When we get to the General Store, we both grab bottles of water from the cooler and fill bags with penny candy or should I say nickel and dime candy? It's not really penny candy anymore, but my family still likes to call it that. Nickel candy? Nah, just doesn't sound as good. We pay for our stuff and begin the walk back. Marcus has been quiet and I'm not sure why. It's not like him. This silence between us is feeling uncomfortable and I don't like it at all. Our time together is always my favorite time. We don't do awkward.
"Let's go swing," I say as we come upon a playground. "I need a water break, I'm so thirsty from this heat." He nods in agreement and we each choose a seat to sit on. I'm too short for my feet to reach the ground so I have to do a balancing act holding my candy, the chain on the swing and drinking my water, all at the same time. Once I'm comfortably situated, I glance at Marcus and see him smirking at me.
"What?" I ask in an annoyed tone.
"You're so little, no wonder Jake calls you munchkin."
"One of these days I'll grow and kick your ass."
"Uh, yeah Hails that's never going to happen. You're fifteen, how much more could you possibly grow?"
"Whatever" I huff. I drink the rest of my water and get up to throw the bottle in the rubbish.
"Wanna head back?" I say as I turn back to face him.
"I guess," he says with a shrug. What is his problem? I am so over this walk. Get me home!
I start walking at a fast pace, keeping my focus straight ahead. At this rate, I'll make it home in no time. Marcus is behind me somewhere, but there is no way I’ll turn around and look. He can catch up with me if he wants, I'm not the one that's acting weird. The rest of the walk continues with me in front of Marcus and the odd silence between us. As our houses come into sight, I breathe a sigh of relief. All I want is to get inside, curl up in my chair with my book and forget this afternoon and all the weirdness between us ever happened.
As I start up my driveway, Marcus catches up with me.
"What d'ya wanna do for the rest of the afternoon Hails?"
"I think I will go read my book."
"I thought we were gonna hang out?" He looks confused at my sudden change of plans.
"Marcus, I don't know what's going on with you today. You're acting all distant and moody. You've barely said two words to me so I'm not sure why you'd think I'd want to do anything with you?
"Hails, I have no idea what you're talking about."
"What's wrong?" I say as I look up at him. He's grown so much I no longer reach his shoulder.
"Nothing's wrong, I guess I'm just in a funk today. I thought maybe you could get me out of it, but instead I think it rubbed off on you." He says with a smile, pulling me in for a hug. I rest my cheek on his chest and breathe in his scent. He smells like sunshine and Irish Spring soap, two of my favorite scents.
"Okay, it's whatever," I say with a shrug, pulling out of his arms. It’s pretty much impossible for me to stay mad at him. I turn, opening up the side door that leads to our mud room. I glance over my shoulder at him one more time before I walk inside.
"Are you coming?"
We spend the rest of the afternoon watching television and we seemed to have settled back into our usual groove of best friends.
***
I’m sitting on our back deck at the table, eating dinner and I have once again turned into “tongue tied Hailey” all because Cory is sitting next to me. Oh my God! His arm keeps brushing up against me throughout the meal. As if I’m not aware of him enough already. It’s really distracting and making it hard to concentrate on the conversation taking place around me. Marcus is sitting on my other side and he keeps nudging my foot whenever I miss something important that was said. I must seem out of it, though because my mother finally mentions it.
"Hailey, are you okay honey? You don't seem like yourself. Are you feeling sick?"
"Yeah mom, I'm fine, just tired I guess," I say with a shrug. At this point, Cory puts his arm around me, leaning down towards my ear as if he’s going to whisper in it.
"Hailey you need to tone down the partying." I turn my head to glance at him as I hear everyone laughing at his comment and realize our faces are closer than I thought. There're only about six inches separating our lips and I want more than anything to lean forward and connect them. Instead, I smile up at him and try to come up with a reply.
"Yeah, I need to stop being such a party animal." He laughs along with the others and winks at me before picking up his glass of water and taking a sip.
After dinner, Marcus and I played Boggle with my parents. I play Boggle like a boss so of course I beat them all. Not to brag but I have a rather extensive knowledge of the English language for my age. After a little gloating and celebrating I run up to my room, throwing my toothbrush and some clothes for tomorrow in my pink backpack since I'm sleeping over at Marcus' house. When I say clothes for tomorrow, I mean a bathing suit and board shorts. That’s pretty much the extent of my wardrobe for the next two months. I finish zipping up my bag and I say a quick goodbye to my parents, before heading across the street.
The O’Connor’s house is like a second home to me. Over the years, I have spent a lot of time here, almost as much as at my own house. Their bungalow style cottage with the large front porch was built by Marcus' grandfather in the 1940's, so his family's roots run deep in Bradburyport. My family has only been coming here since my parents bought our house when Jake was a baby, but my mom grew up on the Cape, in a nearby town. My dad is a city boy, born and bred in Boston. Sometimes I think he misses living in the midst of all the noise and chaos, but my parents didn't want to raise us in that environment. He still works in downtown Boston so he gets his city fix on a daily basis.
