Chapter 4: Chapter 4

Jason kicked the sand out of his toes. The rays of sun was warm on his skin. It was refreshing. The fresh sea breeze, and the hot sand. He liked the beach. On a plus side, girls that wore scanty clothing. So yes, the beach was the best place to be.

Unfortunately for him, he had been too eager in his preparations and had forgotten to bring a blanket. And there weren’t any spare shares just out in the open for him to sit. So he had to sit on the sand waiting for Kelly.

He groaned. If she had a phone, he wouldn’t be here trying to prevent his butt from being fried. He stood up. There was no way she ditched him right. After the way everything went yesterday. If she had a phone, he would call to yell at her.

He stood up, dusting the back of his trunks. He adjusted his tank top, and took his phone out of the bag he had brought. He’d just pass the time till she got here.

He heard someone sigh behind him. Then heavy breathing. “I thought it was you” the familiar voice breathed out.

He craned his neck and looked up at Kelly. She was holding a basket, had an umbrella and seemed to be wearing some sort of silken flowing gown. Even at the beach, she still found a way to ruin it with her fashion choice.

“Thought you weren’t going to show up” he played it off like he wasn’t worried a while ago.

“Why?” she asked. “I said I would” she furrowed her brows.

“Well if I was the one to ask you out, you’d say no. All I had to say was that I’d help you with the boy you like and you’re here. I feel like you’re using me”.

“Uh” she dropped her basket, then set the umbrella opening it up. “Why would you think that? You said you wanted to be my friend…..”

“Are we friends though?” he inquired.

“Well friends” she thought scratching her hair that she had let down. “When you’re friends with someone is because you enjoy their company, and because both parties benefit mutually from the partnership”.

“Well, you’re the only one benefitting from this. What am I benefitting from you?” he wondered. “I’m smart already so I don’t need your help with tutoring. I have a fantastic social life and….”

“Stop talking” she cut him off bluntly.

She bent down to open the basket and got out a blanket. Looked like she had everything with her. “You offered, I didn’t ask” she helpfully reminded him. “And I’m not sure I can offer you anything since your life is so perfect” she grumbled.

“I-I didn’t mean it like that” he tried to placate her.

“I don’t need to start chasing boys, and talking to everyone, and partying before I have to get noticed by the boy I like!” she stomped her foot.

“I really didn’t mean it like that” he tried.

She curled her lip and turned away, working on the belt and buttons of her gown.

“Let’s just focus on why you’re here today. It’s not to argue with me”.

“And also have you insult me…..no, compare yourself to me” she whispered.

“It’s to start your education!” he said with flare. She still hadn’t turned to him. “Remember the guy you like”. That seemed to do it. She removed her dress. He was still looking at his sand covered toes. She did it to him all the time. He did it when he didn’t even mean to, and now she was overreacting.

She turned to face him, and he looked up.

“Ah….” He dragged. And he had nothing to say. He just stared at her in her swimsuit. She dragged the bottom to get rid of a wedgie maybe. He didn’t know. It went well with her light brown skin. Dark green one-piece, and yellow at the cups. Her blonde hair flying with the wind. And she wasn’t flat.

She wasn’t flat where he mattered. Her chest was just….wow. He couldn’t….well he saw why she wore those type of clothes. He was clearly checking her out, but either she didn’t care, or was oblivious. She bent over, and he took in her long, hairless and glowing legs. The one-piece had her back open, and to top it off a nice butt.

What was he doing? He screamed to himself.

She turned to him. “So are we going to start this class? Don’t tell me this is a practical class?” she looked around seeing the peaceful beachgoers. She didn’t want to walk up to anyone and talk to him. That really shouldn’t happen.

“No. I’m just going to tell you things. And I like the beach…..it’s better than me telling you all this in a library”.

She sat down on the blanket, rummaging through the basket.

He was staring again.

“HEY!!” someone yelled. Jason didn’t hear anything at first, but he looked up when the caller screamed again.

“I thought that was you!” Chad said as he jogged up to them.

Kelly glanced up, but quickly went back to what she was looking for in the basket.

