Page 309 of As the Rain Falls
“What?” She pouts. “It’s the truth!”
I shake my head and kiss her again to shut her up before they start arguing and things get out of hand.
Mygirlfriendsighs deeply, relaxing and falling against me, and my stomach does that weird thing it often does whenever she’s around.
I think I hear Mateo gag.
***
The sun is coming down, and I’m walking back to the shore after spending an hour or so surfing.Some guys are dancing near the shore toSweatby Inner Circle. They give me a thumbs up.
“Little fish in the water, eh?”
I grin. “Yeah, it’s getting cold, though!”
“A la la la la long!”
The tide is low, a blue ocean filled with smaller waves that are perfect for the children. I see a few of them running wildly around me, trying to jump over them whenever the water comes around.
“Yo Beckett, who are you betting on?” Antony yells out.
My friends are playing poker, or at least I think they’re trying to. I’m not allowed to be part of the game anymore, mainly because poker is a lot less about bluffing and a lot more about probabilities to me. It really drives Antony insane how I can’t stop being logical, but at least I’m not the one losing money. In fact, he is.
“He’s betting on me!” Cassandra shouts while waving at me.
“Oi, that’s not fair! He’s always betting on her!” Antony starts complaining, but I tune him out to drop the surfboard.
“Catch me!”
It falls over the damp sand, right on time for me to catch her.
I open my arms, and she runs towards me with golden hair flying down her back.Her body hits mine, making me take afew steps back. Grains of sand splatter over my legs, dirtying my shorts.
“My tongue gets tied, and that’s no lie. I’m looking in your eyes!”
I kiss the top of her cheek.
Her kiss tastes like the ocean.
“She’s a winner!” I yell back, making sure to remind him of the fact. “Cassandra won three times; you didn’t!”
“That’s because she cheats!”
“There’s no way to cheat in poker.”
Cassandra glows.
She fucking glows.
“The game is all about bluffing!”
MATCHING WITH MY GIRLFRIEND!
Beckett
FEBRUARY, 2017
It’s the first dayof Le Port’s Carnival season.
