Chapter 2 Beach Banter

I wish I could tell you that I only thought about Jacob that one day, that it was all some freak momentary lapse of sanity. Unfortunately, I would be lying if I said that. That day was only the beginning of my torment.

Months passed. More and more I thought about Jacob. I thought about how much I enjoyed fighting with him (as odd as that may sound), about how adorable he was when he did that stupid little swagger of his when he felt goofy, how his teeth looked surprisingly white against the background his slightly tanned skin.

More than that I started comparing my boyfriend to him! I was really a terrible girlfriend.

And the more I compared Jacob and Eric the more unhappy I became. The checklist went a little something like this:

Jacob

Funny

Easy to talk to

Someone I can fight with

Someone I can be an idiot around

Teases me

Makes me smile even when I don't want to

Listens surprisingly well

Has intelligent moments

Eric

Funny… sometimes

Hard to talk to

I don't feel he's open with me

Can't fight with him (he seriously would rather just agree with me than fight!)

I guess I can be a bit of a idiot around him… within reason

Doesn't tease me (he's so… nice… I shouldn't be upset about that, huh?)

Makes me frustrated more often than not

Makes me feel like he doesn't listen or if he does replies with stupid monosyllabic answers

A bit spacey – Intelligence is there, but our conversations would never show it

Distant

Sure Jacob's list was shorter, but it was a lot more positive than Eric's which made my stomach churn. I thought I had liked Eric. When I met him at orientation we seemed to hit it off, but apparently not. Though, thinking back on it I guess maybe that was wishful thinking on my part? He was nice, but he wasn't boyfriend material. I guess I jumped to thinking he was because we were good friends and he said he liked me.

God, I was such a terrible, awful, horrendous person. Someone shoot me. Put the world out of its misery.

And that was how I decided I needed to break up with Eric. He was too passive to be a boyfriend for me. I needed someone who could take my aggressiveness. I needed someone who could be aggressive back and chill me out. If that made any sense… it probably didn't.

I broke up with Eric at the end of April. He didn't seem too unhappy. Not to say he agreed with smiles and such, but he didn't cry or get angry. He just looked at me with a straight face and nodded and said 'okay' after a few minutes of uncomfortable silence. Maybe he had felt it too, that we just worked better as friends. Well, whatever. At least it didn't end messily.

I returned home in May and that was when my life was turned upside down… or sideways. It wasn't really totally messed up. It was just rather mind boggling. Sideways seems appropriate to compare it to. A little askew.

-#-

I was tired. Flying takes a lot out of a person – including their good nature. So who could blame me when I swore loudly and hit whoever was sitting on top of me with my pillow roughly? Exactly – no one.

"Hey, come on Cass! Get upppp!" Whoever had been sitting on me was now shaking me.

"Fuck off! I'm trying to sleep. What time is it anyway? Hasn't anyone told you not to wake someone up before noon?"

"It's two in the afternoon, Cassie. Get your ass up before I shove you out of bed or worse… before I go ask your sister to get you up."

I was up in an instant, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and glaring hatefully at Jesse. "I really detest you. I just got home after a nine hour flight and you wake me up!"

Jesse rolled her eyes at me and laughed. "You need to get back into the East coast swing anyway, darling. Come on. Kristina and Karrie are out in the car. Get your bathing suit on. We're going to the beach."

I groaned. "I hate the beach. You know I hate the beach. Some many damn people, so many damn tourists."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get ready." She left my room and I dragged myself slowly from bed, grumbling the whole time I got changed into my bathing suit, board shorts, and a t-shirt. I grabbed a towel and slipped my flip flops on as I shuffled out to Jesse's car, still glaring and muttering profanities as I climbed into the passenger seat. She took off immediately after I had the door closed.

