Everlasting

by L. K. Kuhl

“That’ll be twenty-four dollars.” He handed me the gear.

  “Whew, whatta relief. Needed that.” Startled, I spun around. Mandy stood right next to me. “Well, let’s go.” We walked toward her favorite snorkeling place about two hundred yards from where we’d just been swimming and searched for a place to put our stuff.

  We found a spot next to a lady wearing a hot-pink one-piece, rubbing sunscreen onto her young boy’s face. Mandy dropped her bag to the hot sand. “Better than nothin’.”

  My stomach tickled—soft butterfly wings brushing, scrambling to be released. What am I doing? I don’t belong here. I’m not a pro like the people here. Mothers were helping their children put their gear on, and the children didn’t look scared at all. In fact, they jumped around, begging their moms to hurry up. But they had probably grown up snorkeling—had years of experience. Yep, that had to be the reason they wanted to do this so-called fish-watching. I tucked my arms close to my sides, my shoulders sagging, wanting to shrivel and disappear—just be a spectator.

  Mandy handed me a flipper. “Okay, here’s how this stuff goes on.”

  My face contorted at the silly looking mask and gigantic flippers. They were odd, to say the least, and I was a bit skeptical about putting them on. But I struggled into them, and we waded out to the knee-deep water. She put her face in to show me how to breathe. I stared at the water and took a deep breath, gathering courage. When the cool water hit my face, I gasped, fighting the urge to rip it back out. My movements, short and jerky, had me looking like a monkey bobbing for bananas as I struggled, holding my breath.

  “You can’t hold it forever. Take a breath. That’s what this tube’s for.”

  I put my face back in and drew a quick breath. Gasping, panicking, and flailing, I jerked my head out again. I yanked the tube from my mouth, coughing and heaving, my hands groping—sliding over my face—clearing the water away. “That’s horrible. I don’t like it…don’t like it.”

  “For the love…you’re fine. You’ll get used to it. Quit being a baby.”

  That’s it. No one’s calling me a baby.

  I dipped my head again, taking one breath, then another. My confidence began to boost and I smiled inside—to myself. Maybe I was getting the hang of it.

  I became braver. We swam out to deeper water.

  “I think you’re getting it. There’s some cool fish over here.” Mandy pointed off to an area on the right. “This’ll get anywhere from ten to fifteen feet. Just keep calm, and watch for me. I don’t want you to get too far away.”

  “Ha, you know that ain’t gonna happen. I’m not getting eaten by any fish.” I stuck the tube back into my mouth.

  Mandy rolled her eyes, and we both poked our faces into the water, beginning to swim again. I got this…nothing to it. Proud of the quick way I caught on to this snorkeling thing, I swam on, taking deep easy breaths, my ego inflating my lungs. What had I been so afraid of?

  But my elation ended as quickly as it came. A gush of salt water rushed into my nose and mouth—plunged down my throat. I shot up, gasping and coughing, ripping the tube back out of my mouth, fighting to breathe—to live.

  I gulped…once, twice…heaved…then gulped again. “I hate this!” Smashing my fist to my chest, I tamed the cough and caught my breath. “I think I’m drowning! What happened? I thought I was doing everything right.” Ready to vomit, I coughed up rivers of water and heaved again.

  Mandy’s face became pained, worried, but only for an instant. Her face now struggled to hold back a laugh. “Oh, ya weenie. Ya just got a wave over your tube. You’ll live.” At least she had enough class to smuggle away a smile. “Blow out next time.”

  “Got so involved, I forgot. At least I did it.” I shrugged and rolled my eyes, wishing we were done.

  For another hour we snorkeled, then decided to head back to our chairs. We scurried—running on our toes to get out of the hot sand—when a movement in the swath of trees to the east startled me. My breath caught, and my hand flew to my heart. My gaze swept to the grove, catching a glimpse of men in long black cloaks. There looked to be about eight of them, their heads shrouded in black hoods, but they soon slunk away to the trees and vanished before I could see their faces.

  A shock of coldness zipped through me, making the hair on my arms stand on end. “Did you see that?” I pulled on Mandy’s arm and stiffened my neck to avoid burying my head into her shoulder. “What were they?”

  “What was what?”

