Julianna Catching Fire

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen

I hit the ball one last time. It sailed over the net and hit the sandy beach floor with a victorious thud, escaping the grasp of my opponents hands.

"So, how many games does that make now?" I asked no one in particular.

"Oh, I don't know," Blake said, giving me a peck on the cheek. "I think fifteen?"

"Yeah, that sounds about right."

"Okay, okay," Ron said. "We get it already."

"No need to brag," Jake huffed, folding his arms across his chest.

"You guys don't know me at all. Bragging is something that I am very, very good at. If it was an Olympic sport, I'd be the champ," I said, smirking.

Blake chuckled. "Besides," he said, "weren't you guys bragging about how you were going to whoop our asses?"

"Yeah, I think it was them."

"Alright, alright. Moral of the story, don't brag to a super hot girl with an ego bigger than yours," Ron said, smiling.

I laughed. "You've got that right."

"Let's get our stuff," Blake said.

We went and grabbed our things, bringing them back toward the volleyball net where everyone was situated. Some guy passed out beers and waters, another guy handing out nearly burnt hot dogs. Blake took a bottle of water, beer, and hot dog. He handled me the bottle of water as I got comfortable on my towel.

"Thanks," I said, grabbing the bottle of water. I twisted the cap off and took a sip. "Shit," I muttered, spitting out the water.

"What?" Blake asked, turning to look at me.

I looked down at the water. "It's Aquafina - disgusting. And it's lukewarm. Drinking water wasn't meant to be drunk lukewarm."

Blake chuckled silently. "I'm pretty sure the ocean water's cool," he muttered.

"I don't like salt with my water, but thanks for offering," I scoffed annoyedly.

His eyes widened a little. He didn't think I heard his little comment.

I looked out into the ocean. It didn't look right.

The moon was high, but it wasn't bright. It was like a dull, muted, off-white. The water was too bland, too still, too dark, eerily calm. The sand even looked blah. Whatever happened to the ocean turning beautiful when the sun disappeared? Maybe tonight just wasn't the night. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

Nothing just seemed right at this moment. Everything was dull, boring. The scenery didn't fit. The crowd didn't fit. My mood didn't fit.

Right here, right now, nothing belonged.

"Ocean's beautiful, isn't it?" Blake said, interrupting my thoughts.

"No, not really."

He looked at me like I was crazy. "What?"

"It's not all the beautiful. At least, not tonight anyway."

"Are you crazy? Do not see this?"

I guess not. "No, I don't. It doesn't look right. Something's off tonight. Maybe it needs a break. Maybe the beauty is on a vacation or something."

"No, no, no. The beauty is right here, right there in front of you!"

"It's not in front of me. Maybe it's front of you. Just because something is supposed to be beautiful doesn't mean it always is."