from; hope
morning :)
my phone buzzed at 8:04am, awaking both me and the monstrous ali.
"what the hell kell, i'm about to beat you to a pulp if you wake me up one more time," she hisses from under her pillow.
"it's just a text, calm yourself," i groan in reply, reading it and lighting up immediately.
to; hope
good morning, you out on the beach?
from; hope
yep, as always ://
to; hope
omw, i'm taking you up on that 'keep you company' offer
from; hope
bless you kelley o'hara
i laugh to myself "keep sleeping al, i'm just gonna head down to the beach," i say, getting into a bathing suit and a comfy t-shirt, and heading down towards the shore.
——————————————
"i've come to save the day!" i call out as i approach her large lifeguard's chair.
"squirrel!! you're here!" she excitedly says, hopping down and greeting me with a gorgeous grin.
"sorry about last night, i just had already made the plans, even if they were with brody," i cringe and she giggles.
"well you're here now, and that's what counts," she states and i nod. "so i'm starving and on a break, you wanna get food off the boardwalk?"
"uh sure!" i say. normally i wouldn't agree to something so quickly, but brody's advice really hit me hard. he's right, i only have three days left here after today. i need to do everything i can before its time to say goodbye.
so hope and i head off towards the golden plate eatery, which is her favorite place for cheap boardwalk food. not only does she talk about that, but the topics of rainbows, cookie brands, checkers, and other random crap happen to come up. i learn all her little silly quirks, like how when she shakes someone's hand it has to be their left, or her hair is always up in a bun so it's out of her face but she doesn't get weird tan lines. she teaches me all the rules to be a lifeguard, and i talk about my love for surfing. i even offer to teach her how to surf.
we each get a burger, sit on a bench in some nice shade, and simply look into each other's eyes.
"hope, i have to tell you something. it may sound stupid, but i have to tell it to you," i begin, taking a deep breath. you only have three days kelley. get it done.
"yeah, i have something i need to tell you too, but you go first," she says with pink cheeks.
"well.. you see i-" words are falling on top of words. i can't seem to get a simple sentence out and i feel like everyone's waiting on me, staring and waiting. her eyes burn into me like two fires of hope and wonder.
hope.... i think i might be falling in love with you, but i can't seem to admit it because that's who i am. i'm closed off and easily-embarrassed, i make a lot of mistakes and i need to make sure that this is real and this isn't just another mistake for me.
"this is the best burger i've ever had," i make up with a laugh.
"i was gonna say the same thing!" she says with a glint of nerve in her eyes. she's lying, and we both know it too well.
"well i had a lot of fun, but i should probably go make sure my roommate is still alive. surfing lessons tonight?" i ask her. she nods and throws a away our wrappers.
"later squirrel," she says, running off to find her lifeguard chair.
——————————————
"hey ali," i arrive in the room greeting my friend with a down attitude.
