Greece Ch. 03

"Ugh... when are we going back to shore?" The rocking of the boat made me sea sick. It would be different if it was like the speed boat I came in on; there was no rocking on that one. This boat rocked every time the fucking wind blew.

"In about 2 more hours sweetheart. It's not that bad you're over reacting!" Galen laughed at me.

"Easy for you to say, you do this for a living!" I was hurled over the side of the boat just in case breakfast decided to come back up. Galen had taken me out to show me how to fish; needless to say I wasn't really into it. I stared at my phone counting down the minutes. I just wanted dry land under me.

"You've been here 3 days now and it's been all fun and games. You're going to have to start doing some work." Galen gave me a big smile, like work was fun. I hate hard labor.

"What kind of work?" Honestly I had forgotten I was here for some sort of punishment. I looked out at the beautiful buildings, what a sight. Some punishment. I could stay here, I could be happy here.

"Nothing too serious. Just some gardening and you can work at the café with Andrew a couple days out of the week."

"What do I have to do?" I'm pretty sure he's going to say cleaning.

"Cooking, serving, and some cleaning." So Galen reads minds, who knew? It can't be that bad, it's good for me right? Although I don't see how this is was going to make me a so called responsible adult. I thought I was pretty responsible, I mean I handled my business. Back in high school I wasn't the easiest kid in the world to deal with. I was into the alcohol and the drugs but I maintained pretty good grades, never failed a class in my life. In fact, I graduated high school early and took some college classes before quitting. Money was tight and I couldn't afford it anymore. In my mind it made no sense to pay for an education that should be free. I intended on just taking a small break to save up some money but after having that little taste of freedom I didn't want to go back. I wanted to live life while I was young. I had discovered nightlife and I thought it was all I would ever need. I drank and stayed out till 4am every night, I didn't care. In my drunken state I might have done some things I regretted, hell I did shit even when I wasn't drunk. I destroyed a police car (It was dark, I thought it was a regular car), I accidentally participated in the breaking and entering of a random persons home (It was dark, I thought it was my house) and various forms of vandalism (...it wasn't dark). The people I hung out with were definitely not looking out for me. Hanging with bad people leads to bad decision making.

I would say I was going through some sort of quarter life crisis if there was such a thing. I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my life. So for the past year I've been acting like a kid, so I've been told. I was crashing on friends couches and switching jobs every time I got bored (every two months or so). I needed a career and for that I needed a college education and for that I needed some motivation. I was unmotivated and unfocused. I lived in the here and now not even caring about the future. It was time for change apparently.

"Grab the net! Hold it tight for me." He caught a big one! He could have easily just swung it on to the boat but I guess he wanted to include me in the process. The fish nearly smacked me in the face but I caught it. I sat it on the floor of the boat and watched it flap around.

"What now?" I must admit I was kind of excited, I felt like I had accomplished something even though I didn't do a damn thing. Then again just being out in a little boat in this large body of water was kind of an accomplishment for me. I gave myself a round of applause. Galen looked at me like I was crazy. I meant for it to be a mental round of applause. We returned to shore just twenty minutes later with six fish, including the one I helped catch. Yeah, I was proud of myself.

It was extremely early in the morning when we left out so when we returned Leora was just getting up. She ran around the house bouncing and singing unusually excited for the day.

~*~*~*~*~*~

Late in the afternoon Leora was literally pulling me through the streets. I had taken her up on the offer to spend the day together and she was hell bent on making the best of it. She had said we were going to some café but her excitement couldn't have been over the food.

"Leora, honey, I need my arm." How can she be so small but so strong?

"Come on you have to meet Andrew!" Oh! That café. Now it all made sense.

"Whoever Andrew is I'm sure he won't disappear if we slow down." Leora shot me a mean glare but caught herself and softened her face. "What's the big deal with Andrew anyway?" I should have asked Galen some questions about this guy.

"Andrew is way smarter than Basil." She said as if it were a well known fact. So what if he won a couple spelling bees.

"Huh?" I'm so confused right now.

"Basil was stupid to not like you." Well I wasn't completely sure he didn't like me. I wasn't going accept that until it came straight from his mouth. Most people would just take the rejection and move on. But there was something about the way he looked at me and how he couldn't stop smiling whenever he was around me. There was chemistry there. "So I figure Andrew will pass with flying colors."

