Chapter 274

You picked up your bags from your place, then headed over to Gemma’s and Sabrina went up while you stayed with the car. First, to make sure no one tried to steal your shit or key it or something - Gemma didn’t live in a particularly bad area, but with such a nice car people could go out of their way to be dicks. You and Sabrina had both been in a pre-Law class that had been all about small claims court cases - it had been really funny at times, but also pretty depressing at how dickish random people could be to each other.

The other obvious reason to stay downstairs was so that you wouldn’t run into Lucy.

Gemma came down with a similar duffle bag to Sabrina’s and while she did brighten at the sight of the car, she wasn’t as shocked as you had been, which told you that Sabrina had told her about it. Or maybe they had planned it together.

You took Gemma’s bag from her and put it in the trunk, and then she wrapped her arms around your neck and pulled you into a deep kiss as she stood up on the curb for that little bit of extra height to bring you almost eye to eye.

Sabrina was driving, since she had the insurance filled out in her name, and Gemma insisted that you sat in the front seat while she took the back. You kept the soft top up until you were on the freeway out of the city, then pulled over and got it lowered before continuing on. The drive was fun, and the three of you took turns picking music to blast into the wind and sing along to. You’d planned the drive ahead of time and took a short detour to hit up a Barbecue place that had been featured on one of those Food Network ‘Gotta Eat Here’ kind of shows, and afterwards you took your chance to insist that Gemma sit in the front seat for a bit. The back was a little cramped for your legs, but seeing Gemma’s blonde hair in the wind and the way she was smiling and would occasionally grab Sabrina’s hand was worth it.

You ended up reaching the beachfront town late - it was a town of maybe 15,000 people, so not very big at all, and was almost entirely made up of the tourist industry serving the beach from Spring through early Fall. Sabrina did a little detour down the main entertainment street across the beachfront and it was nicely lit up with hanging lights, and while the shops and restaurants were closed, there were almost half a dozen bars that were open and bustling with business. In the dark of the evening, you could only really see the closest reflection of the lights on the waves, but you could definitely smell the fresh salt of the ocean and hear the soft crash of the waves.

Sabrina backtracked a bit and you pulled up into the driveway of the Air B&B just before midnight, and you quickly texted the owner that you had arrived. They texted back the unlock code for the front door and wished you a good stay, and you sent the girls inside to check the place out while you loaded up your shoulders with their duffle bags and your own before following them.

The plan was for all of your friends to drive up the following morning, so you, Gemma and Sabrina had the run of the place for the evening. When you walked in you frowned when you kicked off your shoes and saw a shirt lying on the floor. But right past that was another one, and past that was a bra that you distinctly recognized as belonging to Gemma.