::Unsuspected Surprise::

[tillie]

Tillie stretched her lean body out on the bright printed over sized beach towel. It had been been one of the goodies that was in her bag. Ella had drug them all out to California to attempt to ease everyone's stress. Ella made it seem like she was giving Patrick an opportunity to handle the boys and for her to handle the girls. Tillie knew better though. Patrick was upset with Ella, and it hurt Ella to be around him.

Not that they hadn't been having fun, because they had. No one would have even notice Ella's casual moments of fading out, or even the constant checking for new messages on her phone. No one but Tillie. Ella was putting on a brave face. Tillie would let her.

She raised her arms and laced her fingers together, bringing them down under her head. Now. Back to their goodie bags. They had each received a brand new bathing suit and large unbelievably soft towel. A nice pair of sunglasses, her's being overly large which she loved, new sandals, matching gaudy rings that she actually liked, but was sure that it was meant for a joke, and matching stick on tattoo's. Ella had laughed at that one.

She smiled. Her dark green butterfly style glasses shading her bright green eyes from the warm sun. Tillie wasn't blessed with the full figure that most of the other females from the pack had. It wasn't exactly like she had nothing to work with, because she did. just not as much as everyone else. When they said less is more, they had been teasing her.

She loved her new bathing suit. She had even bought a pretty new emerald green belly button ring to match. Tillie never really wore a lot of green, but the girls seemed to think that it made her eyes pop. When you are hanging around a group full of beautiful women who are all older and more appealing than you, you do what you must.

Tillie giggles softly to herself. Ah, the girls. She was sure that they were all still tucked away sleeping. It was still early, but not too early. The sun was nice and warm on her face and the beach wasn't too crowded. She would have woke them all up, but then again. She had always been the early riser of the group.

She just laid back and enjoyed the view. They would be going home soon and she wanted to enjoy as much of the beach as she can.

Tillie's Bathing Suit

[nadian]

Somewhere between surfing and grabbing his second set of chilli dogs from that one Mexican vendor’s stand, Jake had lost his left flip flop. For a normal person, this shouldn’t be much of a bother- hey, just get a new one. But when you were 6’8, with a size fifteen shoe that was only available from online stores, well… sometimes his height was an absolute curse. But other times, it was blessing. Volleyball, for instance.

Jake crouched again, right in front of the net. A group of volleyball players had snagged him for a game that had quickly turn into three, but he was having fun. Placed right in front of the net, it was easy to just smack the ball back onto the other side. That, and intimidate whatever poor should happened to be directly opposite him. A tiny droplet of sweat creeped down from his temple along the bridge of his nose to the tip. Jake shook his head fiercely, shaking it off. Here we go.

But the server put too much power in the hit, and when Jake lunged up to catch the ball, it glanced off his fingertips. The volleyball flew wide, and smashed into the sand right next to wear a girl in an emerald bikini was lounging, sending grit spraying all over her. Jake went running after to retrieve the ball and apologize.

“Hey, man, I am so sorry that that happened, are you okay? The ball went wide and- oh wait! Tillie? That you?” The worried expression that had been knitting the blonde’s brows together suddenly split into a wide, exited grin as recognition kicked in. “It is you! Wow, Tillie, how’ve you been?”

[tillie]

Tillie had been preoccupied with her day dreaming. There was something about being back in California that made her feel at home. She had no home here, at least not anymore. But she had pushed those demons back a long time ago.

She didn't pay any attention to the group playing volleyball to the side of her. She didn't notice the intense game that was taking place. She didn't even notice the ball flying toward her until it was too late.

The ball pummeled into the sand beside her sending gritty glitter all over her. She opened her mouth in an astonished laugh. She hopped up quickly, brushing the grit away from her body as best she could. She laughed hopelessly. She had just oiled up on sun tanner. Tillie?

She looked up at the boy and laughed. She was staring at a familiar bronzed face. His unruly blond hair and striking blue eyes made her laugh even more. He was exactly the same. "JAKE!"

