by Carly Syms
I didn’t think I wanted to see either of them right now, but it wasn’t like I could go anywhere. I certainly wasn’t about to demand that Joey drive me home before everyone else.
A shriek followed by a very familiar giggle startled me out of my thoughts. I stopped floating and started treading water, looking for Pia.
And what I saw felt like a dagger piercing straight through my heart.
But there it was, right in front of my face.
Pia and Anthony stood about ten feet apart in shallower water, facing one another. Anthony bent over slightly, arms dangling in front of him, while Pia squealed with fake fear.
She took off running, her long brown hair whipping behind her, and Anthony laughed, starting to give chase. Pia ran gracefully through the waves before falling.
I already knew what would happen next.
Anthony caught up to her and scooped her up in his arms. She squealed and pushed against his wet chest, but the megawatt smile on her face meant her cries weren’t fooling anybody.
He swung her back and forth a few times as if he was getting ready to throw her like he threw me. I knew his routine well. Sure enough, after the third pump fake, he tossed her and Pia sailed through the air, shrieking and laughing the whole time, before crashing into the surf.
I held my breath. Part of me--a very small part, but make no mistake, it was there--hoped she’d wind up with a busted leg, too. It was the least she deserved after this...this...this betrayal.
But, naturally, Pia sprang back to the surface, sputtering and wiping at her eyes. Anthony instantly appeared by her side and she swatted at him in mock indignation.
“That wasn’t very nice!” she said, and he grinned and wiggled his eyebrows at her.
I’d seen enough. That was supposed to be me with Anthony. It had been me, just a few days ago! And it would have been me if Pia had any respect for our friendship at all.
But it was pretty obvious that ship had sailed.
And it had left port without me.
***
We didn’t stay at the northern beach as long as anyone had expected us to.
After Pia and Anthony’s disgusting display in the surf, I’d forced myself out of the water and up to my beach towel to tune them out, but soon enough, they’d found their way up there, too. It was a small, uncrowded beach and I used to love that, but today I wished I could make it all disappear.
I think Joey had grown tired of watching Anthony and Pia play around or listening to me huff about it, but either way, he’d started packing his stuff up right after lunch and announced we were going back.
I could have kissed him.
I’d been dreading the car ride home, but Pia and Anthony made it worse than I could’ve imagined. They cuddled up in the backseat, murmuring to each other and giggling. I’d clung to the edges of the seat, my knuckles turning white, keeping my eyes closed as much as possible.
And as soon as Joey parked at the Game Shack, I was on my bike and halfway home.
Finally.
“You’re back early.”
Of course. Grandma would meet me by the door on the one day I really didn’t want to talk to anyone.
“Oh,” I said. “Yeah, uh, Pia wasn’t feeling well so we had to leave.”
I didn’t even mind telling her a fib if it meant not talking about the afternoon.
“That’s a shame. Did you have a nice time at least?”
“Uh, yeah. It was...just like all the others.”
Grandma nodded, but raised one perfectly penciled-on eyebrow as if she didn’t quite believe me. “All the well that you’re back now. You can go into work later!”
“I...what? I don’t have to work tonight.”
“No, but Ralph Picadilly called and he could use you at the games tonight,” she said. “I told him if you were back in time, you’d go. And look at that. You are!”
I shook my head. “Ralphie doesn’t know I’m back yet.”
“Well, what else did you have planned tonight? If Pia’s sick enough to come back early, you’re not going to be spending any time with her.” That was for sure. “Might as well earn some money.”
I sighed. Grandma had something of a point. If I was at work, I wouldn’t have to sit around at home, alone--or with her and Poppy, and think about Pia and Anthony.
And there was no guarantee that Anthony would be out--he could just as easily be on his rooftop balcony when I was on ours and that was the last thing I wanted.
Plus, this way I could vent to Gianna if she was there.
“Okay,” I finally said, and my grandmother smiled.
“Excellent! I’ll call Ralph for you if you’d like to rest your eyes before your shift. He needs you at four.”
I looked down at my phone. It was a little after three now. No time for anything but a shower.
Once inside my room, I was suddenly eager to feel the hot water beating down on my skin, washing away the dirt, grime, and leftover sunscreen from my disaster of a day.
And maybe, if I was lucky, the water would wash away the memories, too.
***
“Oh, girl, he did not do that to you!” Gianna smacked her gum as she rolled her heavily-lined brown eyes.
I nodded solemnly as I leaned up against the wall of the festival game Ralphie had put me in charge of for the evening. Gianna was supposed to run the kiddie swings, but she hadn’t had many takers yet.
“That...that...well, I just don’t know a good word for him. And your friend!” Gianna’s eyes flashed. “That’s the lowest of the low! We don’t do our friends that way in Jersey, I can tell you that right now.”
“I don’t even know what to say about Pia. I didn’t see it coming.”
“She ever do anythin’ like that to you before?”
“No. I thought she had a boyfriend! She never told me they broke up.”
Gianna shrugged. “Maybe they didn’t. Girl could go after her friend’s guy that easy, wouldn’t surprise me if she’s cheatin’ on her man back home.”
I raised my eyebrows. “I...”
