Where had he come from? I had never seen him around here before. If I had, I would have had no problem coming with my parents down here every single summer. I would have gladly moved here.
Realizing he was still waiting on me to answer, I responded. “Hi.”
He chuckled, and the sound made me want to bite my bottom lip.
“Ah, she speaks,” he stated.
Blushing, I said, “Sorry. I’m Braelynn.”
“Zachery. Zachery Taylor. You can call me Zach, though.”
I smiled and he looked pleased.
“My friends call me Brae and my little sister calls me Rae,” I admitted, hating the fact that I was unable to control my mouth. I shouldn’t have told him that. I felt like I was rambling.
He nodded. “Braelynn. That’s a gorgeous name. But okay, Rae it is. What brings you around here? May I take this seat?” he asked pointing to the spot right next to me.
I suddenly loved the nickname Rae that Molly had given me. The sound of it coming from his lips made me melt just a little bit more.
I nodded. “My family and I vacation here every summer. I’ve never seen you here before.”
He ran his towel on his neck and forehead, and God, did I want to lick the sweat off of him. My thoughts were running wild.
“Yeah, I’m from Waverly, but this is my first time staying right on the beach with my grandmother for the summer. I was just down here this morning trying to enjoy the outside, fresh air. Then I saw you sitting here all by yourself and decided to keep you company.”
He could have kept me company any day. What a wonder he was to look upon.
Suddenly, understanding his words, I asked, “You’ve been down here since this morning?”
It was now just about sunset. How could he have been working out so long? No wonder he looked the way he did…
“Well, yeah. But I just started working out about an hour ago. I came down to watch the sunrise, jogged on the water, did a bit of fishing, had some lunch at the pizzeria a couple of blocks down, played some basketball, and then did some exercises. I like to stay on my feet.”
He smiled again.
“Wow. Impressive,” I replied.
He winked at me.
I was convinced at that very moment that he would be the death of me. Fuck, what was going on with me? And holy hell, when had I ever cursed so much? He was bringing out a side of me that I was not able to control. I had absolutely no power over it.
“So, how old are you?” I asked, praying he was no more than twenty-two. He could totally be much older than me.
“I just turned nineteen in May. How about yourself?”
Yes! There was a God and he had just answered my prayers!
“I actually just turned eighteen a week ago.”
“Well, happy belated! Recent high school grad?”
“Thanks. Yeah,” I answered hoping he wasn’t turned off or anything.
“Nice. Congrats grad,” he smiled.
I giggled, again saying, “Thanks.”
If he was a local, how come I had never seen him around here before? Granted, I knew he said this was his first time staying on the beach, but Waverly wasn’t all that big. Even if someone weren’t staying on a property on the beach, you’d always run into them somewhere.
“So, how long do you and your family usually stay down here?” he asked.
“We’ll be here all summer. I won’t be going back home till the week I start college.”
He nodded in acknowledgment. “Which one did you decide on?”
“School? Oh, I just chose a local community college till I could figure out what I wanna do with my life.” I was a bit embarrassed that I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, but it was the truth. Hopefully he wouldn’t think any less of me.
We both smiled at one another.
“How come I’ve never seen you around the beach before?” I asked, intrigued.
He shrugged, “I don’t know. Weird, isn’t it? But enough about my dull life… what do you want to major in? What are your interests?”
He had totally dodged my question, like he was hiding something. And yet, he wanted to know more about me, like he was interested. Was this really happening to me?
“I like painting and drawing… I’ve got a creative mind.”
“That’s so awesome,” he said.
We were quiet for a bit, just enjoying the ocean breeze as the sun started its slow descent. The sky still seemed like a storm would be commencing soon. Although it looked threatening, the view was beautiful, creating a gorgeous picturesque summer effect.
“I should head back to the house; I’m sure my parents are getting ready to have dinner soon,” I said, hating the fact that our time together had already come to an end. I knew we had just met, but I couldn’t help the immediate attraction and pull I had felt toward him.
He looked reluctant, “Yeah, I should probably get going, too. If it doesn’t storm, I’ll come out again tonight and if the sky clears, maybe I’ll get to watch the stars. But I’ll stay closer to the house this time. Where are you staying, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“I’m right off Beach Crescent Ave, the blue house on the corner.”
“I’m not familiar with the block,” he admitted.
How could he not know the street? It was one of the main roads in Waverly.
“It’s just a few blocks from here and my house is the only blue one there, but maybe I’ll see you later,” I announced courageously, rising from my seat on the bleachers. I had never been so bold in front of a crush before.
Wait, was that it? Did I have a crush on Zach? God, just the thought of his name and his gorgeous face made my heart race. Yeah, I was pretty sure I was going to fall hard for this one. We may have just met, but I couldn’t control the emotions deep within me. Somehow, I got the slightest sensation that that would not be a good thing. What if he had a girlfriend? I didn’t know anything about him and I was making him promises to come see him later? What was I thinking? Maybe he wouldn’t even want to hang out with me. Ugh! I had been too forward.
“I would really like that. See you around, Rae,” he said, smiling, and all of a sudden I knew he was not taken. That or he was a cheating scumbag? But he didn’t come across that way. Something about Zach was different and all I wanted to do was find out more about him.
Once I arrived home, I had dinner with my family.
Molly was on the floor playing with some of her dolls while the rest of us indulged in what Mom had cooked that evening: roast beef and herb-rubbed diced potatoes.
“Have you seen Misty yet?” Mom asked. She mixed some greens together in a bowl before sitting down in her spot at the table. Dad was already chomping down.
“Yeah, she was on the beach,” I said, trying to quickly finish my dinner, hoping my parents wouldn’t notice how fast I was eating just to get through it. I had plans.
“How is she holding up?” Dad questioned, after cutting up some more slices of roast beef and adding them to his plate.
Shrugging, I said, “I don’t know. She acts like she’s okay, but she is so angry with her mother. I know it’s hard on her. I can’t imagine what she and her father are going through.”
Frowning, Mom said, “It’s not an easy situation. Time will make it a bit easier, but the resentment she feels towards her mother I don’t think will ever go away.”