Down the Shore (3 page)

I felt more sure of myself. My mom called me ‘naive,’ and boys and friends even mentioned the same thing. I've had people who'd taken advantage of me in the past, but I never let it bother me. I knew I had a certain appeal to people and that I drew them in, but I didn't know what to do with them once they were there. That's why I had a hard time with boys. I had no clue how to handle them. People always told me that I was beautiful, that I was ‘the girl next door’ pretty. “The face of an angel,” my father always said. Then again, don't all girls look like angels to their fathers? I wanted to be so much more that that.

I didn't wear much makeup—never needed it. I dressed my age and appreciated that my slim figure curved nicely on top. At five feet, five inches and about one hundred pounds soaking wet, people called me ‘petite.’ I'd never felt ready before, but with my sudden, new confidence, I knew I could give more to a relationship. Call me ready—ready for a real boyfriend, and I just knew I'd find one this summer. I was finally ready for a boyfriend, a first love and I was sure that I would find one this summer.

We laid on the beach for a while; the sun was hot, the cold water felt numbing on the skin. Since the ocean barely reached into the upper 60s, Makenna refused to go in, but I adored it. I loved to swim and I loved to float. I just laid on top of the water and let the ebb and flow of the waves envelop my body. Makenna didn't require getting wet, unless a boy was tossing her in over his shoulders. She had always been more the sunbathing type and preferred to stay on the towel she had so gracefully placed on top of the hot sand. It was comical watching her put it down, careful not to get any sand on her. Like that was possible. I just stood there, shaking my head, giggling.

I figured I would ask anyway. “Do you want to go for a swim?"

"Are you crazy? It's like sixty-five degrees out there.” She gave me the response I had expected.

I started pulling myself off my towel to get up.

"You don't know what you're missing,” I teased, kicking some sand gently in her direction.

I glanced back at her and she had already laid back down, listening to her iPod. Her fingers strummed along with whatever she was listening to.

I made my way down to the water through the sea of rainbow umbrellas and kids playing with Frisbees. The water was cold, but refreshing. It always felt wonderful to get the sand off your skin. I had been in the water for about fifteen minutes when I felt the stare from behind me. I carefully peeked through the wet hair dangling in my eyes to notice that it had been one of lifeguards. His skin had been nicely tanned already. He had sandy short blonde hair, and was ripped from shoulders down to his abs. As I glanced at him, I quickly turned, suddenly growing very uncomfortable, wanting to get back to my towel. I kept my eyes focused on the water, not once looking back in his direction.

My knees felt somewhat frozen,
What should I do
? I felt slightly embarrassed at myself.
Jesus, Abby, stop being such a baby and just go back and lie down with Makenna.

I turned and started to make my way back by to the spot we had so perfectly chosen—not too close to the water, but far enough back from all the commotion. I felt his eyes following me and I somehow remembered being half-naked in my bikini. I never really thought of bathing suits and how I looked in them, but today I was suddenly aware that at eighteen, I was no longer a little girl.

"How was the water?” Makenna asked, sitting up.

"Great, until I noticed that lifeguard staring at me. Guys are so rude, they make you feel totally uncomfortable."

She glanced down to the water. “Wow, he's cute!” she remarked.

"I know, I guess I was just surprised that he looked at me."

"You really need to stop doubting yourself. Guys are attracted to you, Abby. You really are a beautiful girl.” She paused and said, “You should look at yourself once in a while, and I mean
really
look at yourself.” She added, “You're fabulous and you don't even know it."

"Thanks, but you have to say that, being my best friend and all,” I giggled.

After a few hours of sunbathing, the beach started to clear for the day.

"Are you ready to go? I'm starving.” We hadn't eaten since breakfast, and my stomach had been growling since the beach.

"Pizza?” She jumped up, we shook off our towels and headed toward the dunes.

It's funny walking back to the house without your parents, you suddenly notice things you didn't pay attention to when you were younger. The decks were full of people at this time of the day, playing cards, drinking beer, kids kicking pebbles. Men were staring down at grills, flipping hamburgers and hot dogs, yelling out to their kids. Small children were drawing hopscotch on the sidewalk with chalk. Occasionally, we saw the college guys challenging each other to arm wrestling matches and hanging over their balconies whistling at the girls going by. “Hey, baby looking good down there!” or “Whew, look at that piece of ass.” It was insulting, but at the same time we took pleasure in the fact that they found us attractive enough to break away from their beers to notice us. How does someone respond to that? We just gave a smile and kept walking, not looking back once.

