Jack can feel her holding on tighter as he speeds up. He'll never say it but he likes the feeling of having her so close to him. As he pulls up to his house he can't help but think that he's actually disappointed that they don't live further away from the school. She's already off the bike and taking off her helmet before he has a chance to turn around.
"I'll meet you back here in ten minutes." She says as she starts to walk across to her own house.
"Okay see you in five minutes then." He watches as she walks off, and he can't help but notice how perfect she looks. The sunlight falls on her making her hair look like it's touched with gold. He stands there watching her disappear through the door.
'Man I have to get a hold of myself before I fall for her. I can't get attached to anyone or anything in case I need to move or just suddenly leave again.'
Once he's inside he's...he's hopping up the stairs. Yip that's right he's hopping. Taking the stairs two at a time he's in his room before he knows it. This is mostly because he can only seem to focus on her. He looks around trying to remember what he needs to take with him. After pacing back and forth through his room he's managed to locate a towel, a bag, and a few other things.
"Hey, slowpoke get a move on otherwise we won't make it to the beach and back before I have to be in bed pretending to be sick by the time my dad gets home!" She calls out from her window. She's got out a small blue bag and a few things on her bed.
'She looks so cute packing and checking that she has everything she needs.' He thinks to himself. "Hold your horses I'll be done in a minute."
'I don't know what it is about her but falling in love is dangerous for so many reasons and that is why I need to get her out of my system, otherwise, it'll be too late.' He shakes her image out of his head and starts shoving his costume into the bag. He checks his wallet to make sure he has some cash in case she wants something to eat. Happy that he has everything he might need he heads back out the kitchen door. He's only just turned the key when he sees that she's already standing by his bike. She smiles as he dashes over to her, and swings his leg over the side of the bike. She puts on her helmet and climbs on after him. They pull out onto the road and he savors the feeling of her holding onto him again.
It takes them about fifteen minutes to get to the nearest beach. Fourteen minutes and twenty-seven seconds to be exact but who's counting. Jack looked up all the beaches in the area right after they moved here and even though it should be too cold to swim the weather is on their side giving them one last warm day.
He pulls the bike up to the side railing that lines the walkway separating the road from the bit of grass that stretches out before you reach the sand. He can't help but wish that the ride was just that little bit longer. They walk to the lifeguard hut and he goes to the desk to ask if they can get a locker for their gear.
"Hey Iona," one of the lifeguards calls to her from behind the desk Jack's walking up to, "I thought you'd be at school today."
'Oh great now she's going to get caught! For all I know he's someone she sees all the time. What if he tells her parents that he saw her here?' Then the worst thing that he can imagine comes to mind, 'What is he's her boyfriend? I wouldn't even know. I mean I only met her yesterday.'
"Hey, Mike." She gives him a smile Jack wishes was for him, "No I have the day off since I need to work out all the new classes I need to take now. Felt like I needed a break though so I decided that I needed a trip to the beach."
She's flawless as she walks to the desk and comes to stand next to Jack. Not giving the game away she's doesn't break her smile as she carries on to catch up with this "Mike" person. "How about you? I thought that you had classes at the university now."
"No not today. I guess I also just needed to take a day off today." His eyes wander over her in a way that Jack doesn't like. He knows it's the kind of look he had this morning when he saw her just before she threw him out of her room.
She then turns her attention to Jack and her smile makes him forget how much he wants to stop that guy from looking at her.
"Hey, Mike this is Jack." Mike looks at him for the first time since he walked in, "Mike is my oldest friend. We've known each other since I was born."
He stops smiling at the word friend, but when he looks at her he quickly starts grinning again. He then goes back to looking at Iona and Jack can't help but wonder if he'd imagined the daggers in his eyes when he looked at him.
"Um, we need a locker right?" She doesn't seem to miss a beat and Jack now knows he didn't imagine anything.
Her question brings Jack back to earth, "Um, yes. Can you get us a locker please?"
His smile doesn't break for a moment, "Sure."
