"I'm telling you, they lectured them unendingly. When I left, they were still talking." Sarah plopped down beside me on my porch swing. We were sitting in the sun room at my house watching the waves out in the distance.
"Sucks to be them right now." I said dryly. This was a conversation that I wasn't feeling at all.
"Yeah, I hope they talk them out of it. I'm telling you, that girl only wants my brother for one reason, and it's not love." Sarah huffed. "She like a leech, all she's gonna do is suck my brother dry."
I huffed. No one takes advantage of my guy. "I know right, you should have seen her today. It's like she wanted to buy every thing in every store."
"Yeah, and my brother's so blinded by "love" right now he probably would have done just that for her." She sipped on her pop while flipping through a Trig book. Only she would be studying right now.
"Well, everyone's true colors show sooner or later."
"Well it better be sooner then later or he's gonna end up making the biggest mistake of his life."
We fell quiet as we watched the waves crash against the shore peacefully. If only life could be like that, care free and peaceful, not a thing to worry about. Except, life wasn't like that. Life was like an angry tornado. Destroying everything and everyone in its path.
"What am I going to do Sarah?" I whimpered. My knight in shining armor had slipped right out of my grasp and into the arms of someone else. I would have been able to live with it if they were just dating, but they were engaged, as in soon to be tied to each other for eternity.
Sarah cut her eyes. "For the billionth time, forget about my idiot brother, there are plenty of guys out there who are more then willing to be your prince."
Yes, but did I want to be there princess? I had eyes to be the king's queen.
******
I was sitting on the sand listening to the gulls and children playing out in the distance. My part of the beach was just about empty.
I found it comforting to have some time on my own. Sarah was off at some lame book club meeting. Why did my best friend have to be such a contradiction? One moment we were having fun, the next, she was trying to shove a calculator down my throat.
"You don't know how exhausted I am right now." My head snapped up and I immediately began blushing when I saw the bare sculpted chest of none other than Hunter himself.
"What are you doing here?" My heart took off as he sat down beside me.
He sighed. "You're like the only person that isn't giving me a hard time right now. I've got Sarah being a bitch, both our parents down my throat, and Ellie complaining about everything and how today went."
I frowned. Things seemed pretty tough for him right now. How could I have been so selfish to only think about me and my feelings?
"I'm sorry." I said quietly.
He shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Thankfully you have nothing to be sorry about. I think I would go insane if absolutely everyone I knew was in hot water with me."
I smiled a little. If only he knew, I could never, as in ever, be in hot water with him. It was impossible to stay mad at him.
"You've got a friend in me." I said quietly. I felt a little pang in my chest at that word.
He nudged me playfully. "Which is why you're my favorite."
I could feel the fire burning on my face. The littlest things he said made my heart soar.
"Hey, wanna go do something? I could really use the distraction." He asked.
I had to control my emotions or I was gonna end up tackling him back onto the sand.
"Like?"
He shrugged. "I don't know, walk along the strip and share a funnel cake for old time's sake?"
"Sounds good to me." My heart was beating spasmodically in my chest.
He stood to his feet and extended a hand. I had to remind myself to breath multiple times as our hands locked for the slightest moment.
I held my flip flops in hand as we walked along the beach. He had a T-shirt shrung across his arm while he walked beside me, squinting out at the sun.
"This place never changes." He said.
I snorted. "Been the same since I can remember."
"You know, I do miss this place, but now I can't wait to go back to school. This whole thing was a lot more stressful then I intended it to be." He sighed slowly.
"I can imagine." I said quietly. "But I'm glad you're back." I bit my bottom lip nervously, was that the right thing to say?
He smiled. "Missed me?" He had a playful sparkle in his eyes.
I could feel my cheeks warming as I smiled at the sand. "Just a little."
"Aw come on, just a little?" He shoved me playfully and I laughed.
"Okay, a lot. I missed you a lot." Try way too much.
He grinned. "That's what I like to hear."
My smile was unending as we walked along the sand, the waves coming to play with our toes every now and then.
"I miss this sometimes." He said quietly.
"Miss what?"
