Title: Almost Kokomo
Rating: PG-13/R
Setting: mid-summer in the Hamptons, sometime during college.
Summary: Jeff’s quiet weekend getaway at the beach is hardly paradise as he nearly drowns, drinks, keeps his summer home from burning down, and finds himself clumsily navigating through not one, but three relationships. Fortunately, only one is his own.
Feedback: Please feel free to review!
Disclaimer: Jeff, Lex, Anna, Matt, Sammie, Chris, and Anthony all belong to me. Fred, Kate, and Daniel belong to Cimmy.
Story Notes: this story is a summer story that was inspired by warm weather and is written entirely from Jeff's point of view. ‘Kokomo’ in the title refers to the tropical paradise that the Beach Boys sing about in their song ‘Kokomo.’

(Part 01 / 12)

“Hold this!” Lex said, shoving a bag into Jeff’s arms. Jeff rolled his eyes but took the bag she practically threw at him. His grandparents had a house in the Hamptons with a private beach and a pool. For a nice weekend getaway from the hot, smoggy city, Jeff had invited his best friends to the summerhouse his grandparents said he could use.

Well, it wasn’t originally supposed to be all of them. Jeff didn’t want that many people in his grandparents’ house. It was supposed to be him, his best friend Lex, and three of their other good friends, Anthony, Matt and Sammie. It didn’t quite turn out that way.

Lex couldn’t stand to leave Fred, her boyfriend, behind for two whole days. After much whining from Lex, Fred was invited too. It wasn’t that Jeff didn’t like Fred. He liked Fred a lot, but Fred turned Lex into something of a dope; they were so head-over-heels for each other that they were annoyingly cheerful all the time in each other’s company. Jeff was happy for them, but he missed spending time with Lex without Fred, when she was a normal person who didn’t radiate happiness. Jeff had Kate for when he wanted to be with someone like that.

But Jeff never had the heart to say no to Lex, and so Fred was coming along. Fred then let it slip to Kate, his best friend, that he was going, so she called up Jeff, her (mostly ex) boyfriend, and demanded that she be invited as well. Kate was not the kind of person who took no for an answer, and Jeff would never intentionally hurt her feelings, so the next thing he knew, Kate was coming along.

It was then pointless not to re-invite Chris, who had originally said he had a family function and couldn’t come, as Kate would do it anyway. And if Kate was going, Chris would be sure to find a way to show up. Jeff and Chris had been passively (and occasionally actively) fighting over Kate for years. Right now, Jeff figured, Chris was winning.

Anna was supposed to be working but had been given the weekend off and was now free to come too.

And this meant everyone but Daniel was going. This was fine with Jeff, but Kate couldn’t possibly leave Danny dearest out because he’d “get lonely,” and nagged at Jeff to invite Daniel along too. Jeff was holding out pretty well, but when Anna finally decided she’d had enough and that Daniel was coming “whether Jeff liked it or not,” he really had very little choice in the matter.

As with Fred, it wasn’t that Jeff didn’t like Daniel. Over the years, he’d come to secretly enjoy Daniel’s company with his dark humor and pessimistic outlook and tended to stick up for him to people outside their group of friends. Out of Fred, Kate, and Daniel, the three “newcomers” to the group, who the others met and made friends with in high school, Daniel was the smartest, the most sensible, and very helpful when he wanted to be. It was Daniel who finally told Jeff to quit being indecisive and ask Kate out. Sure, it was in his arrogant, I’m-better-than-you way, but it was still what Jeff needed to finally do it.

In spite of all this, Daniel staying home would have been a relief. Jeff didn’t want to destroy his grandparents’ house and with Daniel along that possibility increased tenfold. Daniel wasn’t so much a troublemaker as much as trouble seemed to follow him wherever he went.

All right, that wasn’t always true. He tended to pick fights to amuse himself, sometimes with total strangers or vague acquaintances but even with his friends. The rest of them were smart enough not to take the bait anymore…most of the time. Plus, Daniel also had a habit of complaining about even the slightest inconvenience, which annoyed everyone to no end.

Daniel was already complaining and they hadn’t even gotten there yet.

“Now we have to walk? This is what poor people do. And I can’t believe we had to take a bus to get here,” he moaned as the bus pulled away from the curb where it had dropped them all off. They were all carrying bags full of things for their weekend at the beach.

“I can’t believe nobody’s ever thrown you under one,” Anthony said cheerfully, helping Chris and Jeff with Kate’s outrageous number of things to carry, “Really, Anna, your boyfriend is such a downer.”

“I’m not her boyfriend!” Daniel whined defiantly, not bothering to help any of the girls with their things. Fred was apologizing about the car breaking down, but nobody paid him any mind. It wasn’t his fault and the rest of them had fun on the bus.

“Yeah, yeah,” Anthony grinned, “What would you call it?”

“She’s smarter and prettier than the rest of you so I just like her more!” Daniel snapped.

“Oh shut up,” Anna sighed, “Danny, please, we’re not even there yet. And please, could you help me with this? It’s heavy and it’s got some of your stuff in it too.”

Daniel rolled his eyes but helped Anna lift her duffel bag off the ground. Jeff couldn’t help noticing that Daniel seemed to honor most of Anna’s requests, even if he did so unwillingly.

“You guys packed together?” Sammie asked Anna with a grin after Daniel had walked away, “Matt and I don’t even do that.”

“No, we didn’t pack together. I packed. Daniel just left a ton of stuff at the apartment from the last time he was there and asked if I could bring some of it,” Anna said with a sanctimonious little nod.

“Oh please. He’s there just as much as Matt and Fred are. He practically lives with us,” Sammie grinned.

“He does not!”

“Yeah he does. When I got home yesterday, he was asleep in your bed and you weren’t even there.”

“Shut up,” Anna muttered, hurrying ahead to walk with Lex. Sammie took Matt’s hand and giggled.

“Jeff, I’ll take that,” Fred said, pointing to Lex’s bag, which Jeff had balanced between Kate’s hatbox and makeup case.

“Thanks,” Jeff said as Fred took the bag. “Whoa! Chris, help…”

“I can’t believe you packed this much,” Chris muttered to Kate as he helped Jeff balance the makeup case on top of a suitcase, “Really, it’s just one weekend.”

“You never know when you’re going to need what!” Kate exclaimed. Having brought the most stuff, she was carrying the least – just one backpack and bag with a shoulder strap.

“You could at least carry some of it,” Jeff suggested dryly as they started walking the block to the house, “And why would you need – ” he checked one of the bags, “ – a parka at the beach in the middle of the summer?”

“She doesn’t even wear parkas in the winter!” Sammie giggled to Matt.

“There could be a hurricane! I need to stay warm and dry!” Kate howled, “What would you know about it, Jeff Delricci!? Your hair is so short it never frizzes!”

Jeff decided against pointing out that New York doesn’t often get hit by hurricanes and that frizzy hair would be the least of Kate’s worries if one did.