My Surprise Mate

Chapter Two

After many long hours of driving, they finally pulled into the driveway of their rental home.

“Welcome to Casa de Quin!” Theodore said with a flourish. We all gasped. The bungalow was gorgeous. It was right on the beach. It featured a huge covered porch facing the beach, with a hot tub on it, and massive windows. It was in a secluded area so the beach was almost entirely theirs to enjoy. It’s white panelling and light wooden detailing complimented the sandy beach wonderfully.

“What’s with all the ooh’s and ahh’s folks, let’s get in there!” Trevor said and jumped out of the car. I saw him run immediately into the water, not even pausing to grab his bags or check out the interior. Gabi and Mickey joined him, Mickey running in and tackling Trevor into the water, soaking his clothes. She didn’t seem to care that her jeans were also getting wet in the water. Gabi took the time to take her clothes off, revealing a baby pink bikini underneath, and waded in slowly. Madeline was the last one to leave the car, leaving me and Theo alone. I watched as Trevor ran out of the water to greet her, wrapping her in his arms and getting her wet as well. She didn’t seem to mind.

“Theo… This is beautiful” I said, leaning over the console to kiss him. “Thank you.”

“I know how worried you are for this year. I wanted to go out with a bang. Nothing but the best for my girl.” He held my cheek in the palm of his hand and kissed me again. “Now come on. Let’s enjoy the week.”

We ran into the water with our friends, splashing eachother and laughing until our stomachs hurt. When we finally had enough, we grabbed our bags from the car and brought them into the house.

The house was gorgeous. The living room had a green and grey colour scheme, some of my favourite colours. It featured a massive sectional couch across from a huge TV and I was certain we’d be watching movies all night tonight. There were plants all over and the view from inside was phenomenal. We walked from room to room, exploring the house. The master bedroom housed a king sized bed, a desk, and yet another gorgeous view. The other two bedrooms both had queen beds, but still a wonderful view.

“I thought you were kidding about there only being three beds!” Madeline exclaimed and hit Theo on the shoulder. Theo just shrugged. Trevor offered to take the couch if Madeline was uncomfortable, a rare moment of genuineness from him. Mickey and Gabi offered to take the other queen, “We sleep on a double when I stay over at Mickey’s anyway.” Leaving me and Theo with the King.

By now it’s relatively late, the drive took up most of our day and we’re all pretty tired. Well, aside from Mickey who slept most of the way, but Theo in particular is exhausted being the driver. We decide to smoke some, have a campfire, and then watch some movies until bed, although Theo says he might skip the movies, which is fine by us. I swap my skirt for jeans, since the night brings along a chill, although I’ve never been super sensitive to the cold, and head out to the beach to start the fire. I’ve always been the best fire maker out of our group, so it’s always my job when we take trips like this. By the time everyone else comes out, most in thick sweaters, the fire is blazing. It’s definitely taller than me, and maybe even taller than Trevor. I’m sure it’s illegal, but I don’t particularly care.

Mickey lights a blunt, and we all take turns hitting it and passing it to the next person. We’re joking and laughing when all of a sudden the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight. Theo must feel me tense up with his arm around me because he asks if I’m ok.

“Yeah, I just got a chill I guess…” I say, but I’m not convinced.

“I’ll run inside and grab you a thicker sweater. I don’t even know how you’ve lasted this long in that honestly.” He says and he gets up. He kisses the top of my head, but I’m distracted. I look around the beach to see what’s causing this… strange feeling. I’ve never felt it before. It’s not exactly fear. It’s like I’m waiting for something huge. The rest of the group is too high to notice anything, but this has quickly sobered me up. As I look around, my eyes breeze past a group of people far down the beach, barely even visible they’re so far away. But there’s something about them… I just can’t put my finger on it.

I stare off at them in the distance. As I watch, they slow down, they stop playing their game of catch. Finally, they’re all frozen. They’re looking at me too, I realize.