"This. Being able to just enjoy the beach without a care in the world. Now it seems like I never can."
"Well maybe it's just me, but I think all those trees and dirt may have something to do with it."
He laughed and nudged me away from him, causing me to stumble a little. I laughed and shoved him back, he lost his footing for a moment.
"Hey!" He exclaimed, a comfortable smile on his face as he tackled me. I squealed and broke away from him, taking off into the waves.
He dodged after me before finally catching up with me, sweeping my legs right from under me and tossing me into the waves. I laughed, coming back up and splashing him with an armful of saltwater.
"Leave it to you to make the moment light." He grinned and pushed his now stringy hair out of his face, both of our breathing ragged.
"Look what you did!" I laughed. "Do you know how long it took Sarah to straighten my hair?!" He laughed as I waded through the water towards him.
He caught me by my arm and brushed the curls from in front of my face, a big smile plastered onto his lips. "I like you're hair curly."
Hopefully he couldn't see the blush on my cheeks. "Really?" I breathed.
He nodded. "Yeah, you look great." His smile softened and I felt my heart skip a beat as it did. I became aware of the fact that he was still holding on to me, the waves pushing us closer towards each other. One came and knocked me right into him. It was like Mother Nature was forcing us together.
He laughed as he caught me by my elbows. "You okay?"
I cleared my throat, feeling slightly awkward. "Yeah." I'd gained my balance back long ago, yet he was still holding on to me, one hand on the small of my back.
I broke away quickly, slightly taken aback by the surprised look on his face. "Race you!" I yelled over my shoulder.
I made a break, stumbling my way out of the ocean. I made a dash for my shoes still in the sand and kept running. I was sure he was close behind.
Just when I though I was far enough ahead and ready to slow down, he came out of nowhere and swept me right off my feet, tossing me over his shoulder.
I squealed. "Put me down you cheater!"
He laughed, letting me back onto my feet. "There. It was a tie."
I rolled my eyes with a laugh. "I undoubtedly beat you."
"Draw." He grinned, nudging me on the shoulder.
I smiled, the wind wiping my drenched hair around my face. Although it was like ninety something degrees out, the breeze from off the Ocean made my wet skin shiver. I was after all, wearing yet another teensy bikini.
This one had to be the skimpiest one I owned, the skimpiest my parents would allow. It was black with gold hearts and had measly little strings holding my goods together. It barely counted as anything. I was glad I had chose to be bold with this one. These turn of events happened to be in my favor.
"Here." He pulled his shirt over my head. My heart spiked as his skin touched mine.
"Thanks." I blushed.
"Wanna grab a funnel?" He asked with a smile.
I nodded and we made a beeline for the entrance to the strip. We had walked further down the beach then I thought.
I was hot all over again by the time we reached the street. The shade underneath did little help as we waited in line. I fanned myself, pulling the shirt from over my head. I began blushing like an idiot when I found Hunter's eyes on me.
"What?" I said self consciously. I must have looked like a fool with my salt stained hair.
He snapped back to reality and looked away quickly, a slight red tinge to his cheeks. "Nothing."
I handed him his shirt back. "Thanks, but I'm hot now."
He laughed. "It's all wet."
I rolled my eyes with a smile. "Gee, I wonder why."
He grinned as we stepped up to the counter. "One funnel with ice cream, strawberries, and extra powder please." He licked his lips and widened his eyes with an excited grin as I laughed.
"Oh man, Hunter, how've you been!?" He peered at the window to see who had been talking to him.
"Alex? Dude! It's been so long!"
"Yeah I know. How's NC?" I stood there awkwardly as the two continued to converse.
"It's great man, where are you?"
He snorted. "Just been hanging around town for the most part. Who's this, the fiancé, I saw your status man, no way." He said it as if Hunter were insane.
He laughed. "No, no. It's Maggie, Sarah's best friend?"
I blushed as he peered at me. "Dude, no way it is. I totally did not recognize her. You look good Mags."
I didn't know this person, but apparently he knew me. "Thanks." I blushed.
"Man, everyone's growing up." He laughed.
