Chapter 7

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That evening Jacob texted me, asking if I'd be interested in going jet skiing with the group. I had no clue how he had gotten my number, but suspiciously I wondered if Cami had something to do with it. Apparently, she and Dustin's family helped them rent out a pair of jet skis once a summer and it had become an annual group activity. Hesitantly, I agreed to it, although I had never been jet skiing before in my life.

Rock Rose Beach didn't have any jet ski rentals, so we would have to drive out of town to another beach in order to actually be able to go jet skiing. I still hadn't gotten my driver's license yet, but Jacob assured me that the whole group was planning to carpool anyways and that I was more than welcome to tag along.

So, a few days later I exited my house wearing my sage green two-piece swimsuit with some faded jean shorts pulled over the bottoms and an oversized white tee. I carried a tote bag filled with sunscreen, water, snacks, and other beach necessities, wondering if I was going to end up being the total mom of the group. Next door I could see Jacob loading up the back of his Jeep with a cooler and beach towels.

"Hey August," he said, shoving some pool floats in the trunk on top of the coolers before turning around to look at me. "Wow you're really prepared, aren't you?" he nodded at my stuffed tote.

I looked down, blushing, "Better over-prepared than under?"

"Here let me take that for you," he smiled, reaching over to grab my bag for me. His arm brushed mine and for a split second I felt butterflies fill my stomach as I thanked him. He added it to the back of the car before slamming the Jeep door shut. "We've gotta go pick the others up first, but for now it's just me and you," he explained. "Here, you can take shotgun," he said, motioning to the passenger side with his head.

"Shoot, I was looking forward to sitting by myself in the back," I teased as I walked over to the passenger side's door. I reached out to grab the handle, but instead Jacob grabbed it first, and gently swung the door open in front of me. I brought my eyes up to meet his and just stood there staring.

"Well come on, are you gonna hop in?" he asked me, breaking my trance.

"Haha, was just checking," I said climbing into the seat. He shut the door, and I took a quick to inhale deeply. A boy had just held the door open for me, why was I making it such a big deal?

Jacob climbed in on the other side and put the keys into the ignition. The car's engine roared to life, and we reversed out of the driveway; I noticed how carefully he checked his mirrors and blind spots and I felt glad to be in such good hands.

I knew that the car ride over to Cami and Dustin's house was only a few minutes, but even then, the car wasn't filled with any awkward silence.

"Have you ever gone jet skiing before?" he asked me once we exited his driveway.

"Not exactly, but I'm excited to try it out!" I told him.

"It's really fun, I'm sure you'll love it. I'm guessing you don't have your Boater Education Card yet?"

"Definitely not, is that going to cause problems?" I asked, suddenly worried that I could be ruining everything.

"Nah, don't worry about it. Dustin and I both have ours, and we normally just let Cami and Bridger tag along with us."

I let out a sigh of relief, glad that I wasn't going to ruin anything. Jacob was already being way too nice to me, inviting me to his house for the bonfire the other day, and now giving me a ride so that I could go jet skiing with all of his friends that he introduced me to. It was like he was opening this door in his life up to a complete stranger and letting me walk in without stopping.

"Thank you by the way," I glanced at him. "You know, for being so nice to me, and inviting me to all these things. I'm an only child and it can get sort of lonely sometimes."

"Really? I am too, I totally get the feeling," he smiled. "My parents like to tell me that when I was a kid, I wouldn't stop nagging them for a little brother. Every night before bed I would look at them as they tucked me in and ask."

"Aww, that's so sweet. How come they never gave in?" I asked innocently, before mentally slapping myself in the face. What kind of a question was that?!

His smile faltered for a split moment before answering, "I'm not sure. I guess as a kid I always thought that they were content enough with just me, but sometimes I wonder if there was more to it."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to pry like that."

"No, it's totally okay, I don't mind it so much," he shrugged. "What about you though? You're an only child, but what about your friends at your old place?"

I had to pause a moment and process what he was asking me. I definitely had friends where I used to live, but it seemed different here, more inviting and even energetic it seemed. "I mean, I had friends, even a best friend, but it took a long time. I didn't even meet Carly until halfway through middle school."

He paused at the stoplight and turned to meet my eyes. "That must've been so hard, I can't imagine growing up without Dustin. I've known him since the literal second grade."

"It wasn't so bad," I promised. "When I was really little, I would visit Rock Rose with my mom during the summer."

"And you'd stay in the beach house?" he asked, making a right turn as the light turned green.

"Yeah! Sometimes it would go vacant, and that's when we would visit. I would always spend hours outside playing make-believe, building sandcastles, climbing trees. You know, all of the things little kids do."

He nodded and continued driving. "Well anyways, I had this one friend around my age who would come over all the time, and we'd always make the most devious plans. Once we even tried to sneak away to go to the beach by ourselves, but our mom's caught us. I was let off easy, but he had to stay inside for a week until he was allowed to come play again!" I laughed, remembering how upset our mothers had been at us.

I turned to see Jacob again, but instead of laughing, his face seemed concentrated. Had I just talked way too much?! Way to go August, you've officially embarrassed yourself. 

"Sorry, I'm just trying to park," he said, noticing the silence. "I've been driving for over 2 years, but I'm for real terrible at it still."

The tension in my body released and I smiled again, watching as Cami and Dustin locked their front door behind them, half walking, half jogging down their steps to meet us. Nothing was wrong with what I had said, my overthinking capabilities were striking again. Before I could let Jacob know that everything was fine, Cami and Dustin swung the back door open and slid in.

"Let's get this party started!" Dustin shouted as the others cheered, and I couldn't agree more.


A/N: Woohoo! It's June now, are you excited for more chapters?! Me too! What are you all looking most forward to this summer? Vote the chapter and follow this account to stay up to date on the story.  Thank you so much for reading! -OverCrazyFangirl

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