"Leo are you trying to set me up? I don't do blind dates!" She smiled sweetly.

"You won't be saying that once you see him." She looked over my shoulder and pointed. My god she was right, Andrew was utterly gorgeous. He was tall with light brown eyes and completely kissable lips. His hair was a perfect auburn with natural sun highlights that hung down past his ears. With a big smile he waved for Leora to come over. His thin mustache and the hair on his chin were only strengthening his sex appeal. Basil and Andrew were exact opposites but both would make you weak in the knees. How does she just happen to know all these gorgeous men? She's like a magnet for them. I think I'll take her with me when I leave for home.

"He wants to meet you!" She pulled me to the counter. Up close this man could make you melt. "Hey Andrew!" She was literally bouncing up and down. He came from behind the counter and picked her up squeezing her tight.

"Leo you just keep growing! I swear a week ago you were at least 3 inches shorter." Leora was trying to contain her giggles.

"This is my cousin Ari. She's going to be staying with us for a while." She shoved me in front of her and up against Andrew. He treated me as if we had known each other for years by hugging me the same as he had Leora except his hands lingered a bit longer. He smelled sweet like fresh fruits and sun, of course my mind wandered to what he tasted like. If felt good being wrapped in his arms.

"Nice to meet you Ari." He said when I was finally released. The sound of his voice sent tingles through me.

"Uh, yea, same to you." Ha I couldn't even talk, this is ridiculous. He was slowly scanning me up and down making me extremely self conscience.

"I'm going to use the bathroom." Leora said. "So you two can talk." She mouthed to me once she was out of Andrew's sight.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" Andrew asked after a few awkward moments of silence. He must have noticed my uneasiness.

"The way you're looking at me makes me a little nervous." I shoved my hands in my pockets as a slow smile appeared on his face. God he had a beautiful smile.

"Good thing I was able to contain my drool otherwise you would have been out the door huh?" Damn Leo was right this guy is a big deal. She walked back in as we were laughing.

"Can I get you two lovely ladies some Kourabiedes?" Leo nodded yes for the both of us.

"Some what?" I nudged her arm.

"Butter cookies with powdered sugar. Mmmm..." She rubbed her belly and did a little dance in appreciation. We took our cookies to a nearby table and took a seat. "So what do you think?" I could feel Andrews eyes on me.

"He's cute." More like sexy as hell. This guy was turning me on more than any other man I'd ever known. "But I hope you don't think anything is going to happen." Besides I don't even know what's up with Basil. There's something between us, I know it.

"It never hurts to have a backup plan right?" Leora said with a mouth full of cookies.

"When did you get so smart?" That's it! I'm taking this kid with me! We talked for a while but she was mostly harassing me about talking to Andrew. She was relentless stopping to talk to him before we left.

"I see you two were getting along. I told you Andrew!" She stuck her finger in his face and Andrew snapped at it with his teeth.

"Well you were wrong little Leo, she's not." He said with a small smirk on his face.

"What? Yes she is!" I could feel my phone vibrating in my pocket I headed towards the door to check it.

"She's not pretty..." Leora had her mouth hanging open. "She's beautiful. How long is she going to be here?" He whispered and handed her a bag of cookies.

"5 months." With that she happily skipped to catch up with me.

"Good. I'll get to see more of her." He said more to himself than to Leora.

"My brother killed my goldfish." I said nonchalantly. And to top it off I received the news via text! Sean didn't have the balls to call me and tell me he was dead. He was definitely going to get a call from me later.

"You have a fish?"

"HAD a fish. Marsellus is dead now. Apparently some people didn't realize that fish have to be fed in order for them to survive." Damn that was the longest living fish I had, a whole 7 months! I'm gone for 3 days and all my hard work is literally flushed down the toilet.

"Marsellus? That's a funny name" She giggled.

"You know, from Pulp Fiction? The guy that almost gets... Never mind you're a little young for that movie." After being out for another hour we finally headed home.

Basil was waiting at the door for us to arrive. Leora gave him a nod and squeezed past him to the door.