Her mom and dad came on her graduation day. They took pictures together, a pat on the back, a clumsy hug, a kiss on the cheeks, a congratulations. The three of them again after eight years. She was smiling the whole day.
She told them about her plans, they told her how proud they were, shared one last hug and asked her to call them more often. That was pretty much the depth of their relationship.
After her parents left, Kelsey was there. They shared a long hug, enough to replace a thousand words they wanted to say to each other.
Kelsey tilted her toga hat with a smile, "I hope I'll look good in these next year." They laughed. "I guess this cause for a celebration ... let's go get some coffee, my treat," she added.
They went to The Morning Brew, still in her toga and her diploma in her grip.
"I can't believe you're leaving in a few days ... do you realize we've never been apart si
She wouldn't let me take her out on a date. She wouldn't let me kiss her, or touch her. Three months after she came back to Ardor, she went island hopping with Kelsey on her 21st birthday. I wasn't invited, obviously. I couldn't sleep that night, wondering if she was going to get wasted and ended up with some strange guy, willingly or unwillingly. There's no other girl that has kept me up all night as often as she did. For all different kinds of reasons.But to end up with a strange guy was not the problem with her, it was only that one guy. I hate him. He calls her much too often for my liking. They would talk for hours, it burned me, and I couldn't do anything about it.The almost-kisses we had was driving me insane, but I've promised her I'd wait however long it takes. I think she was torturing me on purpose.Six months after she was back, she finally let me in. We kissed. Every kiss was better than the last. I love k
"Heeeyyy girlfriend!" Kelsey's voice greeted her through the phone. She was in her baby blue bathing suit she bought beforegoing on an exotic island summer vacation. She video called once a week throughout summer, sometimes more often whenever she needed a girl talk while she was on her solo getaway."Hey babe ... wow you look really tan there, are you still out on the beach?" Julie can only see parts of her perfect body and perfect face through the small screen.Kelsey lifted her phone to show where she was, a beautiful white sand beach in Bhorma Island where it's always sunny. People lying around on beach towels enjoying the sun. There were people running in the background, she can hear the waves mixed with the sound of seagulls. Then the camera went back to her face lying on the beach with her hair fall back under a beach hat."You could've been here with me if it weren't for your geek mode that decided to turn
She was awoken by the sound of a rooster screaming its lungs out like its life was depending on it. She opened her eyes in a heavy daze, slowly gaining consciousness, realizing that her alarm had set off the annoying sound. She took her phone and there were five miscalls from Kelsey. She remembered Kelsey never made that phone call to check in with her about her date. She dialed her number.The call was picked up after two rings and she can see white bedsheets tangled on Kelsey's long and leaned tanned leg. It slowly went up to her exposed breasts, Kelsey was yawning and stretching at the other end of that call."Jeez ... five miscalls just for me to see you naked after a hot date? I thought you were in trouble or something," Julie was relieved even though slightly annoyed, as beautiful as she was, she didn't really enjoy looking at her best friend's bare breasts first thing in the morning. She threw herself back on her bed, covered in her v
She was wearing a long-sleeved cropped top with her super mini skirt, her tanned legs shimmered from the body oil she smeared all over them, she smelled like coconut vanilla. Kelsey was looking at herself in the body mirror in the corner of their dorm room, trying to decide whether to tie her hair in a ponytail or just leave them hanging over her shoulders.She didn't really need to do anything with herself, Kelsey would've looked gorgeous in pajamas. She was one of those girls who looked perfect in their Instagram posts "woke up like this",yes they do exist.Julie was satisfied with her babydoll dress, covered with her oversized sweater. It took her a few seconds to look in the mirror when she tied her hair in a messy bun in her half of the room where she sticks her walls with posters of Rock Stars from the '70s and '80s. "Ready?" she asked Kelsey who was still undecided. "Just leave it as it is, Kells, you look fine," she conti
Kelsey was yawning in class, she couldn't look more bored and suicidal than any other times she was in a classroom. She turned to Julie and made a hand gesture as if she was tying a rope around her neck and pulled until her tongue rolled out. She was the kind of girl who would go as far as sleeping with the Professor just to pass a class because she couldn't stand being in it andhavingto read all the papers when it was time for an exam.Julie smiled in amusement, she kept jotting down notes after notes like she always does. She sometimes doodled on the faces of Mick Jagger, Axl Rose, or Tommy Lee and other times, Preston Hicks which shealready tore down fromher binder. She never had a grade below B+, her GPA was always close to a perfect 4.0 and that was on a bad semester.When the class was finally over, Kelsey let out a sigh of relief as if she was tortured for an hour and a half. It was only the first day.&
