by Tia Siren
Stacy dropped onto the bed and leaned back on her elbows. “You know, Faith, they told me to tell you. They want you to come along.”
Faith blushed slightly and bit her bottom lip. “Did you tell them about Ethan?” She suspected Stacy knew. She might as well come out with it.
Stacy stuck her tongue through her teeth, smiling big. “Of course not, Faith. I know you. You don’t want your feelings broadcast all over. Besides, Heather would tell, and we don’t want that right off, do we?”
Faith shook her head, hiding her grin behind her hand. “No. I want to try to talk to him myself before anybody finds out.”
Stacy turned over on her stomach and hunched her shoulders. “You’re gonna talk to him? What are you gonna say? Do you know? I bet you’re gonna need to drink a beer before you do that!”
Faith shook her head. “Oh no! I hope they aren’t gonna be drinking!”
Stacy laughed loudly. “Of course not! Those guys don’t drink. Their dads would kill them, every last one of them! If one dad didn’t, another one would. Imagine that! Ruining a perfectly good football career by drinking alcohol and getting all messed up. I can’t imagine.”
“I think it’s one of the only reasons the team is as good as they are.”
“You mean cuz they don’t drink?”
“Yeah. I think that’s why they win so many games.”
Stacy nodded. “I would put bets on that, Faith. Now let’s see. What are we gonna do? Mom says I can stay the night. We got lots of time.”
“Awesome!”
Thursday morning, Faith woke up to the bright sun streaming through her open window, letting in a cool breeze with it. She slid out of bed and closed the window, pulling the blinds so she could get dressed without thinking the entire neighborhood was watching. Her mother often came in and opened the window while she was sleeping because her room was always the hottest in the house.
She dressed quickly. Stacy would be there to pick her up in her dad’s car by 9, and they would be meeting the rest of the group at the school by 9:30. She was as excited as she’d ever been in her 17 years of living. She could see herself swimming with Ethan and splashing him and going for a piggy-back ride on his back, playing chicken with their friends.
She took a shower, got dressed as quickly as she could and was standing outside waiting when Stacy pulled up. Her friend leaned over and yelled through the window.
“Let’s go, girl, we don’t have all day!”
“I’m not the one who’s late.” Faith grinned wide as she threw her duffel bag in the back seat and climbed into the front. “What happened? I figured you’d be here early.”
Stacy shook her head. “It takes time to look this good, sweetie.”
They both laughed, and Faith responded, “Really? It didn’t take long to look this good.” She looked up and pressed one index finger under her chin. They both laughed again, and Stacy pulled out into the street.
“We are going to have a great time, Faith.”
“I know it!”
Faith rolled down the window and put her hand out, letting it ride on the wind. “It’s such a beautiful spring break week. It’s too bad we couldn’t go earlier in the week, but I’m glad we get to go now.”
Stacy nodded, glancing over at her. “Yeah, I don’t think everybody’s parents would have gone for having us all gone that long. Not enough supervision. You know they all grew up back in the ‘80s when Freddy Krueger was all the rage.”
The girls laughed again and Faith pretended to be scared.
“So did you bring along any books to read?” Stacy asked in a teasing voice.
Faith flushed but smiled back at Stacy. “Maybe.” She had brought along a couple of books. It was always good to be prepared if she was left sitting on the beach alone. She planned to do plenty of swimming and volleyball and talking to Ethan, but there was always a chance she wouldn’t be able to do at least two of those things. She couldn’t help thinking what if she was stung by a jellyfish and couldn’t go back in the water or what if she twisted her ankle and couldn’t play volleyball? She didn’t even want to think about not being able to talk to Ethan. She pictured him in her mind and knew her face was flushing even more.
“Good grief, your face is all red, Faith. Whatever are you thinking about?”
Faith just gave her a look. Stacy burst out laughing.
“Ethan!” She said. “Well, I wish you luck, honey. He’s a tough nut to crack.”
“Why do you say that?”
Stacy shrugged. “I don’t want to be the one to burst your bubble, but you’re not exactly his type.”
“What’s his type? And what type am I?”
Stacy raised her eyebrows. “Well, you aren’t his type, at least, not that I can see. He doesn’t go for the brainy beauties. He goes for the brainless beauties. You know, the ones who don’t care whether he cheats or not or goes out with his friends more often. Or doesn’t introduce you when you go out and meet someone new. Or…”
“Okay, okay, I get it. You sure don’t make him sound very attractive.”
Stacy looked at her. “You can’t judge someone by their looks, Faith. You gotta see what’s underneath, too.”
Faith didn’t look back at her. She looked out the window, letting her hand ride on the wind and thinking about what Stacy had said.
When they reached the school, most of the other students were already there, talking and laughing excitedly. The beach they were going to was an hour and a half away. They had all pitched in several hundred dollars to reserve large suites in a hotel that was right on the shorefront. Faith watched two of the football players loading coolers into the back of the SUV they were taking and gave Stacy a look. Her friend just shrugged as if to say, “what they do is their business.”