Lexham, where we live, when we're not at the beach, is a medium sized town, but the crime rate is pretty much nonexistent. There is also virtually nothing for teenagers to do for fun...maybe that's why there's never been a crime issue? Everyone tends to stay home and wallow in boredom. So many times I've wished that my parents had instead settled somewhere in the city. There's always something going on and you can feel the energy of it as if it's a living, breathing entity.
My dream is to attend Beacon University in Boston. It’s my mom and dad's alma mater and where they met when they were in their junior year. The campus is beautiful, situated along the Charles River. I'm a sucker for the old brick buildings with ivy growing up the sides and there are even some of the original cobblestone sidewalks that have survived for hundreds of years. I'd always been partial to the area it’s located in because there’s always something new to do. Sometimes on weekends during the school year my parents will take us into Boston on a Saturday morning and we will stay overnight, in a hotel, in the heart of the city. When we’ve gone in the past, we spend the weekend acting like visiting tourists and we always come home with some sort of souvenir to remember it by.
***
Marcus and I spend the next couple of hours sitting side by side on their brown leather love seat watching Jaws. You'd think with all the time we spend in the ocean that would be the last movie we would want to watch, but it’s actually a favorite of both of ours. We’ve been cramming our mouths full of popcorn and washing it down with copious amounts of coke and now the movie has ended. Even after all that we just ingested, we are both still wanting more, so we head to the kitchen and make double hot fudge brownie sundaes, with Mrs. O’Connor’s famous double fudge brownies. We eat the gooey mess on Marcus' queen sized bed while watching funny videos on his laptop. I give up on eating any more of mine about halfway through. I can’t take one more bite so Marcus is eating the rest like a champ and he will probably still be hungry afterward. That boy can put it away like nobody's business. I've never before seen anyone ingest such ungodly amounts of food.
"Oh my God. Just shoot me now and put me out of my misery." I groan out each word while holding on to my food baby.
"Don't move or I may hurl all over your bed," I groan.
"So if I w
ere to tickle you right now that would be a bad thing?" He says with a mischievous glint in his eyes as his hands hover just above my stomach.
"Yes, unless you'd enjoy me puking all over you and your bed."
"Okay, I think I'll skip that option. How about we watch Jerry Maguire?"
"Hell yes! You are the best friend, ever Marcus O’Connor."
I love this movie so much. I can almost recite the whole thing word for word, but tonight I won't do that because it drives him nuts when I do.
I grab a pair of Marcus' boxer briefs and a New England Patriots tee from his bureau and head into his bathroom to change. I never pack pj’s when I sleep over here. I always wear Marcus' clothes and I've been doing this for so long that at this point I don't even have to ask him. I brush my teeth and comb through my hair so it won't be a tangled mess in the morning, before returning to his bedroom.
I prop myself up on some oversized pillows, making myself comfortable on top of his blue plaid comforter while Marcus puts the movie on. He grabs the DVD player remote and lays back beside me on his bed. We've watched hundreds of movies lying together like this but somehow this time it feels different. I swear I can feel the heat from his body even though we aren't even touching. I shift from my back to my side, trying to get into a position where I feel less awkward. I prop my pillows up again and sigh.
"What's wrong Hails?"
"I can't get comfortable."
"Here, come on over," he says lifting his arm up so I can snuggle under it and lay on his chest. Well, this is new.
I wrap my arm across his stomach and snuggle into him. He feels amazing and he smells even better. He starts running his fingers through my hair from the roots to the ends and I shiver as a result.
"Are you cold?" He asks, reaching for a throw to drape over us.
A quiet thank you is my only reply as he covers me with a blanket. I'm embarrassed at my body's reaction to him. It's better he thinks I'm cold than to know the real reason I shivered. He begins stroking my hair again and before I know it I'm drifting off to sleep.
I wake in the morning to extreme heat against my back and an arm wrapped around my waist. Oh my God, oh my God! I can't believe that we slept in the same bed all night. Calm down.
I take a couple of deep breaths to settle myself down and relax back into the warmth of Marcus behind me. Holy shit. Is that what I think it is? I wonder if he wakes up with that every morning?
I hold still hoping it will go away and that he won't wake yet. I'm trying to figure out the best way to extricate myself from this bed without him knowing when his arm around my waist tightens; pulling me up against the front of him. I feel the imprint of his morning wood against my ass and I can't help but wonder... what does it look like? I've seen pictures of a penis in health class but I've never felt or seen one up close and personal. I really want to take a peek at it, but if I do he'll wake up. Decisions, decisions...
Marcus snatches the opportunity away from me by stirring from his sleep. As he's waking, he flexes his hips and rubs up against me, letting out a moan before suddenly rolling to his back. He exhales a big breath and lays his arm over his eyes.
I sit up, peering over my shoulder in his direction, waiting for him to address the elephant in the room. The silence is freaking me out so I say a simple "Morning," before getting out of bed and quickly making my way to the bathroom.
Once I'm safely ensconced inside I gaze at my reflection in the mirror. My cheeks are flushed a nice shade of pink and my hair is stuck to the back of my neck with sweat. Ugh! I brush my teeth and use some mouthwash before throwing my hair up in a messy bun. I use Marcus' brush because mine is still in my backpack...which is in his room... with him. I'm not quite ready to leave the safety of the bathroom yet, or to face him, so I redo my bun and splash some water on my face. It's now or never.