"Sooo??? What do you think about him?" Kelsey asked after they got back to the dorm."He's ... nice," it was the first thing that came to her mind. Too nice, she thought, for Kelsey. But she couldn't bring herself to say it, Nathan was very different than any of the guys Kelsey ever dated, and she knew them all. Nathan was a serious type, he had a calm and cool nature about him that didn't fit Kelsey's type of boyfriends. Kelsey's type was more like ... Preston."He seemed to have big plans for the future and he's working for it too," Julie said.Kelsey nodded, she didn't seem to care much about that. "I just can't wait to get him back in the sack tonight ... we're going clubbing later, you should come too," Kelsey said. Julie hesitated, beingthe third wheel on Kelsey's dates was not her favorite thingto do."Don't tell me you want to stay in and study?? It's only the first day of the semester, Jul
Kelsey didn't come back to the dorm for two days. She does that when she was with a boyfriend. She checked in with Julie every day just to let her know where she was. Usually, she'd stay with the guy for days, fucked his brains out until she was bored fucking him and she'd come back to the dorm to complain about how bored she was and then went back to the guy to fuck him some more.Julie was used to the routine, she was glad she was a professional loner. She would drown herself in books and completely lost track of time whenever Kelsey went on her voyage. She never felt lonely without her roommate, and when Kelsey's back, she would take a break from her reading to listen to her over the top sexcapade with the 'oh so boring boyfriend' just to see her gone again in a few days. Rarely there was a boyfriend that didn't bore her, those who can keep her satisfied in bed weretheones that can keepher longest. And that seemed to be the case with Nathan.
Julie was deeply lost in the streets of Europe with Robert Langdon is one of those Dan Brown's thriller novels. Her face was covered by the hardback she had just bought the day before and was already halfway through the 600 plus pages story. Her coffee cup was half empty, her croissant half-eaten, her eyes nailed to the sheets."Julie?!" a voice called her name which she pretended to not hear, she was three pages away from the next chapter. The source of the voice didn't call on her again, instead, he took a seat in front of her in silence. Her eyebrows furrowed as she was finishing a few more paragraphs before she slid her book to one side and startled at the sight of Nathan."Nathan?! I'm sorry I was ..." she was lost for words."In the middle of a chapter? Don't worry, I'm like that too ..." he laughed softly, showing a row of perfect teeth between his perfectly shaped lips. "Are you alone? Can I sit here?" he was dir
She wouldn't let me take her out on a date. She wouldn't let me kiss her, or touch her. Three months after she came back to Ardor, she went island hopping with Kelsey on her 21st birthday. I wasn't invited, obviously. I couldn't sleep that night, wondering if she was going to get wasted and ended up with some strange guy, willingly or unwillingly. There's no other girl that has kept me up all night as often as she did. For all different kinds of reasons.But to end up with a strange guy was not the problem with her, it was only that one guy. I hate him. He calls her much too often for my liking. They would talk for hours, it burned me, and I couldn't do anything about it.The almost-kisses we had was driving me insane, but I've promised her I'd wait however long it takes. I think she was torturing me on purpose.Six months after she was back, she finally let me in. We kissed. Every kiss was better than the last. I love k
Her mom and dad came on her graduation day. They took pictures together, a pat on the back, a clumsy hug, a kiss on the cheeks, a congratulations. The three of them again after eight years. She was smiling the whole day.She told them about her plans, they told her how proud they were, shared one last hug and asked her to call them more often. That was pretty much the depth of their relationship.After her parents left, Kelsey was there. They shared a long hug, enough to replace a thousand words they wanted to say to each other.Kelsey tilted her toga hat with a smile, "I hope I'll look good in these next year." They laughed. "I guess this cause for a celebration ... let's go get some coffee, my treat," she added.They went to The Morning Brew, still in her toga and her diploma in her grip."I can't believe you're leaving in a few days ... do you realize we've never been apart si
Despite of making up at the end of their argument, Kelsey was distant. She kept to herself. Julie woke up the next morning feeling like a zombie, lost all sense of directions. She had to come up with a new plan for her future. There was no way she could go back to Ardor.She made the report and told the faculty that she had to finish early because of a family emergency. The only time her family was useful for her. She didn't have the courage to contact Nathan, but to her relief, the faculty informed her that he had turned in the assessment sheet for her internship. She passed with flying colors. She texted to thank him, he didn't reply.Two weeks in after she got back to Gastonburry, she started to prepare her final presentation. Finalized her internship report, created slide shows, crunching numbers, drew diagrams, and all the bits and details needed for the final show. She also submitted a new application through the University to find emp