We got back to the house to take much-needed showers. Makenna ran inside, but I preferred to use the outside shower at the beach house. It was always something I enjoyed, and I had been doing it every summer since I was two. Since my mom would threaten us with death if we went inside covered in sand, it had become second nature to me.

If I closed my eyes, I could hear all the showers running simultaneously. I loved seeing the soapy water flowing into the streets, smelling the fragrance of various shampoos. I couldn't wait. I opened the wooden door, turned the rusty knob once and cranked on the water, letting it gently wash all the sand off my body. I closed my eyes and breathed in the aroma again.

As I fumbled back to my room, my towel folded around me, trying not to show too much to the people roaming the streets. I couldn't help but smile. I flung the door open and hit ‘play’ on the clock radio Mr. Barton had conveniently placed in the kitchen.

Looking for some good music, I turned the dial until I found what I wanted, and danced my way back to my room to get ready for the night.

As I approached the mirror hanging over my closet, I noticed I hadn't used as much sunblock as I should have. My skin had turned slightly pink in the sun and now my shoulders started to ache at a single touch. I quickly rubbed some lotion onto my skin, hoping it wouldn't hurt too much. I flinched slightly when I felt the cool lotion touch my skin.

I hated being red, but I knew the results would be worth it. I liked the way I looked in the summer. I always tanned well and it made me feel prettier for some reason. There was nothing like a little color to make you not only look better, but feel better.

"Geez, Mom wouldn't like this,” I mumbled to myself. I placed my pink tank top carefully over my shoulders and pulled on a pair of denim shorts; clothes that were not too tight. I could only hope the color and pain faded by tomorrow. I grabbed my silver Havaianas and ran out of the room to find Makenna.

"We don't have all night, Mac, let's get going,” I yelled loudly enough so she could hear over the music. It was almost seven and we had to be at Clancys early in the morning for training. I wanted to get a good night's sleep, and besides, I was already exhausted. I noticed whenever I laid out for the first time in the summer that it drained me by the end of the day.

"I'm coming!” she roared back.

She glowed; one day in the sun and she already looked like she had been down here all summer.

We were only a few blocks from the boardwalk and both of our stomachs grumbled out loud. As we approached, we smelled all the different aromas. There was cotton candy, funnel cakes, caramel apples, pizza and fudge. I always preferred vanilla while Makenna loved the chocolate with walnuts.

The boardwalk is a place people either love or hate, and I love it. It's crowded, loud and bright with neon signs posted on storefronts; arcades overflow with kids of all ages, screams echo from the roller coasters and the stores sell all the same novelties: hermit crabs, T-shirts, seashells, toys, salt water taffy and fudge.

We walked for several blocks until we came up to our favorite pizza joint, Mack and Manco's. It was the best the beach had to offer. We debated whether to grab a slice and walk around, or just go inside to sit down. We decided to stay and eat. The seagulls hovered and we didn't want to lose our dinner to the ‘flying rats.'

We grabbed our slices and sodas and found a seat in the rear of the restaurant. We sat next to a table of four guys. Their eyes instinctively shot up to look at us as we started to sit.

"Hello, lasses, how are ya’ tis fine evening?” the red-headed guy in the knit cap said.

The dark-haired boy stared over at us, smiling, but said nothing for a moment.

"Ah, Liam, leave ‘em alone,” he said.

I looked up at Makenna as I took a sip from my soda, and she was smiling over at their table. I kicked her, and mouthed, “Stop."

"Someone does want to play, me thinks,” the blonde boy with cute little freckles on his nose said.

The dark-haired boy looked back over grinning, “Lads, leave ‘em alone."

When they did listen to their friend and left us alone, they started cursing and making wise cracks. They had an accent, not quite sure from where, but I quickly discovered after I read the tattoo on the amazingly tanned bicep of the dark-haired boy.