She didn’t want to judge and decided the coolers were probably filled with Coke and Pepsi. She wasn’t riding with them anyway. She saw Ethan but didn’t go over to him. He was with four girls and his best friend, Darryl. She and Darryl locked eyes for a moment and nodded at each other. They didn’t know each other well either but he was the only one on the football team she had classes with. In fact, she shared three classes with him. He was tall and muscular, the star quarterback. From what she’d heard about him, he planned to go to college on a football scholarship and someday play for the pros.
She was surprised when he left the group he was with and approached her and Stacy.
“Hey, ladies.” He said.
“Hey, Darryl.” Both Faith and Stacy replied at the same time. They looked at each other and laughed. Darryl’s smile spread across his face, revealing bright white, straight teeth.
“Excited yet?” He asked.
“Yeah, very!” Stacy said, openly flirting with the boy. “You?”
Darryl nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “Yeah, I get to drive a bunch of dumb jocks across the state and watch them get wasted all weekend. Sounds like a great time.”
Faith raised her eyebrows. “You don’t sound serious. You’re not gonna drink, too?”
He shook his head. “Beer is nasty, girl. Don’t drink. It turns people into classless, moral-less fools.”
“Is moral-less a word?” Stacy asked, teasing him. He smiled at her.
“Does it matter?”
Chapter Two
The convoy of cars, trucks and SUVs made it to the beach safely, nearly two hours after they set out. Faith rode with Stacy, who had offered to give rides to two other girls. One of them smoked cigarettes the entire way there, which Stacy was unhappy about. She grumbled that her father was going to be angry when he got his car back and it stank of cigarettes. She told the girl she would have to ride in a different car on the way back, which made for a very uncomfortable ride for the last hour.
But Faith forgot about it when she got her bag out of Stacy’s trunk, and they went in the hotel to check in.
“First thing we’re gonna do,” Stacy said. “Is go out on the beach. So let’s get our room and
change into our bikinis right now!”
Faith didn’t have a bikini. She had a very small one piece with no back to it, though. Her mother had bought it for her, much to Faith’s surprise. It was small, but the design on the front was a beautiful sunrise, with the colors of the sky splashing across it in majestic fashion. She was impressed. She was also anxious to put it on and see what Ethan thought of it.
If she could get his attention.
She delighted in the feel of the sand between her toes. She scrunched it up and giggled. “I love this so much, Stace.” She said. “We gotta move here. We gotta find a college at the beach so we can enjoy this all the time.”
“You know, they say that when you live at the beach, you forget how beautiful it is because you’re, like, working all the time and never get to enjoy it. But if I lived here, I’d make sure to find the time to enjoy it.”
“Yeah, me too. I mean, how can you forget this beauty? I’d probably forget I had to go to work!”
They laughed.
They found a spot on the beach near some of their friends and spread their blankets out over the sand. Faith sat down on hers and set the small bag she’d brought with her down in the sand next to her. She took out a pair of sunglasses, her suntan lotion and a bottle of water.
“I am so ready for this. School has been rough lately.” Stacy did the same next to her, propping her sunglasses up on her head.
“How is that?” Faith laughed. Stacy gave her a wide-eyed look.
“You do know I’ve been helping out those kids in the remedial classes, don’t you? That’s taken a lot of time from my usual studies. I’ve got two assignments due when I get back.”
“Have you done them yet?” Faith asked.
Stacy shook her head. “No, I wanted to come on this trip too much and didn’t get them finished. I’m gonna have to take Monday to do them.”
“We go back to school Monday, silly.” Faith said.
“I know, but they aren’t due till Wednesday.”
Faith chuckled. “You’re pushing it to the last minute. Way to procrastinate.”
“I know it. It’s terrible. I’m terrible. I think I’ll have to go for a swim to punish myself. Come on!” She jumped up and held out one hand. Faith shook her head.
“You go ahead. I think I’m gonna soak up some sun and get really hot first so the water will freeze me through and through when I finally get in.”
Stacy laughed. “Suit yourself! See ya!”
Faith watched her friend bound toward the water, skipping into it and falling backwards when she was about waist high. A small wave toppled over her head, and she came up with a delighted yell. Faith smiled, smoothing out lotion on her arms and legs.
The sun was bright in the sky, almost directly over her head. She slipped on her sunglasses and laid back on the towel, already feeling her skin begin to warm up.
She may have fallen asleep. She wasn’t sure. The next thing she knew, someone was dripping cold water on her. She shrieked and sat up, shading her eyes to see who was torturing her. To her surprise, it was Ethan, leaning over and shaking his head so that he was splattering cold water from his hair all around him.
“You’re awake!” He laughed loudly. “We didn’t come here to sleep, girl! Get up and get moving! Come on! Have some fun! Besides, we need a fourth!” He reached out and took her hand, lifting her up to her feet whether she liked it or not. Her heart thumped hard in her chest, and she tried not to feel like she had just been crowned queen of the homecoming dance.
“Okay, okay!” She laughed, nervously. “You don’t have to tell me twice!”
She followed him down into the water, where several other school friends were splashing around, including Stacy and Darryl. Stacy gave her an open mouth grin and splashed over to her. Before she knew it, she was falling backwards in the water from Stacy attacking her. Stacy came up first, throwing her wet, long blond hair back over her head. Faith grabbed her shoulders and they wrestled in the water for a few moments.
