"Same here! How've you been?" Brynn's soft curls tickle my cheek. Breathing in, I smell the same vanilla and pears perfume she always used to wear. The aroma alone brings the faint sound of teenage giggling at sleepovers to mind.
"Good," I lie easily. "I'm here to help with Grams. Are you back for the summer?"
Brynn nods enthusiastically as if the question isn't a dumb one. Of course she is. Brynn's family, like ours, only lived here over the summer months. Luke's family and the Cooper's were year-rounders. Something they always liked to rub in our faces growing up. It never really made a difference, not with us.
"Yeah. I'll just be lifeguarding, as usual." Brynn smiles as one of her friends, her new friends, touches her shoulder as she passes by. "I'll be there in a minute." She tells the blonde.
I watch the blonde join a table of young women, all well-tanned with damp hair and bright bathing suit straps under their clothes. Brynn continues, adjusting her beach bag over her muscled shoulder.
"So you're staying with Grams, huh? If you ever need some time away, you know where to find me."
"Oh, I plan on getting a job." I shrug lamely, grabbing my smoothie from the young clerk. Brynn smiles sympathetically. Her dark eyes don't crinkle at the corners, the way they do when she's really happy. Instead they look sad, like she's holding back words I know I'm not ready to hear.
She was always so kind and intuitive, always knowing when someone needed a quiet night in but not ever pressing anyone before they were ready to open up.
"That's great!" She grins brightly, her white teeth brilliant against her caramel skin. Keeping her tone light, she shrugs one shoulder. "Still, if you ever wanna hang out - I miss seeing you, Dyl."
I work hard to keep a polite smile on my face. "Yeah, Bee. Me too,"
She squeezes my bicep once before turning on her baby pink flip flop and joining her group of friends. I watch her curls bounce as she laughs and decide to take my smoothie to-go.
I take my time returning to Grams cottage, partly because I'm taking everything in after being away for years, but more so because of my damn blister. Could I have just worn a sock with my Keds? Yes, but my toes hate being in socks all day.
I drop into a gimmicky tourist shop simply because it's close by and grab a pair of rubber flip-flops from the back wall.
Twelve bucks? I roll my eyes and grab a pack of gum on my way to the register.
Thankfully the clerk is a teen, probably only working here for the summer months. He doesn't know who I am and so he doesn't ask any questions about how I am or where we've been.
I'm out of the mostly empty shop quickly and immediately remove my tennis-shoes. Gratefully stepping into the sandals, I sigh in relief instantly.
"Thank God." Bringing my old shoes to my nostrils, I scrunch my nose and try not to gag.
I've always said I'm a summer kind of girl. I hate wearing shoes and would be barefoot all the time if I could be. But alas, the weather cannot always be so nice and society calls for appropriate footwear most of the time. So I wear tennis shoes, no socks. A defiant compromise that only hurts my wallet and the backs of my ankles.
Passing by a trash bin, I toss the dingy sneakers inside. Once the sandals come out, I refuse to go back until my next pair of tennis shoes in the fall.
Passing by Henson's General Store, I keep my eyes straight ahead. My peripherals pick up on that dumb baseball cap anyways and I hurry my pace before Luke can catch me beyond the window.
It's early in the season, so the streets aren't too crowded yet. I always loved the quaint Main Street with its colorful shops and family restaurants. Even the tourist shops had their place - I'd learned to accept them as they kept the others away from us regulars. I could only imagine how Luke and the Coopers must feel, living here full time.
We always felt so important, like an exclusive group as we continued partying on Sunday nights in the sand while tourists packed up to go home.
The sun would go down, making the ocean beautifully and dangerously dark, and we'd wander the relatively empty town, the girls and I on our bikes while the guys rode their skateboards. It was like there was no one else in the world. Just us.
Somehow already back at Grams, I take a minute to collect myself, my nerves fried. With a shaky hand, I unlock the front door and let myself through.
"Dylan?" Grams voice calls from upstairs.
Who else? Oh right, Luke.
"Yeah, it's me." I shout back anyways, wiping at a tear I hadn't realized had fallen. "Just stopping back to work on my applications."
Grams grunts a noncommittal response and I get to work at the kitchen table, more determined than ever. Eat, sleep, help Grams, go to work, and then come home.
After walking through town just now, I've confirmed my decision to stay hidden away as much as possible. Cowardly? Maybe.
But certainly less painful.
Any predictions on what happened between Luke and Dylan?
Any predictions on what WILL happen?