Page 13 of Beyond the Blues

“What?!” I exclaim.

“All I’m gonna say is, you got to communicate what you like or you’ll never enjoy it fully, and instead you’ll just be doing it for the sake of it.”

“But besides that, my best friend is a player!” Coco pulls me into an embrace. “I wouldn’t say one sexual interaction is me being a player.” I scoff, folding

my arms tighter around Coco.

“You’re gonna win all those hearts.”

“Of course you’d say that, Coco.” She pulls away from me and looks me in the eye.

“I mean it, you’re amazing… with a great rack, too.” We burst into fits of laughter.

*

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7

Chapter 7

I wake up earlier than usual. Tapping my phone screen to see it’s 7:37am. The sun is up already, the sea smoothly waved from the beach, the birds singing cheerfully. I open up the balcony door, letting the breeze stroke my face. Rather than getting back into bed, I decide to get on with my day, chucking on a vest top and shorts and strolling down to the bar to grab a coffee. Waving to the resort staff who are preparing the breakfast tables, disappointment hits me as I see the closed sign hanging from the bar, realising I’ve woken up too early to even grab a coffee. Guess I’ll see what places are nearby my resort to grab some breakfast.Just a short walk along the beach there’s a little cafe. As I walk along the beach and decide to take off my sandals, embracing the feeling of the sand between my toes, the salty smell of the water hitting my nose.Cats scattered out along the sunbeds, snoozing in the morning air. After ten minutes I reach the cafe. Flowers are dangling from the sign, white chairs and tables with the classic meander pattern along it. I walk up the stairs and am greeted by an older woman, her face radiant and wrinkles that tell a thousand stories.

“Morning” she says, standing up from her seat behind the bar.

“Good morning!” I stare up at the chalkboard menu, trying to decide what I’d like to drink. I bite my cheek nervously.

“Oat milk?” I ask. The lady opens the fridge below and pulls out a carton, writing in Greek but a photo of oats on the front.

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“Perfect!” I say enthusiastically

“Iced coffee with oat milk, please.” The woman nods and gets to work, fiddling with the coffee handles, the smell of the roasting coffee reminding me of home. She signals me to sit down, so I sit outside, placing the book I brought with me on the table in front of me. She places a coaster down on the table in front of me, with the iced coffee dripping with condensation on top.

“You’re very…” She clicks her fingers, as if trying to think of the word.

“Beautiful,” she says to me, flashing a warming smile.

“You’re even more beautiful!” I compliment, causing her to smile even harder before placing a kiss onto my cheek. She points to herself.

“Althea”

“Ophelia” I point to myself. She gives me a soft rub on the shoulder and walks back into the cafe. That’s the beautiful thing, you don’t need to speak the same language to understand another person, actions and expressions explain everything. I open my book and read. Enjoying the sounds of everything around me, deciding not to block everything out with my headphones. I sip on the iced coffee, the sweetness combined with richness pleasuring my taste buds perfectly. Althea knows how to make a wonderful coffee. I decide this will be my daily ritual’ till I go home, to make this my morning trip. After reading fifty pages of the book, I pick up my coffee glass and coaster andbring it inside, handing it to Althea and waving goodbye. I walk a little further down the beach and come across a supermarket. Glancing over at the cats on the beach, I think of a brilliant idea. I grab a couple bags of cat treats, and some kitten milk, because every cat loves kitten milk. Walking out of the shop, hands filled with cat treats. I sit on the beach, and shake the bag, the cats trotting over to me. The purring noises as they eat fill me with warmth, as if a cat whisperer, more cats appear. They rub their heads against my knees, their sandy fur scratching my knees slightly. I notice a couple black and white kittens, their fur patterns varying behind I assume their mum, wary of my treats. I place the treats down in front of the mum, smiling at her.

“It’s okay, I’m a kind lady.” I whisper to the cat. She gnaws down on the

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treats whilst her babies crunch down on the rest, showing off their little teeth. I feel my eyes well up, worried about them not having a home to go to, but I guess as long as they have their mum, they’ll be okay. Home is a feeling, not a place I always think. I stand up, scattering more treats on the floor and saying goodbye to the cats. As I walk back, my phone buzzes with a video call from my mum. I answer it, the video lagging a bit but showing my mum sitting in the living room.

“Hi Mum”

“Hello darling, how is it so far?”