  “Strange people…scary people. Are you sure this beach is safe?”

  She broke into a sinister, you’ve-got-to-be-kidding-me laugh and her head balked, turning to look at me. “You’re delusional. This beach is harmless.”

  I shivered, my shoulders tight, brushing it off—maybe the snorkeling had gotten to me. We planted our butts into our lounge chairs, and I pushed it out of my mind.

  * * *

  Later that night, I sat in my room and pulled my pink daisy stationary from my suitcase.

  Day One: May Twenty-Ninth,

  My first day on the beach. Met Mandy’s fiancé Matt, and we hit it off right away. He’s so right for that girl, although at times, I wonder about Mandy and her motives. Almost drowned snorkeling, which made me hallucinate, but all in all, it was a good day.

  Sophia Bandell

  * * *

  The next morning, the three of us paraded our way back to the beach. I reached to wipe the sweat away from the skin above my top lip as the intense sun drilled its way in.

  Mandy and Matt teased and laughed with each other, racing to see who would get to the water first. I joined them but wanted to take it easy today. The snorkeling yesterday had worn me out, and I wanted to work on my tan.

  I swam for a while, but the water wasn’t as inviting today—cooler. My teeth chattered, racketing in my head the moment I stepped in. Yesterday’s sun had burned my skin and put a chill in my bones.

  I left Matt and Mandy gamboling in the waves and got out, plodding back to my chair. After I shook my towel and spread it out, I sank down, ready to close my eyes and snooze. But first, I shook my bottle of sunscreen, arming myself against the villainous UV rays. The coconut-smelling liquid squirted to my chest when I flipped up the spout on the bottle. I rubbed it in, flinching when I touched my shoulder to apply more sunscreen. My skin singed red hot, stinging.

  Ready to lie down, I pulled my sunglasses over my eyes and eased back. Before I’d even had the chance to touch the soft towel, something skimmed over my head. I whipped around. A red plastic saucer stuck in the sand next to me.

  My face became moist, and I inhaled the hot breath of someone other than myself. I tilted my face, looking up into the eyes of a black dog. He panted, drool dripping. His tail wagged, ears up, and he lowered his head—eyes begging to retrieve his lost toy.

  I gave him a pat on the head. “Hi, boy, is this yours?” His tail went wild, setting off a jingle from his collar.

  Under his chin, a green name tag dangled. “Symphony, huh? Guess you’re a girl. Is your owner around here somewhere?” I glanced over my shoulder but didn’t see anyone close by.

  “Symphony, where are you, girl?”

  “She’s over here.”

  It was there—sitting on my beach towel, burnt to a crisp, my hair stringy and wet, sand in every possible crevice, a dog’s hot breath in my face—that my gaze lingered, catching full sight of him. A soft curl of shaving cream swirled under my nose. I looked up and gasped, resting my eyes on the most beautiful human being ever.

  His full lips held me, and his shock of thick black hair fell in waves over his head. He had a body that I was sure entered most girls’ dreams at one point or another…as in all of the time. The shaded stubble on his face was accented by dark sunglasses.

  The muscle above my top lip twitched, and my skin tingled with voltaic sensations. I scratched at my arms, the itching already starting.

  His smile curled my toes.

  “Whoops, sorry about that.” His deep voice oo
zed sweet, sexy politeness with just a touch of Southern inflection. “Hope it didn’t hit you.”

  I cleared my throat, preparing to make it sound its utmost best. Usually, this backfired on me and croaked out like a drunken frog. “No, not at all.” Ugh, yep…horrible, that frog did it again.

  My stomach welled with nausea. Fighting to find the right words, I handed the saucer back to him, and a slight quiver quaked through me when my hand brushed his. I cleared my throat again. “Does she play catch with you?” It sounds a little better. I patted the dog on the head again.

  “Yep, she loves to play.” He pulled on the dog’s ear—roughing her up. “This is my black lab, Symphony. Symphony…shake.” Symphony raised her paw in front of my cheek, but her ears drooped. I don’t think she cared much for this trick.

  We both laughed, and my breath caught—laughter had never been this easy for me with other guys.

  “She doesn’t like to shake. Pretty shy.”

