Hidden Treasure

“Lily,” Hana sighed after taking a swig of her beer.

Lily looked up from her phone after checking the time and shoved it back in her pocket.

“Why don’t you just call him?” Hana asked.

Lily’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Hana lips fell into a smirk as she said, “Seriously? You’ve checked your phone every two minutes. If you’re so worried about him not being here yet, call him.”

“No thank you,” Lily smiled. “I’m just checking to see if he texted me for directions or something.”

“Mhm,” Hana replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she turned her attention back to Brendan, her boyfriend.

Lily tried to hide the embarrassment of getting caught checking her phone so often. Truth be told, it was kind of unsettling that Alex hadn’t arrived at the bonfire yet. He seemed to be looking forward to another opportunity to hang out just as much as she was, which was why her stomach was churning when it was fifteen minutes past the time he said he’d be there and he was nowhere to be seen. She could only hope he didn’t change his mind and chose to blow her off instead. However, not being one fond of dramatics, she chose to be patient and enjoy herself until he decided to show up.

After a few rounds of jokes with her friends, Reef, one of her oldest friends, looked behind her and shouted, “Spiderman!”

Everyone turned, expecting to see someone in a superhero costume, but when all the eyes landed on Alex, his face grew hot with embarrassment.

“Hey!” Lily squealed and leapt from her seat, rushing to Alex and pulling him into a hug.

“Hey,” he smiled down at her once she pulled away.

“I was beginning to wonder if you were still coming.”

“I’m sorry,” he shook his head. “Work stuff.”

“No worries,” she shrugged, really just glad he was there. “Is everything okay?”

“I’m getting better now,” he smiled sheepishly.

Lily grinned bashfully and had to look down at her feet for a second to compose herself. “Spiderman?”

Alex chuckled and adjusted his backwards ball cap, nodding to the concierge that knew him by his alias. “Yeah. I wasn’t expecting to hang out with the hotel staff when I made my reservation. I guess my cover is blown.”

“Oh,” Lily nodded, her mouth staying in the ‘o’ position for a moment. “Sorry you have to slum it with us.”

“No, I didn’t say-“ Alex started but had to stop speaking to cut off the gasp that almost fell out when she took his hand in hers.

“I’m kidding,” she winked as she lead him back to the fire.

“Everyone,” she shouted over the chatter. “This is Alex.”

The group chimed in with a “Hi, Alex” and Lily went around the circle, naming them all for him. Almost immediately, Alex felt welcome, but he couldn’t shake the judgmental stares coming from Kai, the tall, tan skinned, dark haired, muscle machine that seemed less than thrilled to meet him. His dark brown eyes followed Alex’s every move and although it made him a little uncomfortable, he decided to ignore it the best he could. After all, he wasn’t there for him.

“So, Alex, where are you from?” Hana asked.

“Originally, Baltimore. Currently, Los Angeles.”

“Oh shit,” Reef chuckled. “You know any famous people?”

“A few,” Alex shrugged.

“You know Scarlet Johansen?” he asked, but before Alex could respond, he said, “If you have her number in your phone I will do unmentionable things for it.”

The group laughed and Alex shook his head. “Sorry, man. I don’t know anyone that famous.”

“Not even any famous musicians?” Lily chimed in.

Alex pursed his lips together, racking his brain for an A-list name. “Honestly, the most famous person I can think of that I’m close friends with is Mark Hoppus.”

“What?!” Brendan and Reef said in unison.

“You’re close friends with one of the godfathers of pop punk music?!” Brendan asked.

“Yeah,” Alex laughed with a shrug. “I guess I am.”

“Man,” Reef groaned. “I’m so jealous, dude. How did you meet him?”

“Through work,” Alex nodded.

“Which is?” Hana asked.

Alex and Lily exchanged glances as he stammered over a response. She knew he wasn’t in the mood to advertise his career, so she tried to come up with something to take the heat off him.

“Event planning, right?” she asked. “Like, booking shows for different venues?”

Alex smiled, thankful for her quick and sensible answer. “Yeah, that’s it.”

“Man,” Reef groaned again with more emphasis. “I’m so fucking jealous, bro. You must meet some pretty dope people. You’re so lucky.”

“I guess so,” Alex said quietly, his lips in a flat line of a smile.

The conversation and alcoholic beverages flowed throughout the night. Lily could tell Alex was enjoying himself and she mentally thanked her friends for being so welcoming. He was the first she’d invited to hang out with her friends and she was glad she wasn’t regretting the decision to do so. It was obvious one of them wasn’t interested in making friends with Alex, but Kai was Kai, and there wasn’t anything she could do to change him.

The topic of conversation flipped to surfing, something Alex was clueless about, but he couldn’t get enough of Lily’s enthusiasm over it. Her eyes instantly lit up in the fire light and her smile spread from ear to ear. He probably could have sat and listened to her talk about it forever.

“You surf?” Kai asked him, and hearing his deep voice for the first time made Alex jump.

“No,” he said. “I wish I could though. It sounds awesome.”