"We have to pick Leslie up too." I raised an eyebrow at Jesse as she said that. They were apparently at a time where they were speaking. The two of them were really annoying sometimes. One minute they were the best of friends and the next Jesse was complaining about her to no end. I understood. Leslie could be very annoying at times, especially since she was boy crazy. Boy insane actually. Still, I just wished they could decide if they were on good terms or bad terms and stick to one decision. The yo-yoing was hard to keep up with at my old age.

Because eighteen (almost nineteen) was so terribly old – I was practically a senior citizen! Or not…

So we swung by Leslie's house and she hopped into the back seat, readjusting her hot pink bikini top like she had a chest to hide. I was jealous that she could wear a bikini without being embarrassed by her stomach, but I was not jealous that she was basically as flat as a washboard. I wouldn't mind being a cup size or two smaller, but to be flat would suck. I often comment that she could take some of my bust whenever she commented that I was lucky to be well-endowed. I was not lucky. Being large chested had just as many complications (if not more) that having no chest. People who were a B cup or C cup were lucky. Damn them. Damn them all to hell.

Before I knew it we were pulling into the parking lot of the town beach. Jesse turned the car off and climbed out, grabbing her beach bag and heading for the sand as the rest of us followed suit. I sighed and threw my towel over my head as I walked behind Karrie and Jesse, flip flops making a silly slapping sound on the hot asphalt.

My eyes were trained on the thin green things as they flapped around under my feet with every rise and fall of them. They were so engrossed in the movement of my shoes that they didn't notice that the girls in front of me had stopped. I hadn't noticed. I walked right into Karrie and then stepped back, startled.

Familiar laughter drifted to my ears. It was funny that I could call it familiar when I hadn't heard it in years. Still, I knew that laughter and I was certainly familiar with the butterflies that took flight in my gut at the sound. My eyes which had been lazy before immediately darted to the sandy haired boy who was standing in front of Jesse and Karrie. They swept over his face – exactly as I remember from a year ago – and his body which was toned and shirtless.

I loved the beach.

My eyes went back up to see Jacob still smirking and chuckling to himself. "As klutzy as ever I see, Cassie." I rolled my eyes and averted my gaze to a family of four that was piling out of a black Subaru a few spaces down. "How've you been?"

I didn't think he was talking to me so I ignored the words, tuning them out until I felt a hard pinch to my arm. "Ouch! Karrie, what did you do that for?"

"You should listen to people and acknowledge them, Cass."

"What?" I knitted my brow and pursed my lips a bit.

"Jacob was asking you how you've been."

"Oh… that was meant for me?" I looked from Karrie to Jacob who was quiet, but looked mildly amused. He nodded when I made eye contact with him. I sighed. "Sorry. I've been alright. You?"

"Fine." He paused a minute and then looked to my friends. "So, you girls want to come sit by Mark, Adrian, and I?"

Jesse spoke up quickly, catching my gaze as she did so. "We'd love to!" I pouted and grumbled as Jacob grinned and waved us to follow him. We ended up sitting near the dunes, which was fine with the other girls since they were just there to tan and flirt with guys anyway. I supposed I didn't mind the location either. Easier to leave quickly from the dunes than from the water.

I saw Mark and Adrian lounging on their towels as we came near. They both turned and waved, Mark smiling as he saw me, and sitting up. "Cassandra Mitchell! Well if it isn't the devil herself!"

I smirked and rolled my eyes, placing my hands on my hips and trying to look offended. I failed miserably. "Devil? Really now. I'm a perfect angel, Mark Anders! How dare you insult me so. If anyone is the devil it's your brother."

"Ain't that the truth." He laughed and pat the open sand beside his towel. I laid my towel out beside his and sat down on it without a second thought. "How've you been, Cassandra?"

"Good, good. Busy with university and stuff, but I'm getting by, what about you?"

"I've been good too. Well, as good as can be expected having to deal with Jacob for a brother." We both laughed as Jacob huffed and sat on his own towel on the other side of Mark.