  That makes two of us. I grabbed the sandy paw and held it in my hand, giving it a shake. “She listens well. How’d she get her name?” I looked up at him, my eyes darting when his gaze lingered too long.

  “Well, I like classical and big band music, so it had to be Symphony.”

  “Huh…guess so.” I giggled, nerves twisting it into a high-pitched clown laugh, and nodded. “It fits her.” My hands trembled.

  I didn’t know what he was looking at—he still wore his dark sunglasses—but my heart fluttered, skipping beats. He burned a hole right through me with his stare.

  He rubbed his chin. “So, what’s your name?”

  “Sophia.” The heat rose from my neck up to my ears. “What’s yours?”

  “Tate.” His confidence was brutal. He stood tall and faced me, brushing his long fingers along Symphony’s ears.

  “Hi, Tate.” I extended a quivering hand, struggling to keep my head upright, the uneasy, no-self-confidence magnet trying to yank down my chin.

  “Hi.” He flashed perfect white teeth at me and shook my hand. My breath caught at the coldness of his skin, and pain shot through my fingers from the strength of his grip. An awkward silence shuffled between us. “Well, I’m gonna go finish my game. Hope to see you around again sometime.”

  “Me too, same here.” I pulled a strand of hair from my eyes, flicking sand in my face. My face, neck, and ears burned again. I silently thanked God for the color the sun had put into me that day—maybe he wouldn’t see the disturbing, gross splotches that had overtaken my face, itching like a contagious disease.

  “C’mon, let’s go.” He whistled and called to the dog, then spun around, giving me one last look before he disappeared from view around the Ice Cream Shack.

  My heart raced and clamored against my chest, its incessant loudness urging me to release it—to follow him. It shocked me how quickly I fell in love. Me, the shy, low-self-esteem girl who vowed that whenever I entered into a relationship I would take it slow, and I would seek out any warning signals, using them as an excuse to bail early, if need be. But this…this was exhilarating, and it took a while for my heart to return to its proper place.

  I jumped at the sound of Mandy’s voice beside me, still lost in him. “And…you let him go. Sophia…how could you?” She clasped her hands together and stared at the sky. “When are you ever gonna learn? Jump, jump, jump on those bones. He was so hot.” Her gaze shifted toward Matt. “Sorry, hun, just being honest.”

  Matt chuckled and kicked the sand, shaking his head. “Nope, don’t blame ya. If I was a girl, I’d be after him. I mean…did you see the guy? He had to have climbed off the page of some model magazine.”

  Mandy gave him a playful nudge. “But, seriously, Sophia, did you get his name and number?” Her eyes drilled me, expecting a yes.

  “Ha, are you kidding? I got his name, but I can’t ask a guy I just met for his number. You know me better than that.” I bit my lip and my chest became heavy, cursing myself that I didn’t.

  Mandy stretched out on her towel next to me. “Guys like that don’t come around every day…you gotta jump on those opportunities. Quit being so shy. Ya never know…he could be your future husband.”

  I cackled and slapped my knee. “Oh, what...ever. Guys like that don’t go after girls like me.” My gaze strayed toward the direction of the Ice Cream Shack. My eyes searched, hoping to catch another glimpse…another glimpse of this boy that had rearranged my life in a matter of seconds.

  There was no way he could ever like me. My face was too round, and although my small-framed, five-foot-six-inch body was thin, it didn’t have much for curves. I forced my eyes to turn toward Mandy again. “Besides that, when did you get so brave, Miss Gab-a-lot?”

  Mandy sat up, staring off toward the ocean, her eyes not looking at much of anything. “When I moved here I changed. This place has a way of doing that to you. But, I promise, by the end of summer, we’ll have you talking to everyone you meet.”

  Matt dusted sand off his legs. “Good grief, Sophia, don’t be so hard on yourself. Why…if Mandy and I weren’t an item…”

  “And engaged,” Mandy broke in, her face sour.

  “Yeah, I was getting to that. And engaged. If Mandy and I weren’t an item and engaged…I’d date you.”

  I twisted my hair around my finger. “Good try, you two, I know you’re just trying to be nice and make me feel better, but I know the kind of guys that are attracted to me, and that guy wasn’t one of them.” My posture sagged as I got up and gave my towel a shake. “Besides that, if he did think I was beautiful and wanted me, he would have asked for my number, and he didn’t.” I backed away. “I’m heading back to the house, now.”

