Cody’s friends, the twins JT and TJ, come by to go to the beach with them. They load into the Jeep with the boys in the back. TJ objects loudly, and rudely.
The quiet twin nodded. He rarely spoke. When he did he was subdued. TJ might be loud, obnoxious and crude, but JT wasn’t. Kai had always taken extra interest in JT, because he didn’t have a friend like Cody. He was always on TJ’s heels, hanging out, accepted because of his brother, not on his own. Kai honestly liked him better than his noisy twin, and did what he could to make that clear.
The beach was still fairly empty when they arrived. The sun was relatively low on the horizon. They set up chairs and a beach umbrella. The boys brought out a cooler and set it on the sand beneath the umbrella. They took skim boards from the back of the Jeep and ran to the water. Kai helped Paisley get sunscreen on her back and lay back on his beach chair.
“Don’t you need lotion?” Paisley asked him.
“I’m out all the time. I’ve got a good tan, and a darker complexion than you’ve got.”
“Oh.” She pouted slightly. “I thought you might need some help with it.”
He chuckled, sitting on her lounger so she could put oil on his back. He had to admit it was one of the better experiences of his life. Her hands felt great on his skin, as she kneaded at the tight muscles of his back. Eventually, he got tired of sitting with his back to her, and turned around to face her instead. He pulled her toward him, putting her legs over his. She wrapped her legs around his hips. They kissed a long time, hardly noticing the passage of time until the boys came up for a drink.
“Get a room,” Cody said, bumping Kai with his skim board on purpose. “You’re practically humping her in public, bro.”
Kai hadn’t realized their position was quite so provocative. He scooted back as Paisley released her legs from behind his back Blushing, she went up to the bathroom not far away.
“Dude, seriously. Take her home and boff her brains out. But not on the beach, okay?”
Cody continued to complain, punctuated by TJ. Kai nodded, mostly ignoring them. They ran back down to the water’s edge. JT sat on one of the other chairs sipping some water.
“You think I screwed up too?”
“No, man. I was just thinking how damn lucky you are to have a lady like Paisley. She be jammin’.” He grinned at Kai, raising his knuckles to tap. “It’s not easy when you’re with a new woman. Keeping your hands to yourself and all.”
“And you’d know this why?”
“My brother’s all talk,” the quiet twin said with a satisfied smile. “Sometimes, chicks dig the strong, silent type.”
“Anyone I know?”
“Prolly not. But she be jammin’ too.”
“Being careful?” Kai asked with concern.
“Yeah. You always say to keep it wrapped. Doin’ my best to follow your advice. Not been together that many times, but—you know.” He shrugged. “I do pay attention, even if they don’t.” He nodded to his brother and Cody who were arguing about how best to ride the skim board. “They stop fighting long enough, they might get laid too. They don’t know.”
“You didn’t tell them?”
JT shrugged, sipping his water. “Why bother? They don’t really care about me. I could disappear, and they wouldn’t even notice.” He looked rather sad.
“Dude, I’d notice. Don’t pay any attention to them. What you need is a couple friends of your own, not your brother or mine. There’s some nice guys on swim team. You don’t have to hang out with them.” Kai nodded at their brothers.
“Fair point,” JT said with a nod. “Thanks, Kai.”
“No problem. If I could order my life as well as someone elses, I’d be doin’ great.”
“You’re doin’ damn great,” he said, looking over Kai’s shoulder.
Paisley walked up a few moments later. She sat next to Kai, her thigh and hip pressing against his. He leaned over, kissing her cheek.
“Sorry about that.”
“Not a big deal. Little embarrassing, not serious.”
He grinned, bumping into her arm. “My brother’s a putz.”
“He’s jealous as hell,” JT replied. “You can bet if he had a lady like Paisley, he’d be all over her, too. No offense,” he said quickly.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” she said.
“Good.” He threw his empty bottle in the garbage and went back out to the water.
TJ and Cody had finally stopped arguing long enough to do some more skim boarding. JT was already on his board. Some girls, a few yards away, were watching him. He wiped out, got up laughing and waved to the girls. They waved back. One of them beckoned him over. With a glance at his brother, who was arguing again, he trotted over.
The girls gathered around him, talking and laughing. JT knew how to work the crowd. Soon, they were all asking him questions about riding the skim board. The first one even let him show her how to ride. It was obvious to Kai that she already knew what she as doing, but that didn’t matter. JT hung out with the girls for a couple hours before they left. He came back with all their numbers written on his arm.
© 2019 Dellani Oakes
Dellani Oakes 