"Now I remember why I don't let you and Cassie near each other. You talk when you're around her, but it's not like usual. No, when she's around you tease me relentlessly. The two of you are meant for each other." Jacob muttered, glaring at his brother and I in turn.

"You here that, Cassandra? We're meant for each other! If Jacob says so it must be true." He paused a minute and then grabbed a piece of dune grass from the sand and my hand. I raised an eyebrow as he looked me in the eye, smirking a bit. "Marry me, soul mate?" He asked jokingly. I smirked wider than him.

"Of course! I don't know how I survived without you!" We laughed and Mark tied the dune grass around my left ring finger the best he could. Jacob shot us a discouraging look.

"Haha. Dorks."

I stuck my tongue out at him childishly, but he returned it just the same. Mark went back to laying on his towel and I followed suit, noticing that the girls had already gotten settled and were putting on sunscreen. I grabbed a free bottle and lathered up as well – knowing I'd bake without it. I then laid down on my own towel and threw an arm over my face to relax as much as I could with Jacob Anders three feet away.

Unfortunately, relaxing as much as I could meant not at all. I was just starting to relax when I heard Mark and Adrian getting up and excusing themselves as they went for a swim. The girls had already found boys to flirt with – all except Jesse who had opted to go swimming with Mark and Adrian. You know who that left me with? One guess and it isn't hard…

Jacob.

Yep. I got left with Jacob. Lucky me. Of course, I liked him, but that didn't mean I was comfortable being left alone with him at random like that.

I removed my arm from my face and peaked over, only to see Jacob leaning back on his hands, eyes roaming over the beach and landing on me. I blushed involuntarily and nodded at him in acknowledgement before turning my face away.

"How do you like university?"

He couldn't be smart and recognize my turning my head away as an 'I don't want to talk' message, could he? Of course not.

"I like it well enough. It's a lot of work, but that's to be expected. What about you? How do you liking college?"

"It's boring." He chuckled and shrugged. "I haven't even decided on my major yet. But, you like university? What about the people there? What are they like?"

"They're like… people?" I laughed and rolled onto my side, propping myself up on my right elbow to look at him. "They're nice, laid back, funny."

"As funny as me?" He quirked an eyebrow and gave me a lopsided smirk. I rolled my eyes at him and scoffed.

"Funnier."

"I doubt that." His smirk spread even across his lips and then slowly faded away. "I heard from Stella that you got yourself a boy toy. Is he coming to visit you this summer?"

I looked at him in confusion and then it dawned on me that he was talking about Eric. He must not have talked to Stella since I told her I broke up with Eric. "I had a boyfriend. We broke up." I shrugged. "So no, he isn't coming to visit."

"Oh. Sorry." He didn't look sorry. His mouth stayed straight, but his gorgeous hazel eyes seemed to fill with amusement. He was probably inwardly mocking the fact that I couldn't keep a boyfriend. What a jerk.

"It's not a big deal. He was too passive and boring for me. He tried, but it just… it just didn't work out. I broke up with him in April, but hey – six months together wasn't a bad run and it didn't end badly. All in all we had a good relationship; it was just more friendly than romantic." Jacob smirked openly now and nodded.

"I see. Here I thought maybe you punched him or something and scared him off. You know you have a tendency to do that. But no, you have to go and be boring. I should have known."

I scoffed and threw one of Mark's sandals at him. "I am not boring and I do not have a tendency to hit anyone other than you. For whatever reason, you just infuriate me and make me violent. It's not my fault."

"Of course not. How could I ever assume that?" He smirked as he evaded Mark's shoe and laid down.

And that was the end of that conversation. We both tanned in silence (or well, he tanned and I tried to tan) until the girls came back and packed up. We left first – Jacob, Mark, and Adrian waving us off. Jacob blew me an exaggerated kiss to which I flipped him the bird with a strained smile and stalked off to the sound of laughter.

Boys. Jacob. Honestly.