Down the Shore (5 page)

"You're crazy. He's
everyone's
type. I'll take him on!” said Megan. “He's hot!"

Makenna interrupted Megan and took it upon herself to explain that I had not had a serious boyfriend, ever.

Megan turned to me, “You've never had a boyfriend?” she asked, sounding shocked.

"No, not really,” I stammered, embarrassed to admit the truth.

"You've never been with a guy, like ever?” asked Megan.

Makenna looked at me and I at her, and she gave me a look that screamed,
I'm sorry I told her.

"Is that why you're afraid of him?” Megan laughed.

Makenna was mouthing the words,
I'm sorry
.

"It's okay, Makenna,” I said.

I looked up at Megan and just decided to tell her the truth.

"Of course, I have kissed a boy. I had a boyfriend in high school. If you're asking something else, well then I think you could figure that one out for yourself. I'm a little afraid of him. He seems much older, more experienced, and... I don't know,” I confessed.

Megan shook her head for a moment in judgment.

"Wow, good for you!” And the conversation was over as fast as it started.

I felt almost ashamed that I was so inexperienced, like I was the last American virgin. I didn't know a single girl from school that hadn't given up the big V. I wasn't going to let it ruin my night, and I wasn't going to think about this, not tonight.

We kept walking. I stopped briefly, glancing back to see him one last time and I glimpsed him still there, peering out at the ocean. I couldn't help but look at him. His hair shone in the sun; his muscles peeked through the white of his shirt. To say that he was truly breathtaking seemed almost not enough. He whipped his head around and caught my eyes and smiled. I smiled back, then turned and ran to catch up to my friends. Something about him intrigued me enough to think about him longer than I should. I knew I would see him again tomorrow and, as tiny little prickles ran up and down my spine, it made me nervous, but in a way that I looked forward to.

We arrived back at the house to find that the three new renters had arrived a few days earlier than expected. They stood on the deck upstairs peering down at us. They didn't say anything, although we thought they were going to.

We unlocked the door and bounced inside to unwind and get ready for the evening ahead. We had no immediate plans at this point, but being tired, I was fine with that. Right now, I only wanted to curl up and watch a great chick flick. We had just sat down to three bowls of cereal when we heard the thumping coming from the stairwell. A knock sounded at the door. We exchanged glances. We saw three figures standing, glaring through the door at us.

"Well, well, well wonder what they want?” Megan said while practically leaping out of her chair.

I thought how unabashed she was. I could never be like that, and it wasn't even her house.

"Don't worry, girls, I got this one.” She sounded so ridiculously confident. I had to admit a twinge of jealousy ran through me.

Before she reached the door, I quickly pulled my hair out of the ponytail it had been stuck in all day, then felt a slight knot twisting in my stomach.

She opened it with force. “Can we help you guys?"

"Hi, are you Abigail or Makenna?” he asked.

"Neither, I'm just a friend. The name's Megan."

She stepped aside to let them in, and there stood three boys in our apartment, staring at us. They looked us up and down, trying to decipher who would like whom and who found whom attractive. They reminded me of the boys back home, just a little older.

"Well, I guess I'll break the ice. My name's Nick and these are my roommates, Bill and Anthony."

"How's it going?” they asked in unison. Nick looked like the kind of guy everyone fell for in high school. With his muscular build in the athletic sort of way, he was dark and handsome. He had short brown hair, blue eyes and smelled insanely wonderful, just a little overwhelming. He must have bathed in the cologne.

"Hey, listen, I hope we're not disturbing you. It's just that Mr. Barton told us about you guys. Just wanted to come down and meet the two of you.” Nick glanced over at me, like I was the only one in the room. I started to feel a little more confident in myself—two guys in one night. The knot in my stomach finally unwound.

"He said you may need some rescuing from time to time.” He seemed pleased with himself.

I nodded. “Yeah, we probably will,” I said, smiling.

His boyish good looks seemed to force an immediate interest from me. He came over, sat beside me and started rambling on about himself, where he was from, what college he went to. I heard things like Malvern, Pennsylvania and private school. My head began to spin. Nick seemed much more my speed then the Colins in this world.