“Hey, come on!” Ethan gestured to them. “Time for chicken, come on, we’re gonna knock you into next week!”
Faith went towards him, but he turned away from her and grabbed one of the other girls, hoisting her up onto his shoulders. She stopped and looked around at the others, hoping no one had noticed her anticipation. She was embarrassed to see that Darryl had and was watching her for her reaction. When she grinned at him, cheeks red, he lifted one hand to her.
“Come on, come on!” He said. “You’re not going to let him get away with that, are you?”
She splashed over to him, and he grabbed her, kneeling down so she could climb up on his shoulders. He was taller than Ethan and lankier. She had no trouble pulling the other girl off of Ethan’s shoulders. Darryl’s hands around her legs held her in a firm grip. She wondered if she would have bruises. She was having so much fun; she didn’t care.
Things quieted down that evening. After a dinner of pizza, chicken wings, and Coca-Cola, Faith and Stacy decided to spend some time in one of the hot tubs provided by the hotel. It was an enclosed hot tub surrounded by glass. There were two in one glass enclosure and two in another. One glass building was packed with students from their high school, other schools and college students. The other was less full. In fact, one of the hot tubs only had three people in it. That was the one Faith and Stacy went to first.
The warm water comforted Faith, relieving any residual stress she may have felt. She sat in front of one of the jets and let it beat against her back for a few minutes before moving away from it. The stream of water made it seem hotter than it actually was and it didn’t take long for it to feel like it was burning her.
She rested her head backwards and enjoyed the heat. She and Stacy didn’t talk. The other three young people in the hot tub weren’t talking either. It was comfortable and quiet.
After a short while, she sensed someone what looking at her and opened her eyes. Darryl had come in the glass building, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was stepping down into the hot tub slowly. When she opened her eyes, he glanced at her and smiled.
“Hey.” He said softly, passing in front of her to sit on the other side of Stacy.
She nodded at him.
“This is nice, isn’t it?” He kept his voice very low, as if they were in a library.
She smiled. “Yeah.” She closed her eyes again and laid her head back, sinking just a bit lower into the water, so that it came up and brushed against her chin.
Taking that as a sign, Darryl fell quiet and kept his eyes on the bubbling water.
When Faith opened her eyes again, the only people left in the hot tub were her, Stacy and Darryl. Even the crowd in the other glass building had dissipated. Stacy was moving through the water, walking from one side to the other and back again. She smiled at Faith.
“I’m swimming in the hot tub.” She murmured, running her hands over the foaming bubbles that rode along the surface of the water. “I’m ready to get out, though. Starving to death. You wanna go get something to eat?”
Faith nodded. “Yeah but not yet. I’m gonna sit in here for a little longer.”
“It’s like a sauna in here. You don’t need to lose any weight or you’re gonna blow away in the wind. I’m gonna go dry off. I’ll get something delivered to the room. You want a sub?”
“That sounds great!” Faith replied. “Give me another fifteen or so and I’ll be up there.”
Stacy nodded, moving to the steps and lifting herself out of the tub. “Okay, girl. See you in a few.”
Faith watched her friend as she wrapped her towel around her wet body and slipped her feet into her beach slippers. Then she turned her eyes to Darryl, who had stretched his long body out over the seat and was laid back in the corner, his arms spread out to the sides. He opened his eyes wide when he saw her looking at him.
“Uh oh.” He said menacingly. “It’s just you and me now.”
Faith chuckled. “Should I be worried?”
D
arryl laughed and shrugged. “I guess you could be if you wanted to be. But you shouldn’t be. I won’t hurt you.”
“Glad to hear it. I know where you live.”
He laughed again. “Oh, you do? I think I’m the one who should be worried now.”
Faith laughed with him.
“So you’re having a good time so far?” Darryl asked.
She nodded. “Yeah, it’s been incredibly relaxing.”
“I think so, too. I’ve been waiting all year for this.”
“All school year or all year-year?”
“All year-year. At the beginning of school, I was thinking more about how to keep my grades up so I can stay in football and get my scholarship and go to college.”
“Do you know where you’re going yet?”
He shook his head. “Not yet. If I get the scholarship from football, I’ll probably apply at the ones I want to attend. If I get the free scholarship, I’ll be going to community with the others.”
“That’s what Stacy and I are going to do.” Faith moved to the other side of the hot tub so that she was closer to where he was sitting. She noticed when he looked down over her body and then back up at her eyes.
“You’re gonna wait to see if you get a football scholarship?”
She laughed. “No, I mean the free scholarship for two years. Then we’ll apply where we want to go.”
“Good thing. I don’t think the football thing would work out for you.”
They both laughed at that.
“What do you plan to do, do you know?” He asked.
“I’m going to be a teacher. Probably the younger grades, you know, kindergarten through maybe fourth or fifth. One of those grades.”
“Don’t want to teach the high schoolers, huh?”
Faith snorted. “No.”
He nodded. “I understand. I wouldn’t want to either. Not much money in that, though.”