He reaches under the desk and pulls out a key on a rubber band, with a tag that has the locker number on it. He puts it down on the desk in front of Iona refusing to turn his attention away from her.
"Do I need to pay a deposit?" Jack asks holding the same smile that had settled on his face in the Nurse's office.
"Nah, you're with Iona. Any friend of hers is a friend of mine. I'm sure you won't lose the key or break anything. Right?"
His smile doesn't hide the challenge in his voice, or maybe he's not trying to hide it. Jack can't help but wonder if he's treating to hurt him if he breaks the locker... or Iona. His best bet would be both, but it was probably more about Iona than some locker.
"Of course." He says taking the key, "Thanks for the key. Come on Iona let's go before it gets too late."
'And I don't want to stick around Mike for too long.' Iona turns her head to him as he thinks this and he wonders if he said it out loud.
"Okay," she turns in the direction I can only think the locker would be in. "See you around Mike."
"Yeah see you," he calls back as they walk off.
They squeeze their gear and bags into the locker. He sneaks a peek at her as she takes off her shirt and shorts to revival a cute blue one-piece. He can't stop his mind from wondering how easy it would be to take it off. She pulls her hair into a braid and takes her towel out of her bag before locking the locker.
"I should properly take the key."
He's still thinking about how incredible she looks to him that it takes him a moment to realize that she's said something. He quickly reenters the atmosphere and responds, "Nope. I think I'll hold onto it and prove to your boyfriend back there that I can be responsible for what I'm entrusted with."
He smirks at her knowing that would it'll annoy her. At least he was sure it would, but she doesn't seem annoyed. Instead, she just laughs, and something deep inside of him tells him to laugh too even though he's not sure what she finds so funny.
"What's so funny about what I said?" He challenges hoping she'll tell him so that he can maybe do it again just to hear her laugh.
"He's not my boyfriend. He's only a friend and never anything more," her eyes smile as she talks.
They walk down to the beachfront. Iona curls her toes in the sand and then uncurls them before carrying on down closer to the surf.
"Ooh, never say never." He teases just to see what she says," I mean did you see the way he said hi. Definitely something there." He keeps his voice light so she won't take offense.
'Success!' She's laughing again and just rolls her eyes at him. 'I'm glad she can tell I was only joking.'
"Okay no, and secondly you wouldn't need to prove that. The fact that I'm here proves how irresponsible you are, making me skip school." There are unmistakable traces of sarcasm as she teases him back, and he can't help but want to carry on like this forever. The two of them teasing each other. Him getting to hear her laugh.
"Ha, if I remember as far back as this morning clearly you were just as willing to get out of school as I was. You didn't stop me taking you out." He reminds her. "But if you want we can walk back and call it quits. Spend the day sick at home."
"Now now let's not get ahead of ourselves here." She says stopping to put her towel out on the sand, "And since we're here now. On this beach with no one else around, well..."
She pauses as she takes a step toward him. She bites her lip and takes another step toward him, and there's something about the look in her eye that's drawing him in. She takes one last step forward and a playful smile brushes across her lips as she leans in. Before he can react she turns and starts running towards the surf. Her laughter filling the empty beach.
"The last one in the water is a rotten egg!" She shouts. Jack has no choice now but to run after her. He was never to back down from a race, or any challenge for that matter. He runs past her and is first into the icy waves despite her head start.
"Hey looks like I beat you, and I guess that makes you the rotten egg." He taunts smiling more today than he has in the past few months. Maybe more than he has since his dad went missing.
"I guess it does," she says as she enters the surf and comes to a stop next to him," but it doesn't stop me from doing this though."
She comes closer and almost closes the space between them, and he really wants to kiss her now. She has other plans, however. She splashes the cold water up at him and just like on the beach she dashed off again.
"It's on now," He calls out as he starts chasing after her splashing up the surf with his hands. He runs circles around her splashing more water up. She splashes him right back and they carry on like this playing in the waves.