“What? Don’t tell me she’s not capable of it, Lexie,” Gianna said as if she’d read my mind. “’Cause just yesterday, you’d have been tellin’ me there’s no way she’d go after someone you liked.”
What could I say? She was right. I never would have guessed that Pia could do something like this, let alone to me.
“So the question is,” Gianna went on. “What are you gonna do about it?”
I frowned. “Me? What can I do?”
She looked at me as if I was crazy. “What, you’re just gonna let her have him? That’s it? No fight?” She shook her head.
“You haven’t met Pia,” I said, looking down. “It’s no contest.”
Gianna blew out some air and rolled her eyes. “What’s with all this self-doubtin’ nonsense? I thought you Southern belle types were supposed to think you’re all that.”
“No, that’s you Jersey shore types,” I shot back, and Gianna grinned.
“Then it’s ‘bout time we got some Jersey in you. Don’t take this lying down! Go after your man.”
“He’s not my man.”
“No, but you want him to be.”
I wasn’t so sure after what he’d pulled today.
“Oh, get real,” Gianna said, reading my facial expression. “If he came marchin’ in here right now and said he made a mistake today and wanted to start over with you, you’d shoot him down?”
I like to think that I absolutely would, but I knew there was no fooling Gianna, and what was the point of lying to myself?
“I guess not,” I replied with a sigh.
Gianna nodded. “Exactly. So get him back! Sounds like this girl was all over him and he was into the attention and all that jazz. Guys’ll do a lot worse than that, you know.”
“Fine,” I said, daring to believe her words. “But I don’t even know what to do.”
“That’s why you got me,” she said. “You just need to make sure he doesn’t forg
et about you! You’re the one who shares the same patio with him. Get out there in your bikini tomorrow and make sure he sees you.”
“That’s your answer to it all? Get him to see me in my bikini? I did that today!”
Gianna rolled her eyes. “Yeah, but you’ll be the only one there this time. You’re too shy for your own good. Gotta stop being insecure like that, Lexie. If you don’t think you’re the greatest, why should he?”
I paused for a second, her words ringing in my ears. It made sense, of course it did, but it was so much easier said than done. If I was so great, why didn’t he pick me over Pia? Why did I have to help him see that I was worth being with? Shouldn’t he just know?
“I know what you’re thinkin’,” Gianna said. “Cut it out. You’re never gonna get the guy if you think like that.”
I opened my mouth to reply when a shout a few yards away cut me off.
“I can’t believe you just said that to me!”
A blonde girl I knew I’d seen before but couldn’t quite place was yelling at someone--or something--that wasn’t in my line of sight.
“You’re blowing it way out of proportion!”
The blonde rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest, pouting, and Gianna snorted.
“Don’t tell me how to react. I know what I saw and I know what you did!” she yelled.
“No,” the male --I still couldn’t see him--replied. “You don’t. But you would if you’d just listen to me!”
“Why should I?”
“Because you’re supposed to be my girlfriend? You could at least consider what I have to say.”
“It doesn’t matter anymore,” she replied. “This is over.”
“Brittany!” The mystery man stepped out of the shadows and I almost fell over. Jeff the Lifeguard stared at the blonde I recognized from the bonfire that night with pleading eyes.
“Save it,” she snapped. “I told you. We’re over.”
And with that, Brittany stomped off, leaving a bewildered Jeff standing rooted in place. He looked around with an embarrassed expression on his face as he realized that their argument attracted an audience.
And as he scanned the crowd, something resembling sadness etched on his face, his eyes locked with mine and I realized I’d been caught staring.
He looked at me for a few seconds before offering a small, tentative smile.
And then he turned and walked away and I was left remembering the feeling that his fingers had left on my bruised thigh.
“You know him?”
The crack of Gianna’s gum startled me from my trance.
“What? Oh, no, he’s just the lifeguard on my block.”
Gianna raised her eyebrows. “Yeah. Sure.”
“He is!”
“Oh, I believe you,” she said. “But I’m not really convinced that’s all he is.”
“Okay, so he helped me when I got hurt the other day. But he’s not a nice guy.”
“He looks pretty nice.” She grinned wickedly at me.
I couldn’t hide my own smile. “Yeah, he’s okay.”
“He thinks somethin’ about you,” Gianna declared. “You could tell by that look he gave you. I just don’t know what it is.”
I shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. He’s a jerk and he’s dating Brittany and I don’t care.”
“Sure doesn’t look like they’re still datin’ to me.”
“I still don’t care.”
Gianna leveled me with a skeptical stare. “If you say so.”
I did. Jeff the Lifeguard had done nothing to convince me he wasn’t a jerk.
vii.
I jumped out of bed early the next morning, ready to run upstairs, grab my coffee, and head for the patio to see if Anthony would be there. One advantage that I had over Pia was my proximity to him and if I was going to listen to Gianna and get him back, I was going to need all the help I could get.
Grandma was nowhere to be found, which was perfect. I didn’t want to get wrapped up in a long conversation and miss my chance with Anthony. I carried my mug out to the patio and cuddled up on the wicker couch, watching the ocean.