“Yes it’s me” Jason tore his eyes away from her. “Who else would be as handsome as me?” he teased confident of his good looks.

“You didn’t tell me you were going to be here today” he stated. He hadn’t noticed he had company.

“Well it was already scheduled. I’m busy at the moment” he looked to Kelly, who got up at that exact moment. Chad looked to Kelly, and Jason was looking at Kelly. It was weird. She wasn’t giving him the cold body language she had given him.

“I think I’m busy then” she said to Chad.

“Oh!” was all the male blonde said. “Well, do you want to have a game with us?” he offered. Jason just noticed the volleyball in his hand.

This wasn’t why he was here. He was here to make her fall for him, not have her distracted by Chad and his follower of the day. Chad must have planned this on purpose. He was doing this so he would fail. But Chad was a lot of things, but he couldn’t see the future.

“That sounds okay!” Kelly chirped surprisingly. She had a small teasing, flirty maybe smile on her face. That was new. Was she really trying to…..she didn’t even look to him and figure out if he wanted to play with them. She was here to learn, but now she was willing to play with someone she didn’t know.

Chad knew who this was right?

“Cool. Let’s go” he said.

Kelly was quick to follow, but she turned to him. “Are you coming or not? I need a partner” and she took off jogging after Chad. He couldn’t help but think to Baywatch.

He groaned, removing his top and following after her.

“Who serves first?” Kelly asked. She was surprisingly chatty. Seeing as he hadn’t seen her talk to anyone in school. She was no social butterfly, but he didn’t know her life outside school.

“Seeing as it’s my ball, I’ll serve first” he said with pride.

“If you say so” she shrugged, then laughed a little.

“Just serve already” Jason grumbled annoyed.

Team of twos. He got ready to serve. He could play the game, but he didn’t know if she knew how. Chad had this little thing in his mind that both of them were always competing. It was annoying, but he didn’t want him to have any victory over him. He wouldn’t hear the end of it.

And she was still wearing her glasses to do this. So his partner was a bat. He was already at a disadvantage.

Chad served and smashed.

Kelly was quick and hit it. He was stunned for a while, but he couldn’t afford that. Let her do all the work. She would be sure to complain about it later. The ball was coming back in his direction and he put all his frustration into that hit.

“One point for us” Kelly bit her lip.

Chad just laughed. “That’s the only point you’ll get”.

And the game continued. Kelly was surprisingly agile, especially when Chad changed tactics to soft touches. That meant she had to be closer to the net and had to go down. And go down she did. Falling onto her knees to make sure the ball didn’t touch the ground, so she could send it up so he could hit it.

Diving onto her stomach and having her butt in the air. This wasn’t time for the beach to play slow seductive music. It distracted him for a while, which caused the incoming ball to hit his face. The game came to an end after that.

They had more points. He and Kelly had won the game, but Chad had said since the game had to end due to his injury it would be a draw. He was disappointed when she agreed with him.

“Who wants ice-cream? I’m buying!” Chad declared.

Okay. It wasn’t funny anymore.

“I want some” she said. She was leaning a little bit too close to him. Both hands behind her back. A seductive tactic. No way. He watched them begin their walk to one of the kiosks.

“With your transformation, I almost didn’t recognize you. But there’s no way I would forget your glasses. How did they stay on during the game?”

“It’s a talent” she shrugged.

Chad was doing this on purpose. Jason decided he had seen enough and dropped the ice bag he had been given by Chad’s follower, and walked to meet them.

“I don’t want a small cone” he said as he walked to Kelly’s side.

“What about you?” Chad asked her.

“I’ll have the same” she said softly.

They got their treats quick.

“We should head back” he said. “There’s a reason why we’re here today” he looked to Kelly innocently licking the strawberry cream, occasionally glancing to Chad. He already had his hands full with her. She was problematic. He didn’t need pointless competition trying to do this.

“H-how about….”

“Nice seeing you Chad” he said already walking. He knew she would follow.

“Yes. Nice seeing you” she said rolling her lips to savor the taste of the cold cream. He didn’t feel her running to catch up to him, she was actually walking slowly.

