Page 114 of The Perfect Spiral
We nodded in unison, and I rummaged through my bag for some tinted moisturizer. Airplanes always dried out my skin, and I needed some SPF.
“How did college go for you ladies? You guys doing alright?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder to check for oncoming cars.
“Yeah, it’s fine. Boring, but fine. So happy it’s over and it’s summer now! Give me alcohol, parties, hot boys, and food, and I’m good to go!”
Andy and my brother had a silly fight before we left, and she was still upset about it. Her reference to ‘hot boys’ was a clear indication of her annoyance.
She sat with her sunglasses on and her arms folded, her expression hidden. But I knew she’d shed a few tears on the way here.
“Well, Savannah is the place for you ladies!” We chatted andcaught Eric up on everything during the drive to the house. Then Andy took a call and retreated into her own little world.
I think it was her parents, but I couldn’t be sure.
“So, kiddo, how are you? Why didn’t you come to Texas?”
“I’m doing well, actually. Made a new friend named Ben. We met at the beach and hit the waves together. I was trying to keep a low profile,” I said, shrugging nonchalantly. To me, it wasn’t a big deal.
“Did you invite him to visit? I’d love to meet him. He must be a good guy if you took to him so quickly. But sweetheart, what happened that night?”
“I did invite him. He said he’ll come down over the summer, so you’ll meet him then. You’ll like him, and so will all the ladies! As for that night, nothing happened.”
“Oh, he’s one of those charmers! I’ll have to keep an eye on Annie then. But why were you crying, sweetie? I know when you’re lying, so don’t try to play that ‘nothing’ card with me. It doesn’t work. It never has and never will,” he teased, poking my arm.
“Yeah, he’s one of those! But he’s a fun guy. Look, it’s really nothing. I don’t want to talk about it, it wasn’t a big deal,” I pleaded, turning my body to look out the window.
I rolled down the window and let my hand dance in the hot air, