“What did the ad say again?” Graham asked as he ran his hand through his hair.
“Comfortable house on the shores of Malibu, sleeps ten,” Rennie muttered.
“Maybe ten outside,” one of Graham’s roommates quipped.
“Maybe there’s more around the corner.” Rennie spoke with optimism. She refused to believe what she saw. There was no way she’d fallen for a con. Yet, with each step she took into the house, her demeanor changed. What she saw when she opened the front door was it. The house was nothing more than a shack. She turned to her group of friends and tried to smile. “At least we don’t have to walk far to the beach.”
People grumbled. Some talked about getting their money back, but it was Graham who took her into his arms and told her everything was going to be okay. “Why don’t we head to the store and see if there are any tents or pop-up shelters.”
“And chairs and a cooler, because we don’t have those either,” someone yelled while another added, “And I’m not paying any more money.”
She could never ask anyone to give more than they already had. This was her fault. She should’ve driven out and inspected the place before she sent the owner money through Western Union. She was too trusting, something she would have to work on before law school.
Graham and Rennie drove to the nearest store, the one that had every possible inflatable toy somehow pinned to the storefront. Inside, Rennie walked up and down each aisle, trying to find everything they would need. There were ten of them now, but she knew others were coming. She filled her arms with air mattresses, Koozies, and a couple of inflatable chairs. When she caught up with Graham, he had five or so bags of ice in his arms, and he pushed Styrofoam coolers with his foot.
“What are we doing?” She sighed.
“Making a bad situation better.”
“I feel so stupid.” Rennie wanted to cry. She wanted to go back to her dorm room and hide until school started.
“Don’t. You didn’t know.”
When they returned, Graham took over. He told the group that if they were uncomfortable with the accommodations, they could leave, but that they were all responsible because they had all agreed when Rennie read them the ad. Rennie smiled. Graham had a way of making her feel better. After she unpacked everything, she found the courage to tell her friends, “If you want to use one of the air mattresses, you’re responsible for blowing it up.” A few grumbled, but in the end, everyone did their part.
“Come on.” Graham took Rennie’s hand and pulled her behind him. He had on his wet suit, and the arms slapped his butt with each step he took. They walked toward the surf, trudging through the sand.
“You’re not going to try and teach me again, are you?” she asked when they stopped by a surfboard.
Graham laughed. “No, I lost count of how many times you’ve fallen off the board. I thought we’d go out and just sit for a bit.” He took the board from the sand and dropped it into the water. Rennie climbed on and sat cross-legged toward the front while Graham pushed them out into the water and finally slid onto the board.
They were quiet for a while, each lost in their own thoughts as the waves moved them around. Up and down. Up and down. For Rennie, being on the surfboard like this was almost like a carnival ride, except waves were unpredictable.
“You can’t let our friends get to you,” Graham said. She turned and faced him.
“I know. I feel bad, though.”
He shrugged and scooted closer to her. He reached for her hand, and she gave it willingly. This weekend they would be more than friends; she was sure of it. “I don’t like seeing you sad, Ren.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. Their kiss deepened, and their hands tangled in each other’s hair. That was until a wave washed over them. Rennie and Graham laughed, but the tone had been set for the weekend. They were both single and could finally be together.
Rennie startled at the sound of a door slamming. Her lips tingled. A reaction from the memory? Or something else? She couldn’t be sure. She looked over her shoulder to see who headed her way, but no one was there. She sat back in the chair and continued to push herself back and forth as she watched the man out on the beach take a break from surfing.
She checked her phone, expecting a text from Theo, but there was nothing. Her parents had replied to her earlier message. They sent her a picture of them holding a koala bear and wished her a happy Thanksgiving and asked that she wish Brooklyn and Brystol one as well. They passed along the name of their travel agent and suggested Simone take the cruise they were taking in March to Europe. Rennie frowned at the idea, mostly because she would like to spend some time with them but couldn’t fault them for living their lives.