"We're heading to a party in Sea Isle. You guys wanna come?” Nick asked. As he spoke, his eyes stayed focused on mine, his mouth curved up into a smile.

"Sure, we would love to,” Megan answered, glancing over at me as she pursed her mouth with a smirk.

She looked pleased with herself for assuming we would actually want to go. Truth be told, I was glad she accepted their offer. I felt my lips curl up into a smile, one I tried to hide. I was curious about Nick. He was really cute, and maybe he would be the guy who knocked me off my feet for the summer. A girl could only dream it would be this easy.

We intended to follow, but they persuaded us to ride with them. Nick gave us some sort of excuse that we would never be able to find the party. I could, because I knew all the beaches like the back of my hand, but I didn't let on how I knew the streets like I knew my own face. Megan seemed excited to go. Makenna seemed a little more reluctant at first, but quickly gave in when Anthony approached her. In the end, we didn't care; we wanted to have fun. That was the reason we came here. Nick quickly opened the door and led us into his car. He drove a big white Jeep Wrangler with huge black tires that were larger than the ones it probably came with and no roof. The perfect beach ride. The kind of car every kid dreams of while slowly driving through the streets of the shore with their hair hanging down, blowing haphazardly in the wind.

As the car traveled down Ocean Drive, I tilted my head back as far as the headrest allowed and closed my eyes. I breathed in the salty ocean air, and I had a distinct feeling my heart was going to beat right out of my chest when I noticed Nick glancing in his rear view mirror. His eyes sparkled when he winked at me, then shifted back to the road.

Nick took Ocean Drive all the way into Sea Isle. It took all of twenty-five minutes. We parked outside a tall white house.

This was to be my first adult party outside of high school, and I felt the excitement build up inside of me. He reached in the back and grabbed my hand to help me out of his car when we arrived. His hands were warm when they touched mine. I was afraid he would feel the sweat that had built up on my palms. I could never avoid this when I was nervous, and boy, was I nervous!

"Out you go.” As he grabbed me, I stumbled and fell into his arms for a brief second.

"Oops, sorry I'm such a klutz,” I apologized, lingering in his arms longer than I probably should have.

Bill, Anthony and my friends disappeared into the party. It was packed with tanned bodies, swaying to the music. Nick stayed by my side and led me into the room with his hand holding the arch of my back.

"Stay with me, and you'll be fine.” He winked down at me. When he grabbed my hand, an electric current seemed to run through my body at the same time.

"Can I get you a drink?” he asked, leading me outside onto the deck.

"Sure, would love one,” I smiled. He handed me a beer, leaning in to kiss my cheek. I must have blushed, and he looked at me, smiling.

"Is that okay, that I kissed you?” he whispered into my ear, his voice sincere and his breath warm.

My eyes drifted to the floor, not wanting to look up. “Yeah, you just caught me off guard is all."

He reached down and touched my chin. “You're real cute. You know that?” he said. I smiled at his comment. It was hard not to.

I couldn't help but think how fast he moved. I was definitely not in high school anymore.

We wandered around the house talking to different people, playing beer games. He rarely let go of my hand. I didn't know what to think, and at the moment Nick's comment was all I could think about. I replayed it several times to make sure I hadn't been dreaming. We stayed for a few hours, having a good time, but knew as the people started to thin out, it was finally time to head back.

He stayed by my side throughout the night. I was completely intrigued by him. He was charming the way his hand lingered in mine, the quick brush of his lips here and there. He seemed as interested in me as I was in him. This took me by surprise momentarily, but I didn't want it to end. The smile on my face the whole night clearly gave him the same impression. We gathered our friends and headed back outside. Nick asked me to sit up front with him. I jumped in excitedly as Makenna's eyebrows shot up and a smile crossed her face. She gave me a quick thumbs-up as I climbed into the front seat. My nerves started to kick in when I felt his hand rubbing my shoulder.

As we listened to music, I sank into the leather seat, feeling like the truck was flying on its own. Occasionally, he touched my hand or my leg before adjusting the radio. I knew every time he looked for a new station, it was just an excuse to reach over and feel me. I didn't mind, which again, surprised me. I felt like I had a permanent smile on my face. Even though I was letting him touch me and felt excited about the prospect of him, I was nervous as hell. He was fun to be around, and we were having a great time. When we got back to the house, he helped me out of the Jeep, and walked me up to the door.

