I pull my car into a parking spot at Venice Beach. As I leave the car, my phone rings, and I look at the caller ID.

Charlie flashes across the screen, and I answer my phone.

Me: Hello, Charlie.

Charlie: We're sitting on the stairs close to the life-saver shed. Evan is here with his brother and girlfriend. Why didn't you tell me that they were going to be here?

Me: I called them after I got off the phone with you. I didn't want Evan to think I avoided him by not going home after work. He would have found out about the blackout, and then he would have worried about me.

Charlie: We all know how protective that boy is of you.

I laugh.

She's right, though. Evan is protective of me, but only of what he knows about.

I pick up my handbag from the passenger seat and put it over my shoulder. Locking the car, I head toward the Life-Saving shed, where everyone awaits me.

Evan is the first person I see. He turns around, and a smile graces his perfect face.

I run over to him and hug him. "I'm glad you're here."

Evan laughs. "Thank you for inviting me." He looks at Ethan and his girlfriend. "I thought I would be stuck with those two all day. They look so in love. Ethan can't keep his eyes off her."

I noticed that when they were at Evan's the other day. It's sweet, though.

Evan pulls away. "I brought your bikini. It's in the bag if you want to change."

I walk over to the bag. "I'm going to get changed."

Charlie walks over to me. "I'm coming with you."

We walk over to the dressing rooms, and I put on my white bikini and board shorts before I walk out.

A few people whistle as Charlie and I walk out.

Evan looks at the guys. "Shut up." He walks over to Charlie and me, wraps his arms around me, and kisses my head.

Someone's jealous of the attention I received from some strangers.

Charlie looks at the guys. "They're cute. I'm going over to say hi." She licks her lips and flips her hair a few times before walking to them.

I look at Shawn and Bradley. "You two better keep an eye on her. She's your responsibility."

"Yes, Madame." Shawn salutes me.

Smart ass.

I took Evan to the Beach. I put my towel on the ground. I pulled out the sun lotion and held it out to Evan. "Can you please put this on my back?"

"Sure." He takes the bottle from me. He squirts some lotion onto my back and massages it into my skin.

I feel relaxed as he applies the sun lotion.

A moan comes out of my mouth.

"Baby, you need to stop that."

I can't help it, as it feels so good. Another moan slips out.

"You're back is done," Evan says.

I turn around and see his boner through the boardshorts he's wearing. My eyes widen.

Evan looks down. "Shit,"

Ethan starts laughing. "Brother, you need to control yourself around Ari."

"Shut up." He runs over to the water, and I watch him walk further into the sea before he dives under a wave. He surfaces a few seconds later.

I finish putting sun lotion on before I run over to the water.

The water is freezing, and I begin to shiver. I see a wave come closer to me and dive underneath it.

Evan is a few metres before me, and I swim over to him. He looks at me. "At least now I don't need a cold shower. I have the ocean for that."

I laugh. "That's not my fault."

Ethan and his girlfriend swim over to us.

I look back on the shore and see Charlie walk over to the water with a group of guys.

Three of the five guys have surfboards with them.

I think they will try to impress her with their surfing talent.  Charlie hates surfers.

She used to tell me that she didn't see the point of it being a sport. All it is is a competition between men to prove who is better than the other, she said. It's such a turn-off.

Right now, I think she's eating her words as she watches one of the guys from the group stand up on his board as it takes him to the shore.

"Ariana?" Evan asks.

Turning towards him, I say. "Hmmm,"

"What are you thinking about?"

A smile spreads across my face. "I was thinking about all the times that Charlie told me she hated surfing." I point towards her. "Now, she's watching three of the five guys she's with surf. I wonder which one she's interested in?"

Evan laughs. "Who knows with your sister? She never could make up her mind about boys at school. I don't think she's changed that much."

He is probably right.

Growing up, Charlie used to have three guys around our place every month. She would move on to the next one when she got bored with the guy.

You're probably thinking that she's a slut, but that was never Charlie's style. She told me that she wanted to save herself for the guy who would be the father of her children, but she never met the guy. So, she's still playing the field. She did meet the one, for all she knew, but she didn't see it.

Over the years, she has seen one guy around a lot with her. She keeps telling us that they are friends. If you ask me, there's a spark between them, but Charlie is too blind to see it.

I hope that she wakes up before the guy moves on for good.

"Ariana," Evan yells.

I turn towards him and see a wave coming my way. I dive under the wave, and the current tosses and turns me around—it feels like I'm in a washing machine. I swim to the surface, see another massive wave crashing, and dive back under the water.

It happens three more times before I can surface without getting slammed by the waves. I start coughing from the water getting into my mouth. I wipe the water away from my eyes.

Evan swims over to me. "We should head in."

Yeah, we should. I have sand where sand shouldn't be, and it feels uncomfortable.

We swim to the shore.

Charlie runs over to me. "Are you okay, Ari? I saw you get slammed by the waves."

"I'm fine. I think it's time for me to get dressed. Do you want to come or will you entertain those boys longer?"

She shakes her head. "I'm coming with you."

Charlie and I walk over to the dressing room. "What's the time?"

I pull my phone out of my bag. "3:30."

"Damn it. I'm going to be late for dinner with Hayden. He's not going to be happy." She runs into the shower and quickly washes the sand off. "Can you take Shawn and Bradley home?"

"I can't. The car I drove fits only two people."

"Can you drive me home, and the boys can take my car home?'

"Okay,"

***