The sky was darkening quickly, and I could see my breath in the cold air. I walked across the sand toward the bonfire burning brightly on the beach, which was already surrounded by a bunch of people.
"Part-ay." Seth said, appearing beside me in shorts and a t-shirt.
"I. Am. Freezing." I said, shivering.
He looked at me like I was nuts. "You're cold? Really?"
"I'm from Hawaii. Of course I'm cold." I snapped.
"Oh, well, here." he said, wrapping his arms around me. Even through my sweatshirt, I could feel his warmth.
"How are you so warm?" I exclaimed.
"My mother was a space heater." he said, completely deadpan.
I looked at him. "If I hadn't met your mother already, I probably would have believed you."
Suddenly, as we neared the fire, I heard people hooting and hollering. "Who's the chic, Clearwater?"
"Yeah, you gonna introduce us?"
"'The chic' can hear you!" I called back.
They laughed and punched each other like guys do, and I rolled my eyes, amused. "You hang out with these lolos?"
"Occasionally," Seth said with a grin. "Hey, you mentioned you like surfing, right?"
"Yeah, but it's way too cold-"
He took my shoulders and turned my body to look at the ocean. There, several of the local boys were on boards, catching the waves that were actually pretty impressive, considering the sad beach. I debated for a moment, really wanting to surf, but also knowing how cold it was. "... Can I rent a board?" I asked sheepishly.
. . .
Being out on the water again was awesome. I showed up some of the experienced surfers without even trying, like it was second nature.
Who am I kidding? Of course it's second nature.
Anyway, the surfing lasted into the night, and I even managed to get Seth out there for a few tries, though he failed miserably. I finally dragged myself back to the beach, completely exhausted, but extremely happy. One of the boys took my board for me, as I'd unintentionally started a fan club.
"You're pretty popular around here." Seth observed as I flopped on the sand near the fire so I could warm up and dry off.
I could only nod, my teeth were chattering so hard. The waves had been fun, but way icy. I'd need at least two hours in a hot shower to get warmed up again.
I heard him laugh above me, and he lifted me halfway off the ground, sliding underneath my back. "Here. We don't really have blankets out here, so..."
"How are you so warm?" I asked again. "Seriously, it's like you have a fever or something!"
"I naturally have a higher body temperature than everyone else." he explained. "And you're so cold that it feels warmer."
"It's nice." I said, snuggling against him. What? I was cold.
He smiled. "Well, we wouldn't want it to be bad, now would we?"
. . .
I shifted a little, then blinked. I was on my bed, and I couldn't remember getting there. I was also fully dressed, only lacking shoes. I slowly got up and walked down the hall into the kitchen, where Emily and Sam were talking at the table. "Morning?" I said, posing it as more of a question.
"Yes, it's morning." said Sam as though to a two-year-old. "It's what comes after nighttime, but before noon."
"Thanks, smart-ass." I said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.
"Excuse me?" said Emily, raising her eyebrows.
"'Thank you, incredibly clever and witty handsome young man.'" I revised.
"Better."
"Why am I still dressed?"
"Seth took you home last night." Sam answered. "You fell asleep on the beach, so he brought you here. You might want a shower; you were still wet when you went to bed."
I pulled at my damp shirt with distaste. It hadn't been terribly comfortable waking up to wet clothes. "Yep. Shower time." I agreed, standing up. Suddenly, something stood out in the corner of my eye. It was a series of scratches on the door frame, about half and inch deep. "What's that?"
"Raccoon tried to get in last night." Sam said casually, drinking his milk.
I narrowed my eyes, but said nothing. Exactly what type of raccoon left marks halfway up the door?
I wasn't stupid. People needed to quit lying to me.