Mångata Bay

|02| lifeguard

|a n d r e w|
🌊

Aspen.

The lifeguard who saved my life's name is Aspen.

The name swims around in my head, making me already feel accustomed to it by the time we reach the tiki bar. Most of the drinks served here are alcoholic, but they have a small selection of smoothies and other beverages for those below the age of twenty one.

Aspen invited me to walk with her to the bar on her break, and I offered to buy her drinks since she saved my life.

"I was just doing my job," Aspen laughs humbly, knocking her shoulder into mine as we sit on bar stools at the counter. I playfully knock her's back, earning a breathtaking smile.

How come there aren't any girls in my hometown that aren't either my sister or my cousins?

"So," I start, desperate to start conversation, "how long have you been a lifeguard?" Aspen shrugs and spins around on her stool. "Legally? Since I was fifteen. Illegally? Twelve." She laughs, making her hazel eyes sparkle and nose scrunch up.

I'm falling for her and I don't even know her yet.

"So, what do you do?" she asks after we order our smoothies.

"I work on my family's lumber yard in Alaska. I mostly do the hard labor stuff and my sister works with the money."

"Alaska? What the hell are you doing in Mångata?"

Our smoothies are handed to us by the lady working behind the counter with a wink. I nod a thanks and Aspen smiles at her. We turn back towards each other, holding our cold glasses. "Vacation. You?" I reply.

"I've lived here my entire life." She sips her smoothie. "You said you have a sister?"

"Yeah," I say, pointing to Rose splashing water in some boy's face. I furrow my eyebrows watching them. Rose isn't one to make friends easily, especially with boys. Earlier, when I saw them in the water, I thought that she'd scare him off quickly, but seeing how close they're standing and the look in both of their eyes...

"Teo's a good kid; you don't have to worry about him messing with your sister," Aspen comments, breaking my train of thought. I turn and meet her smirk with a confused glance. She motions back to my sister. "That boy she's with, Teo; he's a good kid. He's my boyfriend's little brother."

My heart stops and I nearly choke on my smoothie. Boyfriend?!

"Well, technically they're stepbrothers," she continues, but I'm not listening anymore.

She has a boyfriend.

My eyes flicker up as a guy with a backwards baseball cap perched on his head approaches Aspen from behind and wraps his arms around her. She jumps at his touch and whips her head back to see him.

"Hey, baby," he says, kissing the top of her head. He glances up at me and sends me a glare. Aspen gives me an apologetic smile as she turns to him.

"Will, this is Andrew," Aspen tells the baseball cap boy, who moves to sit beside her. She continues, "Andrew, this is my boyfriend Will."