We sensed the stares coming from their table, and though we tried hard not to look at them, it was almost impossible not to. One boy stopped my heart from beating, he was so breathtakingly gorgeous. He had raven-like, black hair and the darkest brown eyes I had ever seen, the color of chocolate, and a five o'clock shadow. He wore a silver cross around his neck, and had two tattoos, one on each arm. The first one was some sort of cross, and the second read ‘Irish Power'with a small shamrock in between. The others boys were average compared to him: two blonds and a redhead. I turned away from his stare, hoping for his eyes to stop studying me. I may have been getting more confident, but not
that
confident.

"What do you want to do next?” I asked before taking a bite. I burned the roof of my mouth as I did, “Ouch! Shit, it's hot!” I laughed as I pulled back the slice and dropped it back onto the paper plate. I drank the entire cola in one big gulp, trying to put out the fire in my mouth. Mortified, I heard my gawker softly chuckling under his breath.

We sat for a while people-watching, talking and picking at our pizza. I glanced back over at Mr. Hottie McShamrock. His brown eyes still gazed at me. The hint of a smile crept on his face. I desperately wanted to look away. I couldn't stop this time. He seemed to never take his eyes off me, just laughing along with his friends, grinning at me over their shoulders. He made me completely uncomfortable, like his eyes had been undressing me. Of course, I had seen plenty of handsome or cute boys in my lifetime. But, this guy was no ordinary looker...one I was not familiar with other than a few stares in the mall at the Abercrombie billboards. He would even give those boys a run for their money. The sheer ruggedness and smoldering brown eyes that went through me every time he looked at me set a little fire inside of me. I also couldn't help but notice that he looked much older than anyone I would consider dating. I hoped he couldn't tell that he made me slightly nervous, and that my knees were shaking under the table.

"Let's go, Mac. I need to get out of here,” I said, glancing in his direction.

"What's that guy's problem, anyway? He hasn't stopped staring since we got here. Although, maybe we should talk to him. He's smokin’ hot.” She spoke loud enough for them all to hear. I saw his body straighten, getting tense.

I grabbed her hand, “Shhh, let's go.” She did exactly what I didn't want to do—draw attention to us. It's not that I didn't like the fact that he was obviously interested in me. This had been all a new feeling for me, the idea of being wanted and especially the idea of being wanted by someone like him.

We finished our food and stood from the booth to walk back outdoors when I felt him grab my hand. I couldn't help but hold his briefly. It was warm, sending shivers down my spine as he spoke. I had to catch my breath.

"Where ya off to, love?” he asked in a low, sexy voice. I felt like I could stare into those big brown eyes all day, and his voice...
oh, my God!

"Excuse me?” I gulped.

He smiled, the most beautiful smile I had ever seen and his eyes sparkled. The others chuckled under their breath. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't think, everything about him made me feel unstable, as if I might fall over any minute. I fixated on the cross that nestled perfectly into his chest hair.

"What's your name, lass?” he asked.

I just looked at him. “Emma,” I said, and kept walking.

I don't know why I gave him the wrong name, but when he spoke to me my brain completely shut down. I panicked. His brown eyes, his dark hair and even the stubble on his chin amazed me. He seemed charming, rugged and mysterious all at the same time. Surely not the typical high school boy that I'd become used to. I hoped secretly to see him again. Somewhere during the summer. I would find him again, even if it meant eating pizza every night.

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"It's early, Mac. What should we do?"

I knew our new-found freedom wasn't going to be explored tonight. We knew no one and the arcades were full of young kids pouring out with stuffed animals tucked in their arms.

I tossed my long hair back over my shoulder, “Let's just walk farther down the boardwalk toward the rides and games."

She shrugged, “What do expect to find there? It's busy, but sure not the Fourth of July yet. And besides, all the hotties are at parties."

The boardwalk was semi-busy, but not like it gets after the Fourth. It's a sea of people and hard to walk around with all the bicycles, wagons with kids huddled inside of them and strollers being pushed by moms. Thursdays had been always the worst—family night on the boardwalk. As an older teenager, it was a place you really didn't want to be; it was way too crazy and loud with a gazillion families and little kids under twelve running around, screaming.