you seemed pretty nervous yesterday.” He shrugged.
“I- I wasn’t nervous.” I stuttered, contradicting what I just said.
“Anyway.” He started, changing the subject. “ Let’s get to swimming.” With that, he pulled his shirt off, letting it fall on the picnic table. I hesitated before taking mine off. It wasn’t like he hadn’t seen me shirtless before.
When I glanced back over at him, I felt butterflies erupting in my stomach. His washboard abs were a stark contrast to my flat stomach. It made me wonder what he even saw in me that made me ‘cute.’
We each slipped our shoes and socks off, heading toward the water. The warm sand under my feet and slipping between my toes felt so good as we walked.
“Coming through.” Someone shouted. The next thing I knew, something hard rammed into my head and black spots filled my vision. I collapsed on the ground and the last thing I remember was a warm pair of arms enveloping me.
“-ick!” I heard someone say. “Mick, wake up.”
My eyes fluttered open and I was absorbed those all too familiar pair of mocha eyes.
“Oh my god.” Landon breathed, giving me a hug. It was quite an awkward one, due to the fact that we’d just met, formally, yesterday.
“All you said was that I should try not to drown.” I smirked, trying to sit up, but it seemed that both my head and side wanted to keep me from doing so. I went back to laying the sand. “What happened anyway?” I wanted to know.
“Some surfer came out of no where and knocked you in the head with their board. Then without knowing they’d knocked you down, they trampled all over you. It was a pretty bad blow.” He explained, sitting down next to me.
“That would explain the throbbing in my head and side.” I sighed. “Maybe next time we could just see a movie or something.”
“Next time?” He asked, cocking a brow.
“I- I just thought-,”
“I’m just kidding, Mick. I’d love to see a movie with you.” He laughed.
“That wasn’t funny.” I complained.
“I’ll take you home.” He offered. “I’ll come back and get my car later.”
“You don’t have to do that.” I replied. “I can drive.” I tried my best to push myself up, but immediately stopped when I felt a shooting pain in my side. I fell back to the ground with what could only be described as a howl of pain.
Without a word, Landon stood up, picking me up. I tried not to yelp in pain as my injured side brushed against his chest.
He brought me to my car, sliding me in the back seat. I fished my keys out of my pocket, handing them to him. I gave him directions back to my house, feeling relieved when we finally arrived.
He opened the door for me and helped me out of the car. My aunt came bursting through the door, eying us carefully. I blushed deeply when I realized both of us were shirtless.
“What happened?” She almost yelled.
“I got hit with a surfboard and then got trampled on.” I explained as we made our way into the house. Once on the couch, Landon left with a simple “Text me.”
“Who was that boy?” My aunt asked. “He was cute.”
“My friend, Landon.” I replied. It wasn’t technically a lie.
They didn’t say another word as I dozed off on the couch, thinking about my day. I couldn’t wait to tell Sam.
♠ ♠ ♠
I'm a bit iffy on this chapter too. I'm writing something that's out of my comfort zone, but that's how you grow as a writer, right? Anyway, I hope you liked the Mick/Landon action. More soon ;) And also, due to a suggestion in the comments, I've decided to name the chapters after a funny/memorable quote in the chapter.~Kylie (: