Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina.
Where the waves are huge, the sun is hot and the tourists are hotter.
When Chance Barnes' teammates convince him to spend the summer in North Carolina, instead of returning home to Chicago, he thought it was goi...
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The only thing Emmalee knew was that she was drunk, very drunk, and she was at the beach for the first of many parties of the summer.
Wrightsville Beach was polar opposites during the summer and winter. Winter was filled with quiet business, whereas summers were filled with tourists, out of towners, parties, and busy life. During the winter months, a few tourists would pop up, typically ones who enjoyed a peaceful life filled with lazy walks bundled up on the beach and fishing.
The summer season, on the other hand, was consumed by drunk college kids wanting to escape their stress-filled year and party the grades and responsibilities away.
Emmalee's favorite time of the year was summer. She loved the surge of energy from the people seeking to have a good time and forget about anything that wasn't booze, the beach, or relaxing.
Wrightsville Beach's summer gave her purpose.
Not only did the summer season mean an excuse to get drunk on a regular basis, but that meant spending every second on the beach was in full swing. Her life was fueled by saltwater and any chance she could take to be in a bathing suit forgetting about her life and drown her thoughts in the water.
And tonight was like any typical Wrightsville Beach summer night. A huge party was taking place on the beach, the alcohol was flowing, the bonfire was blazing and Emmalee did reckless to fuel her adrenaline.
She'd climbed the lifeguard tower a hundred times. She knew how to maneuver her way to the top with ease and where to place her footing at the top. She loved the thrill of the crowd cheering at her, every year it was always the same. She lived life on the edge, and everyone knew it. Tourists and locals. Everyone had heard of Wrightsville Beach's very own wild child.
Wild child.
A name she was given at a young age, due to her tendencies to try anything new and anything that got her blood pumping. The name stuck, and she wore it with pride.
The night's during the summer season are usually filled with a typical drunk crowd. Girls pretend they're drunk, but really, they just can't handle their liquor. Guys who want to be showoffs to impress a girl, but are too drunk to actually follow through, or worse break something. Or people who just want an excuse to get rip-roaring drunk. Every year it was the same.
It was the same people every year. She knew their faces, but never their names. College kids always flood Wrightsville Beach, and every night was the same. Except for tonight.
When she climbed off the lifeguard tower, she was met with a confused face. Usually, everyone cheered for Emmalee but once she touched the ground, people returned to drinking and mingling. She had seen him standing next to Mark, the quintessential asshole from Wilmington. Mark was always hanging around Wrightsville during the summers, trying to chase any piece of tourist tail he could lay his hands on. He had been doing this since he was 13 years old. She only saw him during the summer, but his reputation never changed throughout the years.