"That's kind of what happens when you yourself gets old." Hunter laughed.
Alex handed us a funnel cake. "Here man it's on the house, welcome home."
"Thanks." Hunter smiled. He grabbed my hand and pulled me over towards some tables nearby. I had to remind myself not to over react. His was simply acting out of habit.
He sat down across from me and handed me a fork. "You don't know how long I've waited for one of these. The ones on campus are nowhere near as good as these."
"I bet." I savored the taste of the first bite.
"Mmmmm." He said with a mouthful. "I'm in heaven."
I laughed. "Now I know what to send you for your birthday."
He nodded like a maniac with a smile on his face. "Oh yes!"
I laughed. Could this day get any better?! I couldn't believe I was actually sitting here sharing a funnel cake with the guy I was unendingly in love with.
"Hey, thanks for this." He said seriously.
"For what?" I cocked my head to the side, licking the ice cream off the fork.
"For right now. You really helped me let go for the moment. It's so easy to have fun with you."
I grinned bashfully. "You're welcome."
He sighed. "If only I could hold on to this forever."
You could! Chose me! Just chose me and this could be us for the rest of our lives!
My insides scream and yelled for me to say something. "Yeah, well sometimes you just have to remove yourself from the source of your problems."
He smirked. "When did you become so wise and old?"
I laughed. "Hey, I'm nearly 17."
He smirked. "Indeed, you have a birthday coming up don't you?"
"July 7th!" I beamed.
"How could I forget." He said with a roll of his eyes.
Every year since before I could remember I always made the biggest deal out of all of my birthdays. It had sucked that he had missed the one that meant a lot for me. He had one last class to finish before his summer could truly start last year.
"You'll still be here right?"
He nodded. "My first class isn't until September first."
I wanted to yell in triumph, we still had two and a half whole months before he went back.
"What do you plan on doing?" He asked, licking some ice cream off of his fingers. I got little tingly feelings all over and had to look away for a moment. The strong physical attraction I had towards him was sometimes too much.
"I don't really know. Leave to me and I'll just relax all day."
He nodded. "See, that's one of the reasons why you're my favorite. You're not in a rush to do anything, you're laid back, easy going, and simple. If only most could be like that." There was a hidden under tone that I detected but couldn't decipher.
I smiled a little. "Simple is always better."
He returned one, watching me with an amused look in his eyes. "You have something right...there." He wiped the remains of a devoured funnel cake from my face with a gentle brush of his thumb. My body froze and I had to remind myself to breath.
"Thanks. But..." I dipped the tip of my hand in the ice cream. "You have something right there."
"Where?" He cocked a brow.
"Here." I touched his nose, wiping a long dab of ice cream in the process.
He shut his eyes and squeezed his lips together, a smile still on his face. He nodded. "Okay, I'm going to get you back for this." He said in a conversational tone.
I laughed. "Let me get that for you." I took a napkin, dipped it in ice cream, and wiped it on the side of his cheeks.
I boomed in laughter as he nodded his head slowly. "Yeah...so going to get you."
I made a break just as he jumped up. We ran back towards the beach, this time, he caught up with me no problem, wiping his ice cream filled face all over me.
"Ew! Oh my god gross!" I squealed. His grasp was too strong for me to break away from.
"Told you I would get you!" My legs disappeared from under me as he ran into the water with me in his arms. Both of our heads were submerged under in seconds. I came back up sputtering and laughing.
"Ugh! You jerk!" I laughed.
"Oh, I'm a jerk but you wiped ice cream all over my face." He laughed and pulled me into a giant bear hug. "Thanks."
I sighed into his rock hard chest. "You're welcome."
Too soon, he let go. "You're a really good friend Mags."
I cleared my throat, ignoring the sharp pain in my chest. I couldn't keep fooling myself into thinking we'd be anything more. He was engaged to a beautiful, busty, tall and skinny blonde. In no way was he thinking about his kid sister's best friend who was still in high school.
I sighed and plastered a smile back on my face. "Thanks."
