Being the Girl Next Door
Copyright© 2026 by Evie Olivia Niven
Chapter 5: A Stolen Kiss
The sun was bright, but beneath the shade of a large umbrella stuck into the sand, Xadrian wasn’t that bothered by it. Maybe ten feet away, Kaia and Jodie were spreading beach blankets out on the sand. He found himself staring at Kaia’s legs and was glad neither of them were paying any attention to him. It’s the same damn bikini she had on the other day, Xadrian thought, scowling. There’s no reason it should be even more fascinating today than it was then.
He watched as she stretched, settled on the blanket, and reached over for the bottle of sunscreen she’d left sitting on the sand. His hands itched with the desire to ask her if she wanted help. Xadrian rose slowly, uncertain if this was really a wise idea. Before he got very far, though, Carlos trotted across the sand and stopped before Kaia and Jodie. He crouched down beside Kaia and reached out to take the bottle from her.
“Carlos, you asshole!”
Great, Xadrian thought, turning to see Parker running towards them. Just great. He heard Kaia sigh and saw her shoulders slump. But while Parker and Carlos started into one of their famous squabbles, he saw something else that surprised him. Jodie sat huddled on her blanket, looking miserable and alone. She can be a little annoying, but she’s just as pretty as Kaia, Xadrian thought, making his way over to the blanket. Why do these two imbeciles always ignore her completely? He found himself feeling bad for Jodie, and that was weird.
“Would you like some help with that?” Xadrian asked, as he crouched beside her.
Jodie looked at him, blinking in surprise. “Me?”
“Yes, you,” Xadrian replied, rolling his eyes. “I mean ... well, I just thought ... never mind.”
“No, wait,” Jodie said, grabbing his wrist before he could get up and leave. She smiled at him. “I’d appreciate that.”
She handed him her bottle of sunscreen. Xadrian settled in the sand behind her. Sad as this is, he thought, but this is the most I’ve touched a girl in twenty-three years. In some ways, taking care of his mother had made him grow up very fast, but when it came to anything social, he usually felt like he was stuck permanently at thirteen. He was rubbing sunscreen over Jodie’s shoulders when he realized that Kaia was watching him. She glanced up at Carlos and Parker, and her eyes lit up mischievously.
“Xadrian,” Kaia said, “would you help me too, when you’re done with Jodie?”
Carlos and Parker got very silent. Xadrian ducked his head to hide a grin. Serves the two oafs right, he thought. Why has neither of them ever shown any interest in Jodie, anyway? He’d always been a bit confused about that. Even though he’d always found both of them annoying, he figured if they liked one annoying girl, then why not the other? Of course, that was when I was sure of everything, Xadrian thought, frowning. That was when I was convinced that I thought Kaia was annoying.
“Kaia...” Carlos began.
Kaia held up a hand, forestalling him. “I don’t want to hear it right now. Would you please just leave me alone for a bit?”
Surprisingly enough, Carlos left without protest. Parker hung around, looking huffy, until Xadrian started rubbing sunscreen on Kaia’s back. Thank god for baggy shorts, Xadrian thought. This is pathetic ... Her skin was soft and warm, and it felt good beneath his hands. Both girls smiled at him more warmly than they ever had before. I bet Kaia never thought she’d be the least irritated by me, he thought wryly.
“I was beginning to wonder if I’d turned invisible all of a sudden,” Jodie said, rolling her eyes.
“I wish I was invisible,” Kaia said emphatically. “Thanks, Xadrian. That was surprisingly diplomatic of you.”
Xadrian shrugged, looking away. “Always glad to help, if it means pissing them off,” he muttered.
He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up in surprise. Kaia was smiling, her blue eyes lit with warmth. Does she see right through me? Xadrian wondered. Or does she just choose to believe I was being friendly? He wasn’t about to forget the kiss she’d given him for his kindness, even if it had only been a small kiss on the cheek. A part of him was wondering if there would be more kisses if he continued behaving himself. This has to stop, Xadrian decided, pushing himself to his feet. I’m going to go crazy.
He left the two of them there and headed down the beach. Xadrian found himself a nice nook beneath a jutting rock and settled there, under the shade. He watched Kaia and Jodie, who were talking animatedly to one another. They always seemed to be having fun when they talked together. It reminded him of middle school and high school, when he’d sat at a table far from everyone else and envied all those groups of friends. I need to figure out what I want from this, Xadrian thought. Hopefully sometime before the summer is over.
The sun was slowly beginning to set. Kaia had escaped to the little hidden cove, the one only she and Xadrian knew about. Carlos had pretty much disappeared, but Parker had been sulking around all day. I’d kill him, if I didn’t suspect something else was bothering him, she thought, sighing. He’s been really distracted and unsettled since the beach. Of course, that didn’t mean Kaia had to put up with it. She’d spent a fairly pleasant day with Jodie, then came out to the cove to be alone for a bit.
Is Carlos mad at me? she wondered, chewing at her lower lip. Is that why he’s been gone all day? He was still her friend, after all, and she hated arguing with her friends. Kaia hated arguing with anyone, really. She had decided a long time ago that it wasn’t worth the headache, and with a group of people who had grown up in the same neighborhood, there were bound to be arguments anyway. They had known each other too long, seen too many things together.
Shuffling behind her made her turn. Xadrian had just slipped between the rocks, but he paused when he saw her. Kaia smiled at him, beckoning for him to join her. Of all of them, she was least bothered by him at the moment. She liked that he’d noticed Jodie being left out this morning and had offered to help. Although Xadrian might play it off as wanting to piss off Carlos and Parker, if he’d wanted to do that, he would have offered Kaia the help.
“If I’m bothering you...” Xadrian began.
Kaia shook her head. “Not at all. You never do when we’re out here.” She paused for a moment and patted the surface of the rock next to her. “Come here for a minute.”
Xadrian eyed her warily for a moment, then climbed up onto the rock next to her. It was large enough for the two of them, although it didn’t fit them both so easily as it had when they were little. Kaia was quiet for a while, watching the sun turn red and bleed orange and purple into the clouds. I wonder what it was like forty, fifty years ago or more, she thought, as she stared up at the sunset. When there wasn’t all this pollution in the air ... what did the sun look like then? Kaia remembered hearing her grandparents talking about it.
“Why have you never told Jodie about this place?” Xadrian asked suddenly, startling her.
Kaia shrugged. “Everyone wants to be completely alone sometimes. You’re the only person who wouldn’t come here looking for me.”
“Look, um ... about this morning...” Xadrian began hesitantly. “I just wanted to uh ... to...”
“Xadrian.” Kaia turned to look at him. He was looking away from her, staring down at the sand. She reached over, resting her hand against his cheek and turned his face towards hers. Those amazing eyes widened in surprise. “Whatever you’re going to say, maybe you shouldn’t,” she murmured. “It seemed to me like you were being friendly, and to be honest with you, I like thinking of you that way.”
Some girl will be very lucky one day, she thought, getting to stare up into those eyes all the time. It seemed to Kaia as though her perceptions of all her friends were suddenly changing this summer. Even Xadrian seemed different. Are they changing, or am I? she wondered, her fingers catching a strand of dark hair that had come loose from his ponytail. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. Kaia didn’t even realize what she was doing until Xadrian leaned his cheek against her hand.
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