“Come to the beach with us!”
Arkay looked away from his computer screen.
“Beach, Kallis?”
“Yes! With us!”
“You and Stef?”
“Yes! And Stef’s sister and her husband.”
Arkay blinked.
“And you want me to come with you?”
“Yes. Why is this so hard for you to get?” Kallis crossed his arms. “I want you to come to the beach with us.”
“Oh.” Arkay paused. “Well, uh, alright, I guess. I need to find my swimming stuff though.”
Kallis smiled. “Sure thing. You do have swimming stuff, I assume?”
“Yes, but I don’t have sunblock.”
“Don’t worry, I got sunblock.”
“Alright then…” Arkay got up from his computer and headed to the wardrobe. He started pulling out clothes, looking for his swimming costume. He managed to find it quite quickly, underneath a pile of dresses. But as Arkay inspected it, he shuddered. “I’m… not really… well, I need to tidy myself up before I go. Plus I have work I need to finish…”
Kallis shrugged. “I’m sure that work can wait.”
“Eh, I guess. But won’t I be… kinda… encroaching on your time with Stef?”
“No, of course not! I wouldn’t be asking you if it was gonna get in the way of my time with Stef. Plus, her whole family loves you and they are very welcoming.”
Arkay sighed, looking between Kallis and his swimming costume. “I’m… I’m not sure.”
“Why, what is there to not be sure about? You haven’t been to the beach in ages and could do with some fresh air anyway. Even if the beach is entirely synthetic.”
“I just feel kinda ugly and unkempt. Messy.”
Kallis paused for a moment, then shrugged some more. “It’s a busy beach. No one will notice. Everyone will be too busy lying in the sun or swimming in the salt water. And you will almost certainly not be the ugliest person on the beach. No one is judging you, they’ll be too busy having fun and getting skin cancer.”
“That is… a good point…”
With a smile, Kallis put a hand on Arkay’s shoulder. “Come on. It’ll be fun. I promise. Although we’ll have to take separate vehicles, since I’m going to Stef’s place after we’re done at the beach.”
“That’s… fine. That’s fine with me…” Arkay muttered. “Means I can go home whenever I want. Is there anything you need me to bring?”
“Bring some snacks if you want!” Kallis beamed. “Or drinks. Or whatever. Stef’s sister will have a coolbox for us to use.”
“Oh, I can bring snacks!” Arkay smiled a little. “I’ve got everything else aside from sunblock.”
Kallis patted Arkay on the shoulder. “You know where the beach is, right?”
“Which beach?”
“The coral beach.”
“Oh yeah, I know where that is. It’s a bit of a trot though.”
“It’s worth it for the sand. The rocky beaches just aren’t as nice.”
Arkay nodded. “Yeah, true.”
Kallis patted Arkay again, then headed out of the room. “Anyway, We’re all meeting at 4:30ish. I’m gonna head out in a sec though, gotta go to Stef’s first because I left my nice swim shorts there and then we’ll head to the beach from there… So I guess we’ll see you there!”
Arkay smiled properly. “Alrighty then. I’ll see you there.”