As I walk back into his room, I’m relieved to find he’s no longer there. I quickly change into my bikini and board shorts before slipping on a black tank top and heading downstairs.
I find Marcus in the kitchen devouring the pancakes on his plate.
"Good morning Mrs. O’Connor," I say as I sit at their small kitchen table. I pour myself a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice and glance at Marcus. His focus is solely on his plate and he keeps shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid pace.
"Would you like some pancakes, Hailey?" She asks me, spatula in hand.
"Yes please." I barely get the words out before there are two perfectly round, golden pancakes on my plate. I add some butter and syrup, already anticipating how delicious I know they will taste.
"Mmm, Mrs. O’Connor you are the best cook. If you were my mom, I'd be two hundred pounds by now. Marcus, how are you not a total lardo?" I ask, trying to draw him into the conversation.
"I guess I'm just genetically superior to you," he says with a wink.
"Or, it just hasn't caught up with you yet. Pudgedom awaits you in your 20's. You better make the most of these teen years because I see a big belly in your future. You will be the king of Pudgeville by the time you are 30."
His mother laughs and Marcus just smiles, shaking his head.
"Never gonna happen, Hails," he says with a smirk.
"What are you kids up to today?" She asks, raising her voice to be heard over the sound of running water as she rinses off the dishes.
"Wanna hit some waves? We haven't surfed in a couple days now."
"Yes! This is why I keep you as my bestie Marcus. Sometimes I swear you can read my mind."
"I need to go for a quick run. I haven't been training enough and coach will kick my ass if I'm not in shape for football camp. I'll meet you on the beach in an hour."
"Ok, sounds good. I'm going to grab my bag and head home."
I run up to his room and grab my backpack. I'm relieved that the weirdness from this morning seems to be forgotten and things seem to be back to normal between us.
As I walk over to my house, I see Jake and Cory lugging beach chairs and a big red cooler down to the beach.
"Do you guys need any help? I can carry something for you. I'll be down in a bit."
"We're all set Munchkin," Jake says over his shoulder as he makes his way onto the beach.
I pause for a moment and take in the beauty of the Atlantic Ocean before me. Our side property line abuts the dunes that flank either side of the wide opening to the beach, gracing us with an unobstructed view of sand and sea. It's a breathtaking sight.
I close my eyes and inhale the scent of the salt water. When I was a little girl, I used to think the fishy, salty smell of the ocean was horrible but now I love it. I breathe in deeply, savoring the crispness of the sea breeze entering my lungs before turning to go inside.
I decided that since Jake and Cory are already at the beach, I’m going to head there early; instead of waiting for Marcus. I grab my large straw beach bag that holds my towel and sunscreen and head out the door to get my surfboard from the garage. Since our house couldn’t be closer to the beach, I only bring what I absolutely need with me. It's easier to run back for whatever I want than to balance a bunch of stuff in my arms.
I immediately see where Jake and Cory are sitting so I make my way towards them gingerly maneuvering through the burning hot, dry sand. I’m always amazed that I don’t get blisters on the bottom of my feet from all the time my feet spend in contact with the scorching temperature of the sand.
"Hey, Hailey. How are you doing?” Cory asks.
"I'm good. Marcus and I are going to get some surfing in. How have you been?” Holy shit, I just answered Cory's question coherently. I guess after having morning wood against my ass, speaking to him seems like nothing.
"I'm good. I wish I could stay here for the rest of the summer and not have to work."
"Dude," Jake chimes in, "I'm running back to the house for a sec. Do you need anything?
"Naw, I'm all set."
As Jake heads towards our house, he looks back at me and gestures as if to ask if I want
him to bring me anything. I shake my head no and grab my surfboard.
"See you in a bit Cory."
"I'll be watching. Show me something good."
I give him as thumbs up as I head to the shoreline feeling self-conscious about the size of my ass, even though I’m sure he’s probably not even looking at it.
The water is fairly warm today but warm for this part of the country would probably feel freezing to most others. I paddle out on my board and sit up, so my legs are on either side, straddling it. I watch a few sets of waves to see where they are breaking. Once I have a good sense of their timing I lay on my board and start paddling with the flow of the ocean. The first few waves I ride are mediocre, but I catch sight of a big one in the distance and set up for it. As it gets closer, I start paddling as fast as I can, hopping up on my board at what should be perfect timing but somehow I've miscalculated. The wave is so large it knocks me head first off my surfboard and I flounder around until I’m violently dragged underneath the water. My whole right side is forcefully driven into the jagged rocks on the ocean floor. I grimace in reaction to the sharp pain as the current continues to drag me along the rocky surface. I'm trying to get my bearings, but I'm being tossed around like a boneless rag doll. My surfboard is pummeling me from the force of the current and the fact that it is strapped to my ankle is a hindrance, not a help. The water is so rough it's a giant mass of churning white bubbles and I can't figure out which way is up or down. I start to panic and I'm not sure how much longer I can hold my breath for.
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