By the time Hunter and I got back to the house, the sun had started going down. We had spent time on the beach goofing around, and then went to the arcade to play some games just like old times. I was exhausted and tired after spending an amazing afternoon with the guy I loved. But it had to end sometime. The Barbie had called and appear you was ready to apologize.
I went upstairs to my room to take a long hot shower. When I got out, I decided to let my hair air dry, seeming that the one person who's opinion I cared about found it better curly.
I was on my bed under the covers eating some junk food and watching nick at nite when Sarah walked in.
"Just where have you been all afternoon? I've been calling you since four!"
I chuckled. "Sorry, I left my phone here."
She waited impatiently with her hands on her hips. "Well?!"
"What?"
"Where have you been?"
"Oh." I rolled my eyes. I was still on cloud 9 from my day with Hunter. "Hunter and I hung out for a little bit."
She pushed her eyebrows together. "Wait, what?"
I blushed. "He needed a break. So we went out like we use to."
"But, that's something the three of us would do together." She sat on the edge of my bed.
"Yeah, but you were busy. And besides, you were one of the many people he needed a break from."
"So let me get this straight, you spent all day with my brother?"
I nodded. "Except for earlier when we all went out to eat."
She was quiet a long moment. "Mags, I don't want you o get hurt okay?" She finally said after a long pause.
"What are you talking about?"
She frowned. "Just don't get your hopes up. Matter of fact, forget about Hunter. There are plenty if other guys. Brother or not, I will totally kick his ass if he hurts you."
I rolled my eyes, slightly annoyed. "I'm fine Sarah, and it was nothing like that, you don't have to worry about me."
"I do actually. You're extremely naive and sensitive."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm tired, I'm going to bed."
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, don't come crying to me when you realize how blind you are."
"Jerk." I muttered as I heard her steps echo out of my room. With an irritated grumble, I turned on my side and nodded off to sleep.
******
"Oh my god!"
"Shh!" A hand covered my mouth and I began to panic. My eyes adjusted to the dark of my room as I realized who was hovering over me.
"Hunter? What are you-"
"I couldn't stop thinking about you and our day today." He said in a ragged hushed tone.
My heart beat doubled. "W-what?"
He nodded, his eyes burning into mine. "Maggie, do you have feelings for me too? Be honest...I need to know if I'm just imaging this all."
You? What about me?! This just wasn't happening. "What time is it, how'd you get in here?"
"It's two in the morning, and I took Sarah's key."
My brain was so confused, none of this made any sense. "B-but, what about Ellie?"
He shrugged. "What about her?" He whispered quietly.
Before I could respond, his lips were on mine, his mouth moving against mine in a hungry passion. He felt so real, I could taste his sweet breath.
"Wait!" I breathed unevenly. "This is wrong Hunter, we can't do this." I whispered in a rush.
He pulled his shirt from over his head and climbed under the covers with me. "No, no Maggie. Not if we both feel the same way. I want you, I've always wanted you. You were just too young before. Now I can finally have you."
My heart erupted in joy as I brought his face back down to mine. Our mouths moved together as one, his tongue moving over mine in a sweet, yet fierce way. He hugged my body to his, pulling my shirt right over my head, exposing my now naked chest.
"Wait!" I breathed. "They'll hear us." I whispered. My heart was in my ears and I could barely breath.
"Not if we're quiet. They've been sleep for hours now." He said in my ear.
I nodded and kissed him back, loving the taste of him and the feel of his warm body against my skin. His lips moved down towards my neck and then chest. I had to bite my lip to keep from saying his name too loud. He moved against me gently, sending fire through my entire being. My hands knotted in his hair, I could barely breath as my stomach erupted in butterflies. He made me feel amazing.
I couldn't believe this was actually happening, my whole body was screaming in pure joy and passion. He was everything I dreamed of, everything I had ever wanted and now I finally had him.
My eyes snapped open to the darkness of my bedroom. I was in a cold sweat and could barely breath. I scanned the room, looking for any sign, any indication that he was actually here. But there was nothing, just my fast beating heart and my over reactive imagination.
I had to stop eating sweets before bed. I collapsed back against my pillows and sighed, a little tear slipping down my cheek as I drifted off into a restless slumber.