“You’re thinking of going with Lee?” Mason asks.
I nod. “I want to experience her way of life.”
“I can already see it,” Mason chuckles. “Lee with her own restaurant, and Lake’s eating all her profits.”
“Fuck off,” I laugh while elbowing him in the ribs.
Mason ruffles my hair, and when we look out over the valley below, he says, “There’s always the private jet.”
“Worst case scenario we’ll plan our yearly vacations so we can spend it together,” Falcon adds.
“Yeah,” I whisper.
A couple of minutes later, Falcon says, “It’s time for a new pact.”
“We have to talk to each other at least once a day,” Mason says.
“This coming from the future president of CRC. You’re going to be balls deep in work,” Falcon jokes.
“At least once a week,” I murmur, “and not just a call. I want to see your faces.”
“Definitely,” Mason agrees.
“If one of us needs the other two, we have to be there for him,” Mason says.
“Are you going to tell Kingsley to hold off on giving birth while you fly over to Lake?” Falcon asks, and it might sound funny, but the question just shines a huge spotlight on the reality we have to face.
Mason lets out a heavy sigh. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” I whisper. “Fuck.”
“Our friendship has lasted twenty-two years,” Falcon murmurs. “We’ll find a way to make it last another forty-four years.”
“You planning on dying at sixty-six?” Mason asks, smacking Falcon upside the head.
“No, I plan on retiring, and we can all do that in the same place even if it’s on a damn island.”
“Now that’s a good idea,” I say, the corner of my mouth lifting into a smile.
“So, I have a question,” Mason says.
“Yeah?”
“Aren’t there typhoons on that side of the world?” he asks.
“Isn’t that similar to a hurricane?” Falcon asks.
“Hell if I know, but I’m sure we’ll be fine. Lee will know what to do.”
“You better be fine. I don’t want to switch on the TV and see your ass clinging to a tree on the eight O’clock news,” Mason grumbles.Lee“We have to wash our faces twice. I like using this oil cleanser and then the green tea foam one,” I say, my eyes on our reflections in the mirror.
Kingsley leans forward and grins at Layla, “See, I told you.”
The guys left early this morning to go surf while Layla and Kingsley came over so I could show them the Korean ten-step skincare routine.
When we’re done washing our faces, I pick up a bottle of toner and squirt some onto a cotton pad.
“I like these,” Kingsley says, rubbing her fingers over one of the pads.
“Just dab the toner on,” I say. “Don’t wipe.”
By the time we get to step six, which is when we put on facial masks, Layla falls back on the couch and shuts her eyes. “I’m napping for the next twenty minutes.”
“Now you sound like Lake,” Kingsley says while she sits down on one of the pillows on the floor. “Actually, I haven’t seen him napping much the last couple of days.”
“It’s because Lee’s here,” Layla mumbles. “The dude has to impress her.”
“Lake likes sleeping?” I ask. I position another pillow close to Kingsley and sit down.
Kingsley gets a mischievous look on her face, and Layla sits up so fast, the mask almost falls off.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Kingsley asks her.
Layla nods then scoots down to the floor. “So, what would you like to know about Lake?”
A wide smile splits over my face wrinkling the mask, which makes Kingsley snort. She points a finger at me as she falls back, and more laughter explodes from her. Between gasping for air and laughing, she manages to say, “From eighteen… to eighty… in less than… a second.”
When we stop laughing, I say, “Maybe I should ask him everything I want to know.”
“Actually, now that I think about it,” Kingsley murmurs as she glances at Layla, “Lake’s practically perfect.”
Layla nods. “He is.”
“Then why the hell did I fall for Mason?” Kingsley asks which has Layla cracking up.
Layla first catches her breath before she gives Kingsley an affectionate look. “Because your crazy plays well with his crazy.”
“Oh yes,” Kingsley grins a head-over-heels look on her face. “I fell in love with him when he said that.”
I glance at Layla and ask, “When did you fall in love with Falcon?”
A beautiful smile spreads over her face, and then she whispers, “He kissed me like he was poisoned, and I was his only cure.”
“U-wa,” I murmur.
Kingsley looks at me and tilting her head she says, “I wonder what your and Lake’s headline will be.”LakeAs my surfboard glides through the water, I feel the spray on my face.
This is exactly what we needed. Just the ocean and us while the sun is rising.
“Ahhh! Fuck!”
Yeah, and Mason crashing face-first into the water.
I smile as I ride the wave all the way to the end. It’s moments like this when my heart’s pounding in my chest and excitement’s rushing through my veins, that I feel alive.