The sun had only been up for a little while, but it was warm, and I guess the sunlight on my face lulled me back to sleep because the next thing I knew, I was startled awake by the sound of voices.
“Cozy, huh?”
I blinked a few times, trying to force the sleep out of my eyes. Anthony leaned against the railing that divided our balconies and he was grinning at me.
“Yeah, it’s nice out here.”
Great, Lexie. You’re an amazing conversationalist. He’s really going to fall at your feet now.
He smirked. “I don’t think too many people would argue that when you’ve got an oceanfront view.”
I nodded. “Guess something in the sea air lulls me to sleep.”
“You going to fall asleep on me when we have our rooftop sleepover?”
My eyes widened and I swallowed hard. He still wanted to do that? What about Pia? Maybe this would be easier than I thought.
“Sure,” I said. “Once the fun’s over.” I felt my cheeks skip warm and go straight to burning hot. I couldn’t believe I’d just said that!
Anthony only looked at me with raised eyebrows as a smile formed on his lips. “I like the way you think.”
I smiled, but found myself at a loss for words. He looked back at me, not saying anything. Talking to Anthony wasn’t supposed to be this hard, was it?
“So what are you doing today?” he finally asked me.
I shrugged, figuring that maybe if I played it cool, he’d ask me to hang out. “I’m not sure yet. I don’t have to work, though.”
He nodded. “Sweet. Maybe we can hit the beach later.”
“Perfect!” I said with a little more enthusiasm than I should have.
He stifled a laugh and I wanted to die. “Glad you’re excited about it, Lex. I’m gonna grab some breakfast and stuff. I’ll come over in an hour.”
I bit my tongue so I wouldn’t say anything else stupid until later. If I was going to beat Pia in the Anthony Killeen sweepstakes, I was going to need to do a lot better than that.
***
Anthony rang our front bell about an hour and a half later, two boogie boards tucked neatly under his arms. I, of course, had been ready to go for the last forty-five minutes, but he didn’t need to know that.
Still, I hated that he was late, like I couldn’t count on him to stick to his word. I’d taken extra care to look perfect for the beach. My hair fell exactly as I hoped it would and I’d worn a bit more eye make-up than I ordinarily would to the beach.
Hey, desperate times and all that.
Anthony smiled at me as I walked down the steps and we headed toward the beach bridge. It felt normal, like the first day we’d gone to the beach together, like yesterday and Pia had never even happened.
“This spot okay?” He stopped about fifteen feet away from the lifeguard stand.
I tried not to look, but I couldn’t help it. Jeff wasn’t on duty. “Sure, it’s perfect.”
He nodded and spread his towel out on the ground. I wasn’t sure how close to his I should put my own, so I settled for leaving a few feet of sand between us.
“I’m afraid to go in the water with you,” he said, pointing at my bruise which had begun to turn a frightening shade of traffic light yellow. “Don’t want your other leg to end up looking like that.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m sure I’ll be fine.”
“Then you up for this?” He pointed at the two boogie boards lying next to his towel.
I wiggled my eyebrows at him. “You just so happen to be talking to the queen of boogie boarding. I’m a champ.”
He cocked one eyebrow. “We’ll just have to see about that.”
We strapped the velcro cords around our wrists and ran for the waves. The water felt colder than usual but I tried not to squeal as I went farther out, always making sure I could feel the sand beneath me wi
th my feet if I stood.
We turned around to face the shore, clinging to our boards, waiting for the perfect wave.
“I love the ocean,” he said, a smile on his face as he closed his eyes.
“Me too. Most of it, anyway.”
He looked over at me. “Most of it? There a specific part of the ocean you don’t like?”
I laughed. “No, that’s not what I meant. It’s just that this thing happened to me when I was kid. My whole family was out on a boat and my dad and I decided to go--”
“Look at that wave!” Anthony called out, and I turned around to see a pretty big wave rising behind us. We were positioned perfectly to ride it into shore.
I tried not to be disappointed that he didn’t want me to finish my story. I didn’t talk about that day much, but he’d seemed like the right person to share it with.
I just barely beat him back to the shore.
“Nice ride,” he said. “Want to go again?”
“I’d love to try the board!”
I froze. I knew the voice that had spoken behind me, but I almost couldn’t believe this was happening.
Slowly, I turned around, praying that I’d been wrong.
“Hey!” Anthony’s megawatt smile--bigger than any one he’d ever given me--sank my heart. “That could be fun! We could take turns. What do you think, Lexie? Willing to give your friend a spin on the board?”
Pia smiled at me and I didn’t think I had much of a choice.
“Oh,” I said. “Okay, yeah. No problem.”
I unstrapped the velcro wristband and passed the boogie board over to her, not wanting to let it go when her fingers closed around it.
“Thanks, Lexie. That’s sweet of you.”
I didn’t say anything, just began to walk up the beach to our towels. I didn’t plan to stick around and see how this played out. I knew Pia wasn’t going to bring the boogie board back to me unless I asked for it. And clearly Anthony wasn’t too broken up about losing out on time with me.
“Oh!” Pia called out after I’d gotten a few feet up the sand. “By the way, Lexie...you may want to grab a mirror. Your make-up’s running.”