I looked up at the ding of the bell, in hope of James returning. I didn't mean to snap at him eariler but he was asking for it. I sighed, wiping the counter. To be honest, I don't know why I got so upset.
"Uh, 'cuse me, miss. Can I order?"
"What? Oh yeah, sure," I said, snapping back to reality. "What do you want?"
As I spooned Cookie N Cream into a cone, I kind of regretted the way I treated him. James was my friend. One of my best friends. I couldn't keep getting frustrated and then taking out my anger on him. An image
of him appeared in my mind. Brown eyes, soft hair and the perfect shade of pink for his lips ...
"How much do I have to pay?" The lady asked.
"Oh, um, $1.50," I said, punching in the numbers. The lady gave me the money with a shake of a head.
"Teenagers," she muttered. "Can I have a napkin, please?"
"Oh, yeah sure." I handed one to her and watched her walk away.
"Charlotte, you seem so distracted today." I swivel my head around to see my boss, Mary, standing at the doorway with her arms across her chest. "Is something wrong?"
"Oh, no." I shook my head. "I'm fine."
She pursued her lips, trying to figure me out. "It's that boy, isn't it? The one that came here earlier."
"No - " I tried to protest but Mary gave me a look that told me not to try. I sighed in defeat. "Kind of. I mean, I'm glad he's here and all - "
" - but you don't know your feelings for him," Mary finished.
I blinked. "I guess."
"Go look for him and sort it out. It's not that busy anyways," she said, glancing around as she ushered me out. "I can handle it."
"But - "
"No buts, go," she said, pointing to the door. I glanced at her then back at her door. She raised her eyebrows and pointed to the door again. "Go."
I smiled. "Thanks, Mary."
"No problem, kiddo," she said as I jogged out to the beach. Now, where would James be? I glanced around the boardwalk, then out at the waves.
Of course.
I jogged on the sand, serching for a familliar brunette. James, James, James. It wasn't long to find him. You could see a few people stopping and pointing to a tall figure that was tearing up the ocean with his surf board. Right away, I knew it was James. His strong and buff body glistened in the sunlight as he stood on top of his board, steadying himself. Without another word, I spotted his things laid out on a towel and I walked over, sitting down in the sand as I waited for his return.
"CJ?" James called out in surprised. I gave him a wary smile as he got closer to me. He stood his surfboard in the sand before sitting down next to me. The two of us sat in silence for a minute before James glanced over at me. "What happened to work?"
"Boss let me get off early," I replied, shrugging, not looking at him. James nodded, looking back out at the waves. I snuck a quick look at him, his hair all wet, covering his eyes. As if he read my mind, he swiped across the bangs, showing his brown hazel eyes. "Listen -"
"I just want - " Both of us paused. James let out a quiet laugh. "Sorry, you go ahead."
"I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted back in the parlor," I said, rubbing my arms as I glanced away. "I mean, i didn't really mean anything - well, I mean, I did but it came out a bit harsh - "
James laughed again, a bit uneasy. "It's alright, Charlotte. What I said wasn't exactly nice anyways." He paused. "But you were right. I didn't give you time to adjust and that's my fault."
"No, I - " I sighed. "Can we just forget this ever happened?" I asked.
James nodded. "I was just about to suggest the same thing." We sat through another quiet and awkward silence when James stood up and dusted sand off his trunks. "Want to go for a walk?"
"Yeah, sure," I said, knowing it wasn't really up for discussion. I stood up, adjusting my shirt before following him as he walked along the shore. "Hey, remember that one time when you fell asleep on your raft and you floated out to sea?" I asked, letting out a laugh at the thought.
"Oh God, yeah. Bad childhood memories. By the time anyone noticed, I was halfway out sea and was paddling back while crying to myself, vowing to never swim again."
"So much for that," I said, gesturing to his surf board as we walked further away from base.
"Yeah, well, I don't know. When I surf, I feel - I don't know. Free. It clears my mind." He shrugged. He looked over to me, amused. "Remember when I always used to throw you out in the ocean?"
"Wow, let's not talk about that because that was actually really terrifying. I mean, some people just joke around with that but to actually throw me?" I shook my head. When James didn't respond, I looked over to him, afraid i had messed up again but he was smirking and I wasn't sure if that was a good sign or bad.
"You know how to swim, right?"
"Yeah, why do you ask?" I cocked my head to the side when he suddenly reached over, grabbing onto my hips and tossing me over his shoulder as if I was a feather. "Oh. My. God, James. Let me down right now. Oh God. I fell like I'm going to pass out, wow, okay, let me down James, this isn't funny," I shouted, flinging myself around trying to wriggle free.
"COME ON, LET ME THROW YOU IN THE WATER. FOR OLD TIMES SAKE," James called.
"NO. HAVE YOU POSSIBLY LOST YOUR MIND ON TOUR?"
"MAYBE," he cried when I finally wrangled myself free, flying off his shoulder. I landed looking up to him as he lost his balance, toppling on top of me, his face inches away from mine. I held my breath as his eyes stared into mine.
James quickly pulled himself off of me and gave a wary laugh. "Hah," he said, dusting off the sand. "Sorry."
"No, no, it's fine," I quickly muttered, standing up as well.
"So, uh, my bandmates will be coming to Cali this weekend so maybe all six of us can hang out," James suggested. "Plus Pat which is like seven."
I shrugged, reminding myself things weren't the same anymore. "I guess."
"Hey, let's go eat at that new restaurant down the street. The one that sells seafood," he said, tugging on my arm.
"Beach Deck?" I asked. "That isn't new."
James frowned. "Well to me it is. Come on."
And then I realized something. I was scared of James. I was scared of change.