The Lunacy Fringe

Billie’s aunt and uncle owned a small house near the beach. They lent it to her for the weekend but only because she promised her parents it would be a girl’s weekend. Thankfully, Billie was confident they wouldn’t drop in unannounced to check on us because they hated the drive. Even though they threatened her just to try and test us.

It was only one room and had a couch with a pull-out bed that Felix and I were strictly forbidden from sleeping on by Quinn. But we argued with him for most of the ride because he was a giant hypocrite, and neither of us was too turned on by the idea of having sex in a full house, but we didn’t trust Quinn. So we all eventually came to an agreement. The couch bed was super uncomfortable anyway, and we’d all just camp on the floor.

Except Billie convinced him to change his mind by the time we got there. And honestly, Felix and I didn’t even really care about where we slept, just as long as we got to be together. This resulted in yet another heated argument where the word “hypocrite” was thrown around a few more times. Then Quinn reluctantly gave in. Mostly because I smacked him on the back of the head and reminded him that he wasn’t my father, and if I was going to bang Felix at the beach house, I sure as hell wasn’t going to do it with him sleeping right next to us.

When we finally got there, Billie claimed the bathroom to change while I checked out the small studio with the boys. The kitchen was tiny, and I could understand why her family didn’t spend much time there. Her aunt and uncle apparently had a whole gaggle of kids and having that many in such a small space would be a nightmare. She told me they usually used it to get away from the kids. Which didn’t happen as often as they’d like.

We initially planned to hit up the store first to stock the fridge for the weekend, but Billie shoved me into the bathroom as soon as she was done and made me change into my bathing suit. The store they wanted to go to wasn’t that far from the beach, so it wouldn’t be a big deal to go shopping half-dressed. Thankfully, I had the cute cover-up. But when we went to leave, I let it slip that I’d never actually been to the beach for fun.

They all stared at me for a good solid minute. I’d been living in California for a year now. I’d gone to the pier with my dad a few times, saw some ships, had lunch right on the docks and got accosted by a pelican, and he made me watch the sunrise that first morning. But I’d never actually just gone to the beach to swim and play.

So they decided shopping could wait and dragged me in the other direction. When we got there, Billie took off her sunny yellow dress and threw down a towel. She sat down and patted the space beside her, obviously claiming it for me. So I laid my towel out and turned just as Felix was yanking his shirt up over his head.

Yes, he was my boyfriend. And yes, I’d seen him naked on several different occasions. But I’d never actually seen him bare-chested in the sunlight before. His dark hair was falling in his eyes, which seemed so much greener against the backdrop of the calm blue ocean. And he was so tanned and lovely that my heart stopped.

He caught me staring and smiled. Then he nodded toward me. “Your turn,” he said. I flushed with embarrassment and heat. There was a mark on his shoulder. A scratch I’d accidentally left behind the last time I saw him naked. When I had his head between my legs. But he was challenging me. Calling me out for being so hot and bothered over the sight of him on the beach.

“Fine,” I said and ripped my cover-up off. He watched, and he wasn’t shy about it. And anyone with eyes could probably tell he knew my body as intimately as I knew his.

So, of course, Quinn was staring off in the other direction, pretending he was really interested in some seagulls trying to steal someone’s potato chips from a nearby blanket.

“I hate you guys,” Billie said when I finally plopped down beside her.

“Why?” I asked. I was barely paying attention, just watching Felix set up his towel beside me. He kept smiling at me, aware of my gaze and the direction of my thoughts.

“Because you’re both so pretty.”

“Says the prettiest girl I know. Shut up.”

I hated it when she went on one of her ‘I’m ugly’ rants. Billie was gorgeous. And not just because she was my best friend. I had a theory that the only reason people were hard on her was that all her friends were boys, and everyone had seen her during her awkward stage. I was just new. And no one got to see me when I had braces and headgear. Long before I figured out how to style my hair and put makeup on. I’d been the dirty tomboy up until a year before coming to California. And no one in Detroit had batted an eye at me either. I was a complete outcast.

Not to mention, I didn’t think I was that good-looking either. I was long and pale. I couldn’t tan like she could. I’d never grown out of a B-cup. And it had taken two years of braces to make my teeth straight, and I still had to wear a retainer. Billie, on the other hand, was all luxurious brown hair, tanned skin, and curves.

“You’re just so skinny and—I don’t know—symmetrical,” she continued.

“Ah, yes,” I agreed. “Nothing is sexier than symmetry.”

“Geometry is the sexiest math subject,” Felix muttered as he sat down beside me.

“Right. I don’t know about you guys, but nothing gets me hotter than seeing a perfectly symmetrical square.”

“Mm. And a triangle? Hot.”

“Oh, shut up,” Billie said. “I’m trying to compliment you.”

“You know what another great shape is?” I asked Felix. “A circle.” He dropped his head back and groaned.

“Fuck, I love circles,” he said. She rolled her eyes and turned back to Quinn, who was clearly trying not to laugh.

“Who wants to swim?” he asked. “Ruby’s never been in the ocean before.”

“I don’t want to swim. Not right now. I’m enjoying the sunshine.” He sat up and looked over me, smiling deviously at Felix.

“Quinn, if you do what I think you’re thinking of doing…,” Billie started.

“You’ll what? Kill me?”

“No, I’ll just punch you in the balls.” He looked at Felix again, so I turned to him sharply. His smile was just as playfully devious.

“Swimming sounds fun. We can’t let Ruby go another moment without experiencing the ocean,” he said, shrugging.

“Run for it, Ruby!” Billie shrieked.

And then the two of us bolted and took off running. I went for an ice cream truck parked on the bike path, but I didn’t see where Billie went. Just that I heard her scream a few seconds later when Quinn got ahold of her. It didn’t take long for Felix to catch up to me. I wasn’t accustomed to running on sand, and he’d lived by the ocean his whole life. His arms came around my middle, lifting me off the ground. I squealed as he carried me back toward the water and tossed me like a sack of potatoes.

I came back up, gasping from the shock of freezing water. I pushed him roughly by his shoulders as another wave overtook us and knocked him back. He laughed and swept his hair back off his face. Too pretty for me to be angry with for too long.

“Cold?” he asked.

“It’s freezing. I thought the beaches were supposed to be warm.”

“Beach is warm. Water is always cold.”

“No shit.” I glared and crossed my arms. He wrapped his around me, bringing me to his chest. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t help myself. You can’t go on living here without experiencing the ocean, Ruby. I was doing you a favor.”

“That was your mistake.” I jumped into his arms and took us both out into another wave.

The water was salty and icy, but the sun was warm, and so was Felix’s laugh. A war broke out between us, and somehow Billie and I ended up on the losing side.

“I give up!” I finally decided, plopping back down into the water. It rose and fell, pushing me up and down on the sand. They all followed along, and then we sat there, neck-deep in the ocean, breathing hard and completely soaked.

“You guys suck,” Billie said. “My makeup looked so cute today. It’s probably all over my face now.”

She tried, unsuccessfully, to clean the mascara off of her cheeks. But since she couldn’t see herself, she got up to go back to the towels and find her mirror. Quinn went after her, and Felix stayed behind.

“You’re a buttmunch,” I told him when he scooted closer. I could feel his legs brush up against mine. He laughed, and his eyebrows rose.

“I don’t think I’ve been called a buttmunch in—well, ever,” he said.

“Well, you are.”

“But you had fun.”

“Maybe—just a little.” He moved closer and leaned down to kiss me tenderly on the lips. But we were interrupted by another wave that crashed in a little stronger than the one before. I jumped away, sputtering and coughing, while he waded in the water laughing at me like a complete jerk.