[for Chase]

[learnfromthem]

It's probably a stupid idea to bring Lucky halfway across the Island just because I know Chase likes him, but it's probably not half as stupid as coming all the way out here in the first place.

God, why does he have to live in the middle of nowhere?

I'm sweaty and gross by the time I corral both Lucky and lunch out to the treehouse, more than tempted to just find a place somewhere out on the beach and eat alone than grace anyone with my presence, but I figure, hey, I already committed this far to my stupid idea, so he'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm less than my perfect self at the moment.

It's not like this is a date. It's just a surprise lunch. Friends have surprise lunches all the time.

All the time.

"Chase, I swear to God, you better be in there!"

Comments

[apoorupbringing]

"Woah, what?" Chase called down from an open window, the slatted bamboo shade propped outward to allow maximum airflow.

"Is that the dulcet sound of my favorite person's voice?"

He grinned a little as he leaned out the window just far enough for the action to be slightly unsafe, and his face lit up when he spotted the pair.

"It is! Lucky, come here you awesome hunk of dog!"

Old Lace slipped out of the cooler brush at the tree house's base, drawn by the noise, and shot what anyone could have mistaken as an annoyed look upward before giving a more even-keeled dinosaur expression to Kate and her companion.

[learnfromthem]

Lucky bounds ahead, literally barking up a tree. I follow at a slower pace, hoisting the bag of full of lunch higher up my shoulder as I walk behind. I offer Old Lace a smile that verges on the apologetic, waving a little.

Because that's my life, now. Waving at dinosaurs.

"Remind me why you live in the middle of nowhere again?"

[apoorupbringing]

Chase took the steps three at a time with one hand on the railing to facilitate the easy drops down.

"Because," he said as he went, "when there was a group of us living out here, it didn't feel like the middle of nowhere. Hey you," he added, kneeling easily to bury his hands in the shaggy goldish fur around Lucky's ears.

"What a handsome devil you are. So swiggity swag, Kate?" Chase said, not standing but angling his head up so he could meet Kate's eyes, even if he had to squint into the sun a little to do so.

[learnfromthem]

"Wait, am I swiggity swag or is Lucky?" I say, trying -- and failing, by the looks of it -- to keep up with his line of thought. Unburdened by the need to understand English, Lucky just laps up the attention, nosing into Chase's hand.

[apoorupbringing]

"What? No?" Chase replied, not bothering to hide his bafflement.

"Swiggity- Kate. Swiggity swag. Kate."

[learnfromthem]

"Chase," I say, eyebrows up. "English. Please. I don't speak Californian surfer boy."

[apoorupbringing]

"Awe, man, come on," he sighed, rubbing the top of Lucky's head before standing.

"'Swiggity swag, what's in the bag?'," he said, eyebrows lifting.

"Man, I feel old."

[learnfromthem]

"'Cause you are," I say cheerfully, shifting my weight a little. "You hungry?"

[apoorupbringing]

Thanks to the wisdom of age, Chase didn't in any way scope Kate out before scrubbing a hand back through his hair and saying, "starved, actually. You want to eat in the a/c?"

It was easy to close the treehouse and crank up the relief, and if she'd trekked that far out bearing gifts, Chase was clearly going to offer it up.

[learnfromthem]

"God, yes," I sigh, more than relieved for the offer. "The humidity out here is killing me."

I barely wait for him to reply before starting to head inside.

[apoorupbringing]

Chase spared himself a moment to watch her go, another to be appreciative, and then gestured to Lucky.

"Come on, good dog."

He absently reached out and touched OL's nose as he passed her and started back up the winding path around the trunk.

"So today was that boring, huh?"

[learnfromthem]

"Well, my options were to do homework for over a dozen classes or pay a visit to my favorite surfing teacher," I explain, casting a glance over my shoulder to look at the gang. "I kinda felt like doing option number two. I think I've earned a slacker day."

[apoorupbringing]

"You know I'm a big fan of slacker days," Chase said pleasantly, following her up and absently sticking his hands in his pockets.

"I support your decision entirely."

[learnfromthem]

I lean against the door, using my hip to push it open and step inside. The A/C hits me like a wall and my shoulders sag with relief. Tipping my head back, I hum a little, happy for nice, cool air and the chance to sit down on something that isn't a log or a boulder.

"Is it because my decision comes with snacks?"