That summed it up.

She had just made things worse.

“You like Chad” it wasn’t a question. He said it like stating an observation.

She was gulping down water like she was parched. He watched her throat work.

“I don’t like him” she said, and he scoffed. “I love him” she said so with a huge smile. He rolled his eyes. How was he going to make her love him now? “Was I that obvious?”

“Yes” he replied. But Chad wasn’t the brightest star in the sky, so he was in the clear.

“Chad Sterling?” he asked. He didn’t ask with disbelief, it was just curiosity. Chad was okay to look at, he had to admit that. He was no Jason Angle, but he pulled in his own little crowd of girls.

“Yes. He’s your friend right?” he had decided that the smile wasn’t going to leave her face.

“Sort of” he replied unsure. Chad wasn’t really his friend, but they weren’t enemies either. They knew each other because their families were friends. So they saw each other a lot when they were young. He and Chad were evenly matched. Both rich, both athletic, both good looking. There was a reason he had followers. He liked being above people, and had the people he was above know it. Shoving his riches in their face.

He was one of the people Chad couldn’t do it to. And he constantly tried to best him. Find something he wasn’t good at, and be good at it. Hence this bet. That was why he was here. He’d put this as a coincidence because he doesn’t tell Chad what he got up to. But the blonde trying to get Kelly’s attention wasn’t a coincidence. He was making this a competition.

Which it wasn’t.

“I’ve seen you two hang out” she pointed out.

“Why do you even like him?” he hoped he didn’t sound angry. He was curious though. “Don’t tell me it’s because he’s good looking”.

“Well there’s that, but that’s not the actual reason”.

“Then tell me why you love him so?” he teased. “And today, you were bold. Have two of you interacted before today?”

“Yes, but not actual conversations” she leaned back on her elbows. “Simple excuse me, sorry when he bumped into me. And one time he picked my pen off the floor and gave it to me. He said here” and she fell on her back, kicking her legs up.

“That’s what made you fall in love?” his mouth dropped.

“No” she sighed. “When the school came under new management, and skateboards were banned. But Chad didn’t stop skateboarding, he rode his every day through the halls. It was….in a way empowering. I never really like when the school tells us what to do. Chad was the same. He rode it to fight the school, he made a movement.

“And skateboards were given back to the students” she loved telling and remembering it. Not like she had anyone to tell it to. “It was inspiring and I fell in love with his rebellious spirit”.

“Wow” he said. And that was something. But now he had serious competition. He wouldn’t want to fill her head with the horrible truth of Chad. That was what girls did. He would have to focus on that, but first things first the reason he came here.

“The type of girls that Chad likes aren’t you” he stated bluntly.

“I have noticed” she said and she didn’t sound mad or angry.

“And what do you think the problem is?”

“We have never talked” she stated so innocently.

“You don’t really need to talk to a boy before you have his attention. Maybe changing your wardrobe would have his attention. What do you think?”

She opened her mouth to say something.

“Don’t think of it as changing yourself for a boy!” he said immediately. “Think of it as improving yourself. Finding your true self” he suggested. “Would you want to be with a guy who couldn’t really dress? For example, would you want to be with a guy who dressed like a clown?” Jason made a face.

“You do have a point” she admitted and she had that sad look again. Truth hurts.

“So changing my wardrobe. That’s okay. What next?” she was back to her smiles.

“Well, you have no problem talking to him. You’re pretty bold, but next time don’t be so obvious. So eager”.

“Boys” she scoffed.

“Girls” he scoffed back. “What about boys?”

“I see it and I hear it. Boys talk about how they want girls to be bold and walk up to them and say I like you, but they also say that a girl that does that is….very horrible words. Make up your mind”.

“That’s why we want it in the middle” he replied.

“What about you. What do you want in a girl? Don’t girls walk up to you and tell you they like you? Aren’t you flattered? Ir because you’re a man you want to do that?”

“No girl has actually told me they like me before. Normally when they come around, I know what they want” he winked.