  Mandy pulled her sunglasses back over her eyes. “Don’t worry, he’ll be back. You’ll see him again someday. I can feel it in my bones.” She focused her eyes on Matt. He mouthed the word bones to her and laughed.

  Chapter 4

  By the third afternoon Mandy and I, having turned into shriveled prunes from too much swimming, spent the entire day baking ourselves into thin crisps on the scorching sand. Matt was running errands in town, so it was just the two of us.

  My eyes continued their incessant scan toward the direction of the Ice Cream Shack. I couldn’t get Tate off my brain, and I’d made up my mind that if I did see him again, I would muster up the courage to ask for his number. I didn’t care what he thought. This could be my only chance, and I wasn’t going to mess around and lose him again.

  “What are you looking for, more boogeymen?” Mandy slanted her hand over her forehead and looked in the direction of my searching eyes.

  “Oh…nothing.” My voice weakened, eyes darted to the side, wishing I wouldn’t have made it so obvious.

  “You’re looking for him, aren’t you? Why didn’t you jump him yesterday? Let’s just hope he comes back again. He might not even live around here and could be gone.”

  Mandy wasn’t cheering me up. Her words stung. “That’ll probably be my luck.” I swallowed hard, trying to ease down the golf ball that had embedded itself in my tonsils. The tears brimmed, on the verge of spilling over if I said one more thing. I couldn’t talk anymore.

  I stretched out on my towel and closed my eyes, trying not to think. The flagrant sun bared down on my skin, but I loved its warmth. It engrained itself in my joints and soul, helping to soothe the pain.

  Mandy crashed beside me, and we both were still, taking in the sounds of the ocean waves and the chatter of people playing.

  My eyes flittered, and I opened them slowly. I must have fallen asleep because when I glanced at my phone, a half hour had gone by.

  I peeked at Mandy. She slept, too. I took the time to study her skin and corn-silk hair. My eyes blinked, scrutinizing, and my hand moved to touch her hair. For all the time she spent out here in the sun, her paleness shocked me. Her skin was thin, almost transparent, and her hair glittered and sparkled as if it were made with real flecks of gold.

  Her eyes fluttered open, and she caught me looking
at her. “What’s wrong? Is there something on me?” She jumped up, shuttering, and brushed at her arms. “Is it a spider?”

  I covered my mouth with my hand, containing my laugh, fighting hard to keep it hidden. “It’s nothing. Just amazed at how well you tan.”

  Not wanting to look like a fool, she shook off her actions, changing the subject. She gathered her hair into a ponytail and snorted. “Well, you can stay here if you want, but I’m getting too hot.”

  I waved. “Go ahead. I think I’m gonna lie here for a while, then maybe get an ice cream.”

  Mandy walked over to the water and plunged in, leaving me alone to contend with the butterflies that swarmed and dive-bombed my stomach when I thought of seeing Tate again.

  I got up, my mind stumbling, fighting with itself over the panicked thoughts that had wormed their way in. Should I go get an ice cream? What if he were over there? I looked horrible. He couldn’t see me like this. My stomach hardened, tensed up.

  I sat back down, changing my mind about going. But, knowing I’d regret it, I got back up and walked over, joining in on the line of people waiting for a cold treat. Not wanting to make my search obvious, I kept my eyes in front of me, staring straight ahead—grounded. Determined to make at least one thing look better in case he was over here, I dug my fingers into my hair and fluffed it.

  A line formed behind me, and a young boy chattered to his mother about the kind of ice cream he wanted. I silently agreed with him—chocolate all the way.

  A wave of cold air surrounded me and eased the stifling heat for just a moment. My pulse quickened, and my mouth went dry when the new, yet familiar scent of shaving cream whirled to my nose.

  A deep voice called my name. “Sophia?”

  I jolted and spun around, a spurt of adrenaline shooting through me. My heart thudded rhythmically at the sight of Tate. The little boy who had been talking earlier stood behind him.

  His brows arched. “It is Sophia, right?”

  I swallowed fast a couple of times, struggling, keeping my chin from locking itself down against my chest.