Bradin, Callie, Lexi, Eric, Jake and Anna all sat around the table in the cabin and dined on food. Everyone laughed and happily recalled events from the night before. Jake sat very close to Anna, and his hand was on top of her thigh. Every now and then he would send a look her way and smile. Anna didn't know how to react to this. Nobody had ever given her this much attention in her life...and to be honest it kind of scared her. As everyone was getting up from eating, Jake held her back as they walked off. Pulling her close into his chest, he whispered into her ear, "You look so hot." Anna blushed and gave him a half smile, turning to catch up with everyone.
Bradin sat on the sundeck, Callie laying next to him. He looked towards Anna as she walked around to find a spot to sit and couldn't help but admire her. His breathing became somewhat shorter and his heart raced a little. She just looked so...natural. You could tell she didn't try to be beautiful...she just was. Anna looked over at him and smiled. Bradin couldn't help but notice a certain sadness about her. Some people were just like that though, he reassured himself. He turned towards Callie as she baked in the sun. Lately, Bradin had been thinking that maybe he'd been wrong about Callie. She wasn't as genuine as he'd thought...she was just like Lexi in a lot of ways. Callie looked up at him and grinned deviously. "Follow me," she mouthed. Bradin didn't know where she was going to go but followed her nonetheless. Callie led them downstairs where all the lights were off. She creaked open a door and pushed Bradin in the room and onto the bed. Callie layed herself on top of him, passionately kissing him all over his body. For a few minutes, he went along with it, but when she tried to go further, he stopped her.
"What is it?" She asked.
Bradin started to answer her but thought about it for a moment. He realized that when she kissed him now, he felt nothing. The thought of being with Callie now just made him uncomfortable and edgy. It just wasn't right. "Callie...look...it's just..."
"Just say it, Bradin." She sulked.
"I don't want to be with you when I can't feel the same way for you that you feel for me. I hate that I'm being unfair to you and I don't know I'm really confused lately. I'm sorry Callie...I just...this isn't working."
They sat there in silence for a few moments until Callie looked up and him and glared. "Asshole." And with that, she ran out of the room.
Bradin sat there, confused with his new single status. Callie had been safe but he wanted more. His thoughts drifted towards Anna again. However, he knew that he couldn't go for her and pushed any idea of her out of his mind. He went back up to everyone else and saw that Callie was nowhere in sight. He sat at the edge of the boat and let his legs dangle over. When someone came and sat next to him, Bradin didn't even have to look up to know who it was. He could tell by the sweet, light scent that it was Anna. "Trouble in Paradise?" She asked.
Bradin sighed. "It just needed to happen. Things weren't working out." The two sat in silence for a few moments just looking out over the beautiful water. The day was turning out to be a beautiful one again. Finally, the silence was broken. "Is she okay?"
"Who? Callie?" Anna asked. "Well...I mean she's only holed herself up in the bathroom and is crying her eyes out...is that's her being okay..." Bradin shut his eyes. "She's really sad, Bradin. She really cares for you." Anna's voice carried such compassion and warmth towards Callie that it killed Bradin.
"I know...I'm a prick." He responded quietly. "But wouldn't I be more of a prick if I stayed with her when I didn't want to?"
Anna nodded. "You're right."
The rest of the day, everyone minus Callie had fun swimming and joking around, eating and being the crazy teenagers that they were. After awhile Anna let her guard down more towards Jake and let him get closer. She explained to him that she wasn't ready for an actual relationship and he was fine with that. They were good friends and that was all that mattered. All of them grew closer that day. Lexi and Eric disappeared for awhile and came back, happy again. Jesse was able to take his mind off of Callie enough to allow himself to enjoy the time he had with his friends. The day really was a success. As the sun was setting over Playa Linda, the boat returned to the dock and the kids parted ways. Lexi dropped Anna and Bradin off since Bradin didn't think it'd be right to expect Callie to drop him off.
Yes, Playa Linda was peaceful enough. But things would soon turn into a whirlwind of events that would change them all forever.
