Page 36 of Banter & Blushes #1

BEACH DAY SHENANIGANS

LUCA

I had no idea what possessed me, but the moment I overheard Rebecca and Maya talking about going to the beach today, I couldn’t stop myself from practically bouncing in my seat.

My first thought was, I need to go. My second thought was, Why not bring Joe along?

Let’s be honest, if anyone was going to embarrass me in a spectacularly hilarious way, it was definitely going to be him.

At least that would lighten up the mood if anything were to go awry.

“Joe,” I said, nudging him with my elbow as we sat on the terrace outside the restaurant. "Rebecca and Sophie are going to the beach today. I think we should go, you know, to... accidentally run into them."

Joe looked at me as if I’d just asked him to sign up for a marathon. “What, like just happen to be at the beach at the same time as them? You’re not that slick, Luca."

“Yeah, but we could pretend we’re not stalking them. You know, like, ‘Oh hey, fancy meeting you here!’” I said, grinning. “It’ll be funny.”

Joe raised his eyebrows, looking me up and down. “You do realize that’s not how you play it, right? You’ve been, what, pining for this girl since you first met her? Don’t think I didn’t see you two out in the rain the other day. Now you wanna ‘accidentally’ run into her at the beach?”

She’d been shyly avoiding me since that moment. And I was still grateful she let me defend her chivalrously at the lobby of the hotel. But things still felt fragile between us .

“Don’t overthink it, Joe. I just want to... I don’t know, talk to her more, but in a casual way. This will give me a chance to figure things out in a carefree environment.”

Joe stared at me for a long moment. “You know you’re not the only one who thinks Rebecca’s hot, right? I’m just saying, I could definitely give her a run for her money.”

I turned to him, narrowing my eyes. “Joe. You’re the last man who’s going to steal anyone’s attention away from me. Now, do you want to go to the beach or not?”

He chuckled, standing up and brushing the breadcrumbs off his pants. “Fine. But I’m doing this because I think it’d be fun, not because you need me as your wingman.”

I was too busy daydreaming about Rebecca’s smile to pay much attention to his words.

So we set off, both of us in shorts, flip-flops, and those ridiculous sunglasses that we thought made us look cool but probably just made us look like tourists.

We were basically a walking disaster, but I didn’t care.

When we finally reached the beach, the sand felt hot under my feet.

I spotted Rebecca and her best friend, Maya, almost immediately, lying on towels in the sun.

Rebecca had her sunglasses on, and her dark hair was tied up in a messy bun that looked way too effortless.

Maya, of course, looked like she was born to be in a beach magazine with her perfect tan and sunglasses.

“Alright, time to make our move,” I whispered to Joe.

Joe, naturally, misinterpreted the situation completely. “You think they’ll think we’re cool if we pretend to be volleyball pros?” He held up a beach ball and started miming exaggerated volleyball moves.

I groaned. “Joe, no. Just—just follow my lead.”

We approached with all the grace of two drunk flamingos.

The moment we got close, I saw Rebecca look up. She froze, her eyes widening slightly, before quickly glancing over at Maya.

“Hey, uh, fancy seeing you here!” I said, trying to sound casual but I’m sure it came out way too loud.

Rebecca pulled her sunglasses down, blinking at me. “Oh... um, hey, Luca. And…?” she added with a quick nod.

“This is Joe. A good friend of mine,” I told her. I awkwardly shuffled my feet in the sand. “Yeah, just, uh, thought we’d... you know, take a walk. Beach is nice, right?”

Maya, however, wasn’t paying as much attention to me. Instead, she was eyeing Joe, who had just dropped the beach ball and was now attempting to do a series of highly dramatic volleyball moves that probably looked more like interpretive dance than sports.

“I’m going to kill him,” I muttered under my breath, watching Joe flail about, trying to kick the ball in the air. It hit him square in the face, causing him to topple backward into the sand with an epic thud.

Rebecca burst out laughing, covering her mouth with her hand to stifle the sound. Maya was laughing too, but there was something more in her expression—an odd sparkle in her eyes. I caught her gaze for a second, and she looked... interested. Or maybe amused?

I turned to look at Joe, who was now laying dramatically in the sand like he’d just been shot by a sniper. “Joe, stop. You’re embarrassing me.”

Joe gave me a half-hearted thumbs up from the sand, clearly oblivious to the social nightmare he was creating.

“Are you sure this is your idea of casual?” Rebecca asked, amusement dancing in her eyes.

I threw my hands up in exasperation. “No! This is not how I planned it. I had a plan, I swear. But, you know, Joe kind of... ruined it. As usual.” I shot Joe a pointed look.

“A plan, huh?”

Oops. Busted.

Maya, still watching Joe like he was the most fascinating thing on the beach, leaned in toward Rebecca and whispered something in her ear.

I could see Rebecca raise an eyebrow at her, but before I could even process what was happening, Maya stood up and stretched, clearly preparing for some kind of action.

“Oh no, this is happening,” I muttered to myself.

“Alright, let’s see how much this guy’s got left in him,” Maya called out to Joe in a loud voice. “How about a match, big guy? But this time, no falling on your face?”

Rebecca looked at me, clearly amused, but there was something else in her gaze—something playful. “I think you might be on your own, Luca,” she teased. “Joe’s got a new admirer.”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “You’re not wrong,” I muttered, watching as Maya moved toward Joe. It was a bizarre sight. Maya had this air of total confidence, and Joe was clearly too oblivious to notice that Maya was, in fact, giving him her full attention.

To my surprise, Joe actually managed to pull himself together. Maya handed him the ball, and the two of them started playing an impromptu game of beach volleyball, albeit with some very unconventional rules that involved way too much laughter and very little actual volleyball.

Meanwhile, Rebecca and I stood awkwardly on the sidelines, trying to pretend like we weren’t both somewhat entertained by the ridiculousness unfolding in front of us.

“So…” I began, the words slipping out before I could think about them. “You’re leaving soon, huh?”

Rebecca’s smile faltered slightly, but she quickly covered it up. “Yeah, it’s coming to an end. It’s been nice though. Relaxing.”

There was a flicker of something in her eyes—regret, maybe? Or was I just imagining it ?

“I’m really glad I met you, Rebecca,” I said, suddenly serious. “This whole... whatever this is... has been more than I expected.”

She glanced up at me, her expression softening. “I’m glad I met you too, Luca.”

And then, before I could say anything else, Joe and Maya came crashing into us, covered in sand, both laughing uncontrollably. It was the perfect disaster.

I looked at Rebecca, both of us standing there, surrounded by chaos. Despite the awkwardness, the absurdity of the situation, I couldn’t help but think...

Maybe we weren’t so different after all.

But as the seconds ticked by, my babbo’s words floated back to me. I was running out of time to make my move.