Chapter 10: Got Sea-Legs?
Last night was so much fun! I got to see my friends again, and that feels great. I needed some girly time, especially from hanging around Gray, Kai, and Cliff all the time. Cliff… -sigh- I know that kiss last night probably freaked him out. I can't believe I did that! He's my best friend, and I just wreaked the whole relationship! I'm still shocked that I listened to them last night…
"So how about you and Cliff, huh, Eve?" Noelle teased.
I felt myself blush even more. "He's just my friend guys. That's all!"
Ethica snorted -femininely, might I add- "Yeah, right. Didn't you see the shade his face was when I told everyone to back off? I swear, it was like a burgundy!"
I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, I totally believe you, Ethica…"
"Eve, she's not kidding! He really did look like he liked you!" Shawn told me, agreeing with Ethica.
"Not funny anymore, girls." Seriously, what were they thinking?
Donna jumped up and down on the bed. "If you really think he doesn't like you, prove it."
Ethica's wicked signature smirk overcame her face. "I dare you to kiss him." Now, all the red from my cheeks was replaced with white. KISS HIM?! ARE THEY FRICKIN' SERIOUS?!
"I'll give you the four h's, h-h-h-hell no." I told her. Lannie rolled her eyes.
"Oh, don't worry. If he doesn't talk to you afterward… well, we'll figure out the details later…"
My face flushed again at the thought of …kissing …Cliff. I got up, ready to get it over with.
That was it; my last few moments of being a lip-virgin. POOF! Gone, by kissing my best friend. I started to faze out of my thoughts, returning to the present.
We were at the beach, the girls and me. I was tanning on the edge of the dock next to Lynn. The rest of our group was dunking each others' heads and jumping off the port. I laughed watching Sage gasp for breath after Ethica pulled her under.
I felt so content with all my friends surrounding me. A part of me was tempted to jump into the water, but was then was dismissed by reminding myself how bad a swimmer I was. Water's not my thing, so I stay away from it.
"Mornin'." I heard a familiar gruff voice behind me. I turned to see Gray walking over to Lynn and me. Behind him was a very happy Kai and a very uncomfortable Cliff. I felt bad for him and want to comfort him, but I remembered that I was the one making him uncomfortable. I guess this was my punishment, watching him squirm. As I looked at Cliff avoid my gaze, I began to feel nervous, too. Gray seemed to take notice and started a conversation.
"So, anything going on?"
"Nothing much, you?"
"You know the usual."
Okay, so it wasn't the best conversation in the world, but it relived some of the uneasiness. Kai began to flirt with the girls in the water, not very successfully.
"What's up ladies?" He spoke smoothly. They looked at one anther and giggled. "I see you all will need someone to watch over you while you swim, so Lifeguard Kai is ready to go."
"Cute, really cute. I don't think we need anymore help in the Life-guarding business, Kai. 'Cause…" Ethica inhaled sharply. "I think I have it handled."
"So you think you're a better swimmer than me?"
"Dude, I know I'm a better swimmer than you."
"Let's find out then! We'll race, you versus me, and we'll learn who's better fit for the title of ULTIMATE LIFGUARD FOR LIFE!!!" He yelled. He finally looked down at his clothing. At last, he realized that he wasn't wearing any swimming trunks. "After a quick change of clothing! Be right back!"
With that said he twisted around and sprinted off of the beach, heading to the Inn. Gray got up from where he was sitting. "We better get changed too, Cliff. Knowing these girls, they'll probably throw us in the water at some point."
"Why, Gray, what would make you think that?" Donna said acting totally innocent. Gray rolled his eyes and walked away, Cliff followed silently. After they were gone, I sighed. I didn't want Cliff to get all depressed about the kiss! If this happens to every guy I kiss, I'm going back to being a lip-virgin…
The girls swam up to the edge of the dock, looking concerned. I knew what was coming.
"What happened last night? You told us you did it, but what did he say?" Shawn asked me, carefully.
I sighed. "Well, I kissed him, that's for sure. But… he sort of, tensed up, and he didn't say anything. He seemed sort of pale, too."
Ethica pondered. She was the one who knew the most about dating, so I trusted her judgment. "What did his face look like? Was it like a shocked look, or a more surprised?"
"I-I don't know… shocked, I guess."
She seemed pleased. "Eve, did you ever think that your kisses may be a little powerful?"
I rolled my eyes. "Mhm, yeah right. That was my first time; I doubt it." I took off my t-shirt to reveal my bathing suit. It was starting to bother me.
"Has he said anything to you since then?" Lynn whispered, afraid to hurt my feelings.
"…No." Although a pang of hurt went through me, I tried to smile for them, to keep them as happy as possible over the short week that we had together. Lynn got up from her seat and slinked into the water as the other girls returned to slashing. Apple, however, got out and sat beside me.
