After an hour's journey, we reached a beach, the name of which I didn't know. Well, the name didn't matter anyway. Kelvin parked the bike in a safe corner before we strolled towards the center of the beach. The beach was probably prominent for parasailing activities and boat rides as the shore was lined with boats from one end to the other.
"Xaviers!" a man about the same age as Kelvin called out when we got nigh the shore.
"Frank," Kelvin greeted back in his usual monotonous manner, sharing a fist bump with Mr. Frank, who was his associate detective as Jonas had mentioned before.
"Happy Birthday young man. Not getting old yet, are you?"
"I hope not," Kelvin replied solemnly.
"Ah Xaviers, we are not at work now! You don't have to keep that detective look on your face and serious tone in your voice 24/7, you know," he said light-heartedly.
Frank seemed to be a lively man like Jonas, although I could say from the vividness of his character that he had a strong personality like Kelvin too.
"Ayyy Jonas! How did the party go last night?"
"More than Superb," Jonas grinned as he shared a fist bump with Mr. Frank as well.
"Ahh did our detective get a girlfriend?" Frank jested when he finally noticed me standing between Kelvin and Jonas.
Did I look like Kelvin's girlfriend?
"Don't get so excited yet Frank," Kelvin responded in a light manner. "She's Jonas' sister."
That felt like a weird introduction.
"My bad, my bad," he laughed. "But wow, what a coincidence! Samantha's here with me too today."
"Samantha!" he called out.
A girl appearing a little younger than Frank jostled her way amidst the crowd and appeared beside him.
"Hey, Samantha!" Jonas greeted.
The girl named Samantha reciprocated the greeting with the same enthusiasm. They seemed to know each other well from before.
"She's his sister," Jonas introduced, noticing the confusion on my face.
"I guess you know already, my sister is a huge fan of parasailing," Frank remarked while giving her a side hug.
"What are we waiting for then? Let's go," he suggested.
Jonas and Frank rambled towards the boat area side by side, deeply engaged in a conversation. I was just about to follow them when I noticed Samantha walking up to Kelvin.
"Happy Birthday Kelvin," I heard her wish with a smile.
"Thanks Samantha," Kelvin replied with a similar smile.
She calls him Kelvin?
I don't know why, but that didn't give me a good feeling.
"Been a long time," she mumbled, but audible enough for me to hear. "So, how are you?"
"You know-" Kelvin started his sentence, but paused when his eyes fell on me, noticing that I was still there.
He probably didn't want me listening to their conversation.
I glanced away quickly and made my way towards the boat area, not wanting them to think that I was eavesdropping. I don't know why, but a strange feeling was working inside me, something I had never experienced before.
I didn't have to search for Jonas because he himself came looking for me. The way he always did.
"Ah, there you are! I almost thought you were lost and was about to call 112," he giggled.
"Got too late in calling them, eh?" I replied in a merry voice, hoping that it would drive Kelvin and Samantha's thoughts away from my mind.
Jonas always somehow ended up fixing my mood, either knowingly or unknowingly. We boarded one of the medium-sized ships which Kelvin and Frank seemed to have reserved beforehand. Kelvin and Samantha joined us a few minutes later.
A guide explained to us the procedures while passing life vests to each of us. I fitted myself in one as I saw Frank and Samantha walking up to the deck first. They all seemed to know the process already, except me. I recalled Jonas telling me during the journey that he had his first experience of parasailing with Kelvin last year.
I observed Frank and Samantha's ride with overwhelming zeal; it was the first time I was seeing someone do it so closely. They ascended gradually with the parachute as the boat roared to motion. I could hear their enthusiastic hurrahs as they rose higher and higher.
Jonas was snapping pictures of the two on Frank's DSLR as their feet dunked into the water, leaving me and Kelvin to sit side by side without a barrier, which I surely didn't want at that moment.
"That's seven hundred feet above sea level," Kelvin spoke, watching their parachute.
I didn't respond. For some reason, I didn't want to speak to him.
"They bring us here during our training," he continued, clearly not realizing my intentional ignoring. "Fun way of getting rid of acrophobia."
He finally looked at me, sensing my silence. I glanced away, making my ignoring more prominent.
"What happened to you?" he asked in puzzlement.
"Nothing," I replied.
"Why are you not saying anything?"
"Well, we never talk except for the times when we fight anyways," I shrugged.
"There's surely something," he muttered.
"There's nothing," I repeated.
"Is it about Samantha?" he asked, figuring it out somehow.
I remained silent for a minute before mumbling, "I thought I was the only one who calls you Kelvin."
I turned around to take a quick look at him when he didn't reply. He was staring at me attentively.
"Does it matter to you?" he asked in a whisper.
"No, why will it-" I denied, not wanting him to know that it did.
"Samantha is my ex," he revealed, shifting his gaze back at their parachute.
"Oh..." I murmured.
Made sense. I couldn't expect him not to have been in any relationship before like me after all.
"Why did you two break up?" I asked.
"As time passed, we realized we weren't compatible enough," he answered in the most straightforward sentence.
"We're still good friends though, and thankfully that didn't hamper Frank and my friendship either," he added.
"That's good," I replied, not knowing what else to say.
At least she was his ex and not present girlfriend.
Their parasailing lasted about twenty minutes before they landed back on the deck. The boat halted amidst the vast water momentarily. I noticed a few more parasails in the air, a number of boats were in the water now.
"Mesmerizing just like the first time," Frank provided his review with a substantial grin spread across his face.
"Hey," I heard Samantha say as we got into close proximity.
I glanced back once to check if it was for someone else.
"Hi," I replied when I was confirmed that it was meant for me.
"Um do you mind me asking- are you Kelvin's girlfriend?" she inquired casually.
"Uh no, we're just-"
"My bad, my bad," she laughed away like her brother.
"Anyways, is it your first time?"
I nodded.
"Then you're gonna enjoy it to the core!" she smiled. "First time is always the best."
I smiled back before making my way towards the deck with Kelvin and Jonas. Samantha was quite friendly to be honest, and I kind of took a liking to her.
'Made sense why she wasn't compatible with a strict guy like Kelvin,' I chuckled at my own assumption.
"Are you three going together?" a crew member asked.
"Nope, we two are going. And she'll go alone," Jonas grinned, pointing towards me.
"What! Am I supposed to go alone?" I shrieked.
"Please, no.......it's my first time," I mumbled.
"He's just kidding," Kelvin assured with a stifled laugh.
"Three together," he made the correction to the man.
I smacked June's arm as I noticed him trying to suppress his tee-hee.
The crew member cautiously checked our weights to make sure if we could parasail together. We took our seats after he gave us a green signal. I was sitting between Kelvin and Jonas. I tied up my hair the way I had seen Samantha doing during her turn while the crew member secured us in our places by fastening the harness.
They asked our opinion on whether we preferred to stay dry, our dunk ourselves a little in the water. We chose to dunk only our toes since three of us were wearing three-quarter pants. I folded my black nylon pants a little as I saw Jonas and Kelvin doing the same. I had paired my pants with a white rayon top.
"But what if I fall?" I muttered under my breath as the crew members started their countdown.
"What do you think we two are here for?" Kelvin and Jonas whispered together.
I don't know why, but that sentence meant a lot to me. Were we finally a trio now?
Please don't forget to vote, comment, and share if you enjoyed reading this chapter!
- Love,
Your dear author <3