Tillie flung her arms around him. It had been almost a year since she had ran into anyone that she used to know. Jake Sandler had been one of her favorite people. Whenever she needed an early morning surf session or needed to find the best party to crash on a Friday night, Jake had always been fail safe. She giggled softly. "I have been great!"

She pulled away from him, brushing her lips across his cheek for a quick kiss. She bent down and picked the ball up. She tossed it back in forth in her hands a few times before tossing it back to him. "It is so awesome that I got to see you while I was here! Go finish your volley ball game and then come catch up with me."

She eased herself back onto the towel, but remained sitting up. "I'll be your cheerleader."

[nadian]

Jake burst with surprised laughter as the girl literally flung herself at him. It was quite a feet too, as she jumped up high enough to link her arms around his shoulders. He finally set the bubbly girl down, a bright blush spreading across his cheeks from the kiss despite the familiarity of the person. She handed the volleyball back to him- he had dropped it when she glomped him in greeting- and he began edging slowly back to the court.

“Are… are you sure? I could always just step out, you know..,” but he was already back in his spot, the lure of sports calling to his blood. She was exactly the same as he remembered her- simply an optimistic ray of sunshine that no cloud could dampen. He made sure to really put his effort into the remainder of the game, a part of him naturally wanting to show off for her. Tillie's happy laughter and shrieks made it easy.

The game was over in a few points and he dismissed himself from the other players, coming back to Tillie with a silly, sideways grin plastered across his face. “We won,” he said simply, dropping down heavily down into the sand at her side. He shook his mane of hair out of his face and reached across her for the bottle of water that was lying next to her beach bag.

“So what’s this then, you’re here for a vacation? What’ve you been up to all this time?” Jake asked as he unscrewed the cap to the bottle. Tossing his head back and leaning on one arm, he guzzled the water away.

[tillie]

Tillie watched him play the remainder of his game. She was true to her word and cheered him and his team on. She clapped her hands when the game was over. She had been watching him carefully. If he had been trying to show off for her, it hadn't gone unnoticed. Tillie mentally shrugged. If someone paints a masterpiece it is meant to be looked at.

She beamed at him as he walked over and plopped down beside her. She nudged him with her shoulder. "You always win Jake." She laughed and brushed the hair away from his eyes. It was pointless. both of their attempts had been in vain. "You need a hair cut babe.' She tapped her finger against his nose softly. "No one can see your lovely eyes."

She lay back onto the towel, leaning slightly against him. She liked the comfortable familiarity. She watched him down her water before answering. She laughed softly. All this time? It had barely been a year. She hadn't realized how much she had missed everyone until seeing him.

She sighed softly. "In Paris." She placed her hand over her heart and pretended to swoon. She giggled. "I live there, for the time being." That comment made her frown slightly. With everything that was going on she didn't know how much longer their pack was going to stay together. It made her sad to think of it, so she pushed the thought away.

Tillie brightened when she looked back up at him. "I was kinda adopted by this couple while I was traveling through Paris. They take in a lot of..." She thought carefully about what she wanted to say. She didn't want to give too much away. "They take in a lot of travelers. I was only staying for a while, but now I don't know if I could ever leave them. I absolutely adore them. Ella, thought that it would be fun to drag all of us girls here for a few days of fun in the sun." She laughed. They had been having fun. Mostly at her expense. They meant no harm, they just loved to tease her and she didn't mind in the slightest.

She wouldn't go into details about her new family unless he asked. She tended to get excited about things and talk people's ears off. Jake knew that though, and she was trying to refrain from boring him. Plus. She really didn't know what she could say without freaking him out. "We're only her for two more days. I'm not sure that I will be ready to go back. I miss the sun and the beach." She giggled again and attempted to move the hair from his eyes. "I miss watching pretty boys like you frolic about. There are very few tan boys running around half naked in Paris."

She shifted on the towel to lay on her tummy. She lifted her legs and crossed her ankles. "What have you been doing with your self Jake, other than growing." She looked down the length of him. "How tall are you now?" He had always been taller than most, but he seemed to have grown in the year that she had been gone. Maybe it had just been to long since she had seen him.