“Gross” she said, but she didn’t look disgusted like she normally would. “What would you like her to tell you?”

“Well I would like a girl to tell me her mind, but not too much. It would get annoying fast. And I would like to watch football rather than listening to her nag”.

She chuckled. “So when I change my wardrobe, Chad will come around. Then we’ll talk….and then what?” she asked.

“Well you love Chad, so you have to make Chad love you”.

“You know Chad!” she exclaimed. “You can tell me what he likes, and then he’ll like me” she beamed. “Then he’ll be my boyfriend”.

“There’s a whole process before a relationship. You can’t just show up and say commitment to his face” he reigned her in. She was getting so excited.

“Okay. Commitment scare men. Got it!” she teased.

“Don’t make jokes like that to him” he said when he was done laughing.

“Sure” she said. “And how will I talk to him? What I did earlier, was it okay? Can I talk to him like that?”

“Well yes. That was okay”. Now getting back to what he had experienced earlier. Looked like he had to compete with Chad on this. But that was his plan. She would need all the practice she needed, and he would be a willing test subject.

Movie logic, and also humans. She would catch feelings for him.

She turned to him on her side. And again he was caught in her body. His fingers was itching to touch her hip. Her leg curled forward, and one hand supporting her head.

“So will you follow me to the mall tomorrow?” she asked.

“Yes” he nodded. “You’re that eager to go shopping?” he wriggled his brows.

“Improving and finding my true self” she sat up abruptly and pulled her basket closer. “Are you hungry?”

“Yes I am” he really was. She brought out fruit and sandwiches. It didn’t taste so bad. “You still need to get a phone” he reminded her with his mouth full.

“Disgusting” she raised her hand and cleaned the corner of his lip. “Added to the already numerous list”.

“You won’t be complaining when you’re talking late into the night with Chad. And then exchanging saliva” he said making kissy faces.

“No one asked you” she bit into her crunchy toast.

They ate and then they talked for a while. It was just Chad, then Chad and more Chad. She looked like she was letting everything out. Didn’t she have who to tell this too? It was so girly. It was so girly and cringe. He tried not to shiver with repulsion.

“Thank you for helping me” she said so sincere. Her eyes glowing with happiness.

“No problem” he tried not to pat himself on his back.

“And if you’re serious about us being friends, then we can be”.

“Gosh so much emotions” he gagged.

“Shut it” she got another sandwich. “You really no how to ruin things”.

“Guilty” he agreed.

They spent some time together after that. They walked, Chad their only conversation. Got more ice-cream, played in the water, and they got tacos.

He drove her back home. And he stopped her where he normally did. Tomorrow they would go shopping. Was he going to do all the buying? The things he was doing to get into her pants. Just to win a bet. He looked to her from the side. She looked like she would be a good lay.

“Tomorrow bright and early” she said.

“And we won’t have the problem of bright and early when you finally have a phone” he moaned.

“Nice Mr. Angle” and she banged the door shut. He watched her walk away, swinging her basket and skipping as she did. She was a weird, good-looking girl. Not the best combo, but he would make it work.

He’d have to ask her why he couldn’t drop her off in front of her house.

Kelly opened the door and hanged it shut. “I’M BACK!!!” she screamed to the seemingly empty house.

“Kelly” her mum said in a monotone voice.

She dropped the basket immediately. “Mum” she said, immediately reverting back to Kelly. The normal Kelly.

“What has you so happy?” she asked taking in her getup. “Where did you go?”

“I went to the beach” she explained. “I have been in the house for a while, and I wanted to have some time to myself for a while” she said robotically. Trying to hide that she was guilty.

“Just that?” she questioned, he eyes boring into her skull to see if she was lying.

“Yes” she nodded, picking her basket up.

“Okay” her mum relented. “You should go get changed” she went back to reading her book. “You could catch a cold” was all she said.

“Yes mum” and she walked up the stairs to her room, with the basket in tow.

Anastasia couldn’t focus on her cook anymore. She dropped it with a sigh. She was Kelly’s mum. She knew her daughter, and she just knew something was different.