Stories

Free Write 1

I heard the wheels of my skateboard make contact with the ground- unfortunately I also heard the sound of concrete and skin colliding. I had been working on this move for weeks, long before I moved out here to LA. For the past hour, all I could feel were the scrapes on my hands and knees and the disappointment that I couldn’t master a trick my little brother had known for years. With this thought fresh on my mind, I tried again- only to fail. Over and over I tried, reworked, refigured. I finally saw the sun come up and I knew I would have to head home soon. I had been waking up at 5:30 every morning since the move, trying to perfect this and other stunts. I decided to try one more time before admitting defeat. This time when I heard the contact of wheels to ground, I realized I was still on the board. I let out a victory yell, a smile on my face. I heard clapping behind me and when I spun around to face the newcomer, I froze, absolutely stunned. My grey eyes met metallic blue ones slightly obscured by nutmeg brown hair. He stood about 6’ 1”, a good five inches taller than me. His tanned hands were still clapping and his full lips were pulled into a genuine smile.

 “Dude, that was awesome! Where’d you learn to do that?”

I replied, my voice lower than normal due to shock, “Uh, thanks, my brother showed me how but I’ve never been able to land it until now. I have scars on my hands to prove it.” I held out my hands, palms up.

“Sweet, man. Wow my sister would kill to get her hands on a guy like you. She likes guys with stories to tell,” He said in a light tone. Did he just say…

“Wait, what?” I asked, too shocked to say anything else.

“Um, I said my sister…”

“No, I heard what you said, but I swear I’m straight.” He looked at me utterly confused.

“No, I’m not hitting on you man,” he said as he slowly began to back away. I put one hand on my hip and the other on my head in frustration, then realized that I was wearing my hat with my hood pulled up. I took these down and pulled my hair out of its hair tie, letting it cascade down my back, almost reaching my waist. I saw his eyes widen in shock and I felt the need to apologize and explain.

“Sorry about that, It’s easier for me to practice with my hair up and I know I have  a low voice, my brother reminds me all the time oh and my name is Samantha but people usually call me Sam, which I guess doesn’t really help with the whole situation, does it?.” I gasped for air after my rushed soliloquy, glancing up at him to see an amused look cross his face.

“No, I’m sorry Sam, I don’t know how I could have ever mistaken you for a guy. And I’m Dylan,” he replied, a slight blush creeping up his neck.

“Nice to meet you Dylan,” I said with a smile, though on the inside I was seriously freaking out. This can’t be happening! My first week in LA and I meet a beautiful, model-like guy! He probably has a movie star for a girlfriend… my thoughts taking a turn for the depressing.

“You look familiar,” he said, breaking my internal monologue. “Have we met before?”