Sweetest Confusion

Chapter Nine: A Beach Day

I had forgotten to close the blinds the night before so I woke up with the sunrise. Daniel was still sleeping so I decided to put on my running gear and go out. The beach was quiet and almost empty, aside for the early morning surfers and dog walkers. Running on the beach was quite the workout, but the quiet gave me a chance to think, to clear my mind. It was invigorating. Though my run was cut short by the pounding headache that was distracting me. 

Once I returned home, I hopped in the shower and then headed to the kitchen for something to eat. My mother was pouring herself a cup of coffee. 

"What are you doing up?" I asked.

"Jet lag, it messes up your sleeping schedule quite a bit I'm afraid. How are you awake so early?" 

"I forgot to close the blinds last night. The sun woke me up," I explained.

"Do you want some breakfast?" She asked, as I walked over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup.

"Sure, what are you going to make?"

"I've already made pancake batter, I'll cook a batch up for you. There are raspberries in the fridge if you want." She said as she poured the batter on to the pan. I sat down at the kitchen island, the cup of coffee in my hands. She placed a stack of pancakes in front of me.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then. I have a lot of work to get done before my next trip." She left the room without another room. Sighing I took out my phone.

"Hello?" A deep, husky voice answered.

"Morning Cooper." I greeted.

"Morning Davis. Why are you calling me at this time of the day?" 

"I just wanted to see how you were doing after last night," I replied.

"I ended up drinking more than I anticipated so I crashed at Jamie's. Now that I'm awake I'll probably head home soon. How are you?"

"I have a headache, but I'm fine other than that." He chuckled lowly at my response.

"That my friend is called a hangover." He laughed again. His deep, gravelly laugh caused shivers to run down my body and my breath to catch in my throat.

"Do you know a way to get rid of a hangover, I've never had one before." I groaned.

"You can have a shot of tequila. That'll cure you right up." 

"Oh god, if I even think of tequila I feel a little nauseous." 

"Fair enough. Just drink lots of water and take two aspirins. That should help." 

"Thanks, Cooper."

"Any time Davis." 

"I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." 

"Okay. Bye." He hung up just as Daniel walked in the room.

"Morning." I smiled at him. 

"Morning. Do you have coffee? I have a killer headache," he groaned.

"Yeah, I just made a fresh pot." I pointed to the countertop. "Oh and mom made pancakes."

"Awesome." He grabbed himself a cup and a plate of food. 

"So what do you want to do today?" 

"You're the local, what do you suggest?" He smirked.

"I was thinking maybe we can go surfing?" 

"You do realise I live in Michigan, I don't know how to surf." He laughed

"Don't worry, I'll teach you."

"Great, we'll head back to Jamie's to get the cars." 

"Sounds good. We'll go whenever you're done." I placed my cup and plate in the dishwasher.

"Let's get going." He followed my suit.

My mouth fell open when I saw the mess that was Jamie's front lawn. Empty beer bottles, red cups and passed out students were strewn across the grass. We managed to navigate ourselves around the garbage until we reached the front door. A rough looking Jamie opened the door after we had rung the doorbell a few times. His hair was scruffy, his white shirt stained with alcohol and the side of his face had an imprint of something indistinct. 

"What the heck cuz?" Jamie asked, his voice hoarse. "Why are you here so fucking early?" 

"You look like hell man," Daniel stated.

"No shit Sherlock. I really wish I didn't have so much to drink last night. On top of this killer hangover, I have this shit to clean up too. You two want to help?" He murmured, rubbing his head.

"You two are cousins?" I asked, bemused.

"Yeah. His mom and my dad are siblings." Daniel explained. 

"How comes you've never come to visit?" 

"Family reunions tended to happen around the world. We've been to almost all the continents, except Antarctica of course." He replied. 

"Wow, that's cool. Anyways you want to head to your place?"

"Actually since I'm here for the year, I'm crashing with Jamie here. Well, Ben really. This dumbass somehow got into college." 

"Oh, okay. I'll just wait in the living room while you get your shit together." I suggested.

"Yeah." Daniel agreed. 

I followed Jamie into the messy living room. "Make yourself at home Maddie. Raid the fridge or pantry. I'm going back to bed." I chuckled as Jamie sluggishly made his way back up to his room. 

"Davis?" I turned to see Drew standing in the doorway.

"What are you still doing here?" I asked.

"I got hungry, so I thought I would raid the fridge before I left." He chuckled. 

"Find anything good?" 

"Nothing too good. Apple?" He held up the fruit as he took a bite out of his.

"Sure." He threw me the apple. "Thanks." 

"Maddison, you ready to go?" Daniel called as he entered the room. "Hi. Derek was it?" 

"Drew. Laters, Cooper." He left the two of us alone in the room. 

"Should we get going? Daniel said. "Let's go in my car, and then you can get your car later." 

"Sounds good to me. I know a good spot we can go to." We got the beach and headed the beach hut. 

"You can use my spare board."

"You have a spare board?" He asked, picking up the surfboard I handed him. 

"Yeah I recently I bought a new one, but I didn't have the heart to get rid of the old one." I shrugged. We went to a more secluded area and set our boards down. 

"So this here is the leg rope, we don't need it right now but it's used to keep you attached to the board when in the water." 

"Great. Lesson done. Let's go in the water." 

"You don't really want to learn how to surf do you?" I laughed. 

"Nope. Let's go swimming. It's the perfect weather to do so." He took his clothes off and dropped them beside the board.

"Okay then." I stripped down to my bikini and jogged towards the water. 

We spend half the day either playing in the sea or laying out in the sun. We talked, trying to make up for the last few years.

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edit: 09/02/2020