Caught In The Tides Of Love

Chapter 4

I listened to the waves roll in and out. The birds chirped as they flew overhead circling in the distance. The sun's rays pelted my protected skin as I sat comfortably on the huge rocks on the far side of the beach. I looked out at sea watching as children splash puddles and squirted water from a toy at each other. Teenagers and adults swam around in the water while others lazily floated about conversing with their peers. The surfers, away from the others, were greatly fascinated by the huge waves that mounted their surfboards along with them in then air. My eyes searched thoroughly hoping to spot Jaxon, but to my dismay he was no where to be seen. I drew my exposed knees closer to my chest and wrapped my slender arms around them. I peered down at my freshly blue painted toenails that I treated myself to this morning. I would have painted my fingernails as well but I knew they were going to end up being bitten off. I don't usually bite my nails but seeing nail polish on them is tempting enough for me to bite the polish off.

The hot July sun played hide and seek above before a rain cloud slowly made itself known. I watched the surfers having fun in the distance as their voices travelled to my ears. Five surfers were seen out at sea, but I only recognized the loud, boomy voice belonging to Malik. I could hear him getting on about who surfed the biggest wave.

Is he always so fussy?

"Hey Mayo!" I heard a voice shout over the sound of an approaching wave.

I snapped my head in the direction of the sound to see a familiar curly-haired guy approaching. He reached up to me, climbed the rock and sat next to me.

"You know this is kinda my chill spot," he said turning his head to look at me.

"Would you mind getting up so I can check to see if 'Tyler" is carved onto the rocks?" I asked with sarcasm dripping from my tone.

"And my name is Maya, not Mayo," I made clear.

"It's Mayo for me," he said.

"Mayonnaise."

I glared at him for a second before a snicker escaped my lips.

"Did you come here just to annoy me?" I asked.

"Like I said, this is my chill area. Didn't expect to see you here."

"I'm about to leave anyways," I said getting up.

"Okay," he said tossing a pebble into the ocean.

"See you around, Mayonnaise," he smiled a little.

I rolled my eyes and headed towards the shack down the street. The serenity of the beach had made me forget how hungry I was. I ordered a Vanilla smoothie and a blueberry muffin and sat at a table in the far corner. The shack was scanty and the chill music could be heard clearly over the minimal chattering. Soon enough I saw Ava walk into the shack. She had flung on a jeans shorts over her bikini bottom and her orange sandals flip-flopped to the bar counter. She stood there for a while scanning the menu before placing her order. After collecting her smoothie she made her way towards my table, surprisingly.

"Don't be too surprised," she smiled sitting down on the chair opposite to me.

"I saw you when I came in. That blue headband of yours is a huge giveaway," she explained.

I chuckled lightly then greeted her, "Hey."

"Have you seen Tyler?" Ava asked. "He took my phone."

"Yeah, I was actually with him a moment ago," I replied. "How did he even get your phone?"

"Uff...Tyler plays too much," she scoffed.

We began to chit-chat, properly introducing ourselves and talking about our interests and habits. Ava was quite chatty. Funny too. She spoke most of the time while I listened enthusiastically. We exchanged numbers.

"No wayyy! I can't believe you did that!" I laughed.

"Oh yes I did. I didn't study and I wasn't about to fail either, so sabotaging Mr. Fender's computer was my best bet," she winked sucking the drinks through her straw.

"By the way, you shouldn't be hanging alone. We're friends now," Ava smiled showing her perfect rows of teeth.

"We're on a speed boat. You should come along," she invited.

Wow. A speed boat. I've always wanted to get on one but never got the chance to. My uncle owns a speed boat back in Cali but he'd always say it's off limit everytime I wanted to tag along. I figured he only uses it to lure girls into 'chilling' with him then hooking up with them after. Don't ask me how I know. The empty champagne bottles and condom wrappers laying around the boat was enough evidence to support my claim.

"Sounds super fun," I chirped following her out of the shack.

A few minutes later we were standing at shore staring out at the beautiful, sunlit sea. The waters were calm and I watched as a yellow and white motorboat zoomed back and forth across the sea. A shirtless, black-haired guy, who I recognized in the distance, was sat on the boat staring down into the water.

Jaxon.

My heart fluttered at the sight of him.

"Jaxon!" Ava hollered from beside me as she aggressively waved her hand in the air.

Seconds later the boat spun around and made it's way towards us. It stopped a few feet away from shore.

Just as she was about to step forward Tyler approached us.

"Looking for this?" He asked holding up a three camera phone in his hand.

A cheeky grin was plastered on his face.

Calmly, the red-haired girl walked up to him. She held out her hand to snatch the phone but failed miserably when he shifted her.

"Too slow," he said shoving it into his shorts pocket.

"Karma stinks," he added, smirking a little.

"Uff!" She blew down.

"You go on without me. I'll deal with this asshole," Ava snarled.

With that being said he took off speedily down the beach with Ava at his tail.

LOL.

I looked down at my sandy slippers then at the water. I suddenly felt a bit self conscious. Everyone else was wearing their beachwear and I was clothed in a plain, old t-shirt and a shorts just a little above my knee. I know you may be thinking who wears that to the beach, but the truth is I wasn't planning on going for a swim today. I came with the intention of relaxing a little by the seaside then maybe I'd help some kid build a sand castle and watch the tides dismantle it afterwards.

Jaxon was positioned at the edge of the boat staring out at me. His shirtless figure and his smokey eyes made my heart skip a beat. He looked like one of those models from the magazine. A really freaking hot one too! The sun shone down on him giving his hair that shiney texture and his skin a glowing aura.

I would be lying if I said his presence didn't intimidate me a little. I could feel his eyes burning holes through me as I slowly approached the boat. He outstretched his arm towards me waiting for me to take it.

"Let me help you up," he offered.

I know he's just being a gentleman but it still let the butterflies loose in my stomach. I placed my hand in his surprisingly soft ones and he gently pulled me on board. I finally got the courage to look up at him before withdrawing my hand from his.

"Thanks," I smiled shyly.

His lips parted to speak but before any word could escape, the boat abruptly moved off causing him to tumble over onto the boat and with me on top of him.

Oh Gosh!

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