She managed not to cry when she left his hotel room. She told him to take a shower as she left because she didn't want a sappy farewell that will make her weep the entire day. So they left it at that. The memory of their last day together was to be remembered as something extraordinary and beautiful.When she arrived in front of Nathan's villa, she took a long deep breath to ready her for what's waiting. She took long, slow and dragging steps toward the house, expecting to see both Nathan and Kelsey for another awkward social situation. The house was quiet, she opened the sliding door from the balcony and stepped into the kitchen. There was only Nathan."Where's everybody?"Nathan sat on the island stool, not looking his best. "Kelsey ... umm ... she left."She raised her eyebrows, put down her bags on the floor. "Left where?"He looked down on the kitchen counter, played with hi
Their silence speaks more volume that night. They poured drinks back in the room, browsed through the movie selections they wanted to see. They put on the one they agreed on, not really caring what it was because their minds were wandering to places that don't exist. A place where they would go through life without each other by their sides.She laid her head on his shoulder, stared blankly into the TV. He held her hand and played with her fingers, something he will miss terribly. He took a deep breath.She remembered when she first saw him, his smile, his cheeky comments. His playfulness, his laughs, his annoying ways to get her attention. Those dark blue eyes, and his beautiful face. She glanced over to the tattoo on his chest, and she touched that "J". He looked down and shivered from her gentle touch.He turned to look at her. That was when she pulled himgently and pressed her lips against his. She closed her e
It was a good night's sleep she needed. Her sweet smile was back on her face the next morning. Her mood was lighter, and she couldn't wait to spend the day with Preston. He wanted to explore the island with her and end the day at The Rockabillies. She took him to her favorite beach, favorite hangouts, a cool vintage clothing shop that Preston would love. Nathan Sommers was not in her mind that day.He didn't want to ruin her mood, so he held it for a while longer. The thing he was going to tell her will be hard to hear, as much as it was going to be hard for him to say. She was laughing at his jokes, mocked him as he was trying on funky clothes. Preston loved to shop. He had a wide collection of strange outfits that he can pull off easily. Julie was probably the only girl he knew who had the patience to wait on him while he shopped.She always chose the items for him, he always listened to her. She's the one he goes to for any advice, school
She hugged Kelsey as she pass, and then lingered her tight embrace on Preston."How's my favorite girl in the world?" he put both arms around her and swayed her."I'm so glad you're here," Julie said.Nathan had his arms around Kelsey but his eyes were on Preston."Trouble in paradise?" he sensed the hostility from the host."Please get me out of here," she whispered."My plan exactly," he said with a naughty grin and kissed her forehead.Preston helped them put their stuff inside before excusing himself. "You have a very lovely home here, Mrs. Sommers, but I need to check-in at my hotel and get some drinks with Julie ... we have a lot of catching up to do.""Oh ... butI hope you'llbe joining us for dinner at Ardor? I've arranged a nice private dinner for all of us there at 7," she said.
Neither of them could sleep that night. They laid on their own matrasses in silence, in the dark, pretended to be asleep. She got out of bed just in time to see the sunrise. She thought Nathan was sleeping, just when she inhaled the first-morning breeze, he was already standing behind her."It's the best sunrise I've ever experience anywhere," he said startling her. She smiled. "That's another reason why I brought you here ... an island getaway," he added."It wasn't supposed to be for me, I wish the circumstances was different."Silence.He walked over to her, stood right behind her, he put his hands on the railing. She felt his breath on her hair, on her neck. He didn't touch her, but it felt like he was undressing her.He was having a moment. In his mind, she was the lover that he always wanted to bring to that island. But she was still afraid of him, how she felt about him.
Nathan asked her to pack light but prepared a few outfits just in case they get wet. So she packed a few changes of clothes and a beach towel. It seemed like Nathan wanted to do the video by the water. It's a remote area where not many people know, it's barely touched by tourists.They packed up all the equipment needed in one giant backpack. Nathan stuffed his seasonings in a duffle bag. They made it as light as possible, but it was quite some baggage. They rode on a pick-up truck that came to take them to the beach. Julie chose to ride on the back, Nathan joined her and leaned on their stuff while enjoying the scenery along the way.She filmed their trip across the island when they pass the paddy fields, through narrow roads in villages, sometimes rocky roads by local farms where there were cows and goats fed on the green grass. She turned her camera to Nathan who at some point fell asleep. The trip to the beach took almost four hours only