“I’ll teach you!” Lily chirped. “I’ll have you surfing like a pro in no time.”

“Unless you can teach me in one day,” Alex chuckled. “I’m a slow learner and tomorrow is my last full day here.”

“Aw, sorry, Lil,” Kai said sarcastically, a sly smile pulling on his lips.

Lily ignored his remark and turned back to Alex. “You’ve never been taught by me, though. One day is all I need.”

Shrugging, Alex said, “I’m down if you’re up for the challenge.”

“Challenge accepted, my friend,” she winked, bringing her bottle back up to her pink lips.

The conversation picked back up among the group, and Alex was thankful to have to excuse himself from the blistering stares coming from Kai to take a phone call from Jack. Lily watched him while he was on the phone and although he was a good few yards away she could tell by his body language that he was agitated by what he was hearing. She picked up two fresh bottles of beer and walked over to him after he hung up.

“Everything okay?” she asked.

Alex nodded and took the beer she offered to him thankfully.

She winced at his obvious discomfort and said, “Come on, let’s take a walk.”

He nodded and followed her as they walked at a slow pace down the beach.

“So, spill,” Lily finally said after a few seconds of walking in silence. “Every time you get off the phone regarding ‘work stuff’, you’re all tense and unhappy looking. What’s up?”

Alex sighed heavily as he shook his head. “I kind of left without telling anyone where I was going. They’re just losing their fucking minds without me.”

“Can you just do that?” Lily asked. “Randomly leave your job to go on vacation for a while without telling anyone?”

“I don’t know, but I did it anyway,” Alex chuckled.

Lily rolled her eyes with a giggle. “Are they mad at you?”

“’Outraged’ is more like it.”

“But did you need to do it?” she asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Was it vital that you did what you did? What would have happened if you didn’t?”

“Honestly,” he said with a wince, because he’d yet to admit this to himself yet and admitting it to her first made him feel vulnerable, “I probably would have quit the band.”

“So, in theory, you’re doing them a favor,” she smiled. “It’s much harder to replace a beloved band member than it is to go without him for a week.”

“I guess,” he shrugged. “I just wish they’d stay off my ass and let me have this time to myself.”

“Here’s my thing: from a professional standpoint, I get why they would be mad. But from a human being with needs standpoint, I see why you did what you did, too. If this is what you needed, then so be it. Do what you have to do. Your job is never going to be more important than you as a person and your mental state. I think you did the right thing.”

“Thanks,” Alex smiled. “You are the first person that’s supported this decision without hesitation.”

Lily smiled sweetly back. “I just hope you found what you came here for.”

With a heavy sigh and a shrug, he said, “I found some of it. I guess I just needed more than one week to find all of it.”

Her stomach flopped down to her feet, guilt brewing throughout her being. “If I’ve been distracting you, I’m so sorry. Don’t worry about learning to surf tomorrow. You should-“

“No,” Alex laughed, cutting her off. “No, you haven’t been distracting me. You’ve actually helped a lot.”

“I have?” she blushed.

Nodding, he said, “Yeah. Sure, I came looking for peace and tranquility, but it got lonely pretty quickly. If anything, you’ve been distracting me from all the other bullshit and helping me find what I need.”

As hard as she tried, she couldn’t contain the butterflies from fluttering around in her gut. “Imagine what I could help you find in two weeks.”

The words she’d just spoken resonated with him, echoing through the chamber of his brain. It was enough to bring his trek beside her to a slow halt.

Can I stay another week? No, don’t be such an idiot. Keith would track me down and murder me. Oh, but fuck Keith. Can I stay another week? Would she want me to? Do I want to? Hell yeah, I want to. Look at her. Can I really stay another week? I can spare another week, right? What about Jack? He can handle it, can’t he? If I go back now I’ll still be miserable. I’m more important than my job. Can I stay another week?

“Are…you okay?” Lily asked, bringing his inner monologue with himself to silence.

After a moment, he nodded slowly and said, “I think I’m going to stay another week.”

Her eyes flew wide open at his words. “R-really? You are?”

“Yeah,” he nodded, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. “I’m gonna stay another week.”

“But won’t you get in trouble?” she asked, the fireworks going off inside her causing her to stutter a little.

“Maybe,” he nodded again. “Most likely, actually, but I don’t care.”

Lily studied him for a moment before a wide smile crept onto her face. “You’re sure?”

“If I go back now I’ll just be stuffed in a hotel room surrounded by people that drive me batshit crazy until tour starts. At least here I’ll be stuffed in a hotel room with a beautiful view and company.”

Her smile pulled on her lips even harder and she felt like her face might crack. “Did you just call me beautiful?” she asked quietly.

“Did you not already know that you are?” he responded, matching her tone.

Her insides felt like they were being lit up by a million sparklers as she tried to contain her blush. “So, it’s settled? You’re staying another week?”

“Yep,” he nodded.

“I will warn you, though, if you do stay, I won’t allow you to sit in your hotel room the whole time. I’m going to have you out every day experiencing the island as a local only knows how.”

“Fucking deal,” he scoffed with a smile.

Notes