Her face was smiling, but her eyes showed concern. I breathed out a small laugh for her. But, she continued to sit there, waiting for me to explain more. I caved, but not in the way she wanted. "Everything's fine, Apple. I bet after a while, Cliff and I will be talking to each other as usual in no time."
Thanks to my fantastic acting skills, she accepted my lie and jumped back to the water. I lay down on the hot wood of the dock, soaking in the heat from the sun as much as I could. Coldness… that was just something I couldn't stand. So, the sun's rays felt wonderful to my longing skin. My eyes closed, willing to accept a tranquil sleep, but an overly excited voice shattered my doze.
"COWABUNGA!!!!!!" Kai's eager voice thundered against my eardrums. I didn't wince, but open my eyes hesitantly to see him running, then jumping, into the cold depths people called the ocean.
I sat up to see Gray and Cliff walk over. I felt my eyes open wide. Gray's not so little anymore… I laughed to myself, remembering Gray and the girls swimming back at Flower Bud back when we were just children. My eyes left Gray and went to Cliff. Wow… Underneath the usual tunic he wore was a muscular torso. I shook my head, trying to prevent my thoughts from using the word 'ripped'.
I moved closer to the edge of the dock, allowing my feet to dangle. Gray sat next to me with Cliff at his other side. With no warning or any instructions, the race between Kai and Ethica began.
Ethica floated for a few moments as Kai swam ahead, but then, like a fish that had been away from the water for months, she eagerly swam so fast and so effortlessly past him and stopped. She had a happy grin plastered to her face, while Kai's was total disbelief.
"That was fun! Now what do you want to do?" Ethica swam next to him and circled him, like a shark playing with it's pray. Kai's shocked face changed to a goofy grin.
"I dunno! How 'bout we play Marco Polo?"
A few sure's and okay's were exchanged and the game began. Kai started as IT and said "Marco!" But, his call was unanswered by the girls diving below to hide from his shout. I noticed one eye open, and with annoyance, both eyes were wide open.
"Aw, come on!" A giggle was easily heard beneath the water. Nice job, Ethica…
Kai's eyebrows rose, not because he found her, but that the giggle was so clear, as if it was right next to him and not stifled by water. The giggles continued, leaving the three boys confused and astounded. You're blowing my cover Ethica!
The giggles stopped abruptly and Ethica came up from the water. Kai almost screamed. "WHAT THE HELL?! What was that?! How'd you do that?!"
Ethica nodded. "Yeah… I can… um, throw my voice!" I almost slapped my forehead; she was such a terrible liar! I thought she would have perfected that lie years ago…
Kai shook his head, but seemed to accept it and the game continued. Hours seemed to fly by as the troop played Marco Polo, Chicken, and a water version of DODGEBALL. I was still sitting on the dock, watching them come out, exhausted and weary. They came onto the dock and started talking about what to do next.
"How about the library? We have a great one in town." I told them as their faces lit up to the sound of the library. They all agreed and we planned to leave in about an hour.
Kai laid back and gave a satisfied sigh. "This is the life, relaxing at the beach with eight girls surrounding me…" Ethica smacked his shin, leaving a bright red hand-shape on it. Kai winced then gave Ethica a small smack on her forehead.
The new war began… again. Slaps and hits were exchanged between the two, and red marks were left behind. Kai suddenly stood up and gave Ethica a small push. Ethica pushed him back, giggling. Kai started losing his balance, and grabbed my shoulder. He accidentally pushed me back, and I flew into the cold water below.
Once I fell, coldness enfolded around me, trying to cool my unusually warm skin. This had no prevail, though, my skin kept the chilled water at bay.
The salty liquid filled my lungs quickly when I tried to gasp for air. I felt unconsciousness slowly try to come over me, but a pair of strong arms kept the darkness from my eyes. The arms were obviously not Ethica's, who was the best swimmer out of the group of our girls. They belonged to a guy, but which one? These aren't Gray's arms… I know his arms, and these are skinnier. Kai… no, not Kai, these don't feel like his arms. Well, I've only met him yesterday, and these arms seem familiar.
Warm air touched my face as the two of us, my rescuer and me. I couldn't open my eyes to see who had helped me. Gravity pulled down on me as the person kept walking out of the water, and then laid me in the warm sand.
"Is she okay?! Goddess, I didn't mean to push her! She was right there, then smack, then whoosh, and then this…" Kai's voice went from loud and frantic to soft and apologetic.
I heard Gray murmur an 'its okay'. A few seconds went by and I heard my rescuer speak. "I'll take her to the Clinic, she inhaled a little water and Doctor Trent should know what to do."
CLIFF?! CLIFF SAVED ME?! Deep breath Eve, deep breaths… ow, that hurts… short breaths then. But still, CLIFF?! I felt my skin get warmer as Cliff picked me up. I really hoped I wasn't too heavy... Gray's voice spoke out again. "You sure? I could take her if you want."
"It's okay, she's really light." Yeah, doubt that… He jogged as he carried me to the Clinic. One of my arms, being so very useless and limp, fell and swayed as he ran.
I instinctively placed my hand to my chest, where my gold locket was. It was shaped as a heart that had a small stem at the top of it, so it looked sort of like an apple. Pomme, that was what apple meant in French. You see, that's my name. All of my friends own one of these lockets, and we never take them off, for anything at anytime. We are not only friends, but we are family. Each of us bears the name Pomme; Ethica Pomme-Helen, Shawn and Apple Pomme-Mauve, Lynn Pomme-Ivy, Lannie Pomme-Aves, Noelle Pomme-Serene, Donna Pomme-Dash, and Sage and Eve Pomme. We are the Pomme generation.
After falling unconscious on the way to the Clinic, I woke with a start. Gray was holding me in his arms and yelling at Doctor Trent.
"She doesn't have a fever! What are you freakin' stupid?!" I rolled my head to get a better look at things. My eyes opened wide at the sight of a tub filled with ice. I tugged at Gray's sleeve, trying to get his attention. He looked down at me and a look of relief came over his face.
I got down out of his arms, but held his shoulder to stay up. I felt so cold, so very cold. I was shivering so hard, my hands barely caught the side of Gray's sleeve.
"Look what you did to her! She can barely stand up she's shivering so hard!" Doctor Trent watched me as I shivered, Cliff standing next to him, totally confounded. Gray put me on the bed so that I could sit as I shivered uncontrollably. I finally found my voice, but it was so meek.
"W-W-What h-h-happened…?" My already timid voice shook with the tremors surging through my body. I felt my skin; it was frozen to the bone.
"The doctor didn't know about your, um, condition, so he thought you were burning up with a fever and dumped you into a bucket of ice." Gray scowled at the doctor, who was still staring at me.
I shook my head, which seemed like a nod because of the trembling. "I-I-It's not his f-f-fault, G-G-Gray. I mean, if you s-s-saw someone with over a-a-a hundred degree t-t-temperature, y-y-you would probably dump t-t-them in i-i-i-i-ice." The word 'ice' brought shivers to spill down my spine.
Gray's hard face softened, and he nodded. "Yeah…" I smiled at his apologetic face toward Doctor Trent, who just nodded in return.
Gray went over to the doctor, who wanted to tell him something. Once they left, Cliff walked over to me and gave a few blankets. I thanked him and put them around me, but saved one and held it out to him. "T-T-Thanks for s-s-saving me, C-C-Cliff… Y-Y-You must be c-c-cold, too."
He gave me a confused expression. "What are you talking about? The water was great. I just don't get why you were so hot… you were about 110 degrees! How's that normal to you?"
Don't blow it, Eve, don't blow it. Lie, tell him something else. Anything but what really is. "I have a condition where my normal temperature is higher than usual. Like my normal could be 110, while that would be scorching for you."
He nodded as he looked at the ground. "I thought you were really sick…"
It was my turn to look at the ground. "I-I-I didn't m-m-mean to s-s-scare you… S-S-Sorry…" He looked up at me in alarm.
"Why are you apologizing?! I should be the one! I thought that I was the one who got you sick!"
"Y-Y-You? W-Why? Y-Y-You were the one w-w-who saved me from d-d-drowning and you t-t-took me to the Clinic by c-c-carrying me! I bet I w-w-was pretty heavy… I s-s-should be the one to apologize a-a-and thank you!"
"First of all, you were extremely light, it was really easy. Second, no, you shouldn't be apologizing or thanking me. I'm your friend, and that's what we do."
I smiled at him, relieved at the fact that he said we were friends. I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and gave him a hug. At first, it seemed to surprise him, but he eventually got used to it and I let go. I gave him one of my warmest smiles and continued to shiver.
Cliff stayed next to me as my shivers died down slowly. Gray came back in the room, looking frustrated. He paced back and forth, pinching the space between his eyes and rubbing his temples. Obviously something was wrong.
"What's the matter, Gray?" My voice no longer shook.
Gray sighed. "Doctor Trent… wants to test you to find out your condition."
I felt my chest tense up. TEST ME?! No, no, that was not an option. Not at all. He could find out…
"No." I said, evenly. I had to keep my voice calm in case Cliff got worried. But, he got curious.
"What's wrong with that?"
"He just can't, Cliff. Listen, I think I better head home. The girls are probably worried about me."
Gray nodded and Cliff went along, understanding that I didn't want the doctor to know something, and had to leave without him knowing. We escaped the Clinic without Elli taking notice and ran as fast as we could back to my house.
I can't keep this a secret… it's too hard… Tonight, I'll talk to the girls. I have to tell them…
My secret will no longer be kept locked up anymore.