The others ran ahead to give us some privacy—at least that's what I could only assume. He leaned over, took my chin in his hands and gently placed a kiss on my lips. My body started to quivering inside and out, wishing this would never end...hoping he liked me as much as I liked him.

"I guess this is good night,” he whispered, kissing my ear. “I'll see you tomorrow?” He pushed the hair out of my face, his fingers lingering at the nape of my neck.

"Definitely.” I bit my lip. He winked at me and left, clearing the stairway in four short strides. I walked into the house and stood with my back pressed up against the door. I closed my eyes for a brief second to remember the last few hours.

"Well, well, I see we have an admirer,” Makenna teased out loud. I read the excitement on her face.

"I think I might. I don't know. What do you think?” I asked, unsure of myself. Before I could get an answer, the doorbell rang.

I quickly turned to answer, surprised to see Nick standing in front of me when I opened the door.

"Hi, did you forget something?” I asked, confused.

"Yeah, listen, I forgot to ask you,” he paused, looking over my shoulder at my friends. “What do you think? How about a real date?"

I knew I wanted to see him again, but I was positive I wasn't ready to be alone with him yet, so I thought quickly of someplace safe.

I bit down on my lip, “How ‘bout the beach? I can meet you there around three tomorrow after work.” I stared into his eyes, unsure of what he was thinking or what he would say.

"Sure, I'll see ya down there.” He leaned in for one more quick kiss before he disappeared. I heard his footsteps on the stairs leading to the upper apartment, and once he was inside I also heard the laughter erupt, and what sounded like high fives. They really should sound proof these houses.

"I'm so stupid.” I looked at Makenna, wishing I could crawl under a rock.

"Abby, you have no idea what they're doing. Stop that. He likes you.” She paused. “You know how guys are, so don't take it personally. You could be completely off base and you know it.” She stomped into the kitchen and threw some popcorn in the microwave.

Megan lounged on the couch, intending to sleep over for the night.

I turned to her. “What do you think?” I asked.

"I think he likes you, don't sweat it.” She laid down and turned the television on. “It's a just a guy thing,” she assured me.

I got ready for bed rather quickly. Exhaustion took over my body and we all had to be up early for training. At the same time, I knew it would be difficult to fall asleep. I laid on my bed, playing out the events, trying to picture Nick's face. He reminded me of one of those boys you drooled over in a
Teen Beat
magazine. I couldn't help but wonder in amazement why he'd picked me over Megan and Makenna, but I was glad he had. I laid there for a while dreaming of the boy upstairs before finally sleep won and I drifted off.

I fell into a dream I didn't want to wake up from. I knew I was dreaming, but I let myself fall farther into it. We were walking on the beach, hand in hand, occasionally stopping to kiss. Then he leaned in to my ear, telling me he loved me with his Irish brogue. His kiss was fierce with passion, and he gently pushed me into the sand and ripped off my clothes. As I lay in the sand, looking down at my naked body, I snapped out of it and woke up. My heart pounded in my chest, my body was warm all over. I slid out of bed.

"It was just a dream,” I told myself. What would make me dream of him after the perfect night with Nick? I barely knew him, or if, for that matter, he would ever mean anything to me. I walked over to my window, looking out at the stars and forcing myself to push Colin out of my thoughts. I had never had a true boyfriend. Maybe I was ready for this leap; I
was
eighteen after all. Nick liked me and I liked him. I grinned, wrapping my arms around myself, and gazed back out at the moon, thinking only of Nick.

The sun flooded my room early. I had forgotten to draw the blinds from the night before and I held my eyes halfway closed, peering out from under the blankets trying not to open them too wide. It was early. The clock read seven and I had not slept well. I thought about going back to bed, or at least trying, but decided to get up and take a walk to the beach.

I put my hair up, pulled my sweats on and ran out of the house. I stopped at the corner bakery and grabbed a cup of coffee and a bagel. I knew I had plenty of time before I had to be back, so I decided to walk for a little while, heading toward the restaurant. My mind was not working as well as usual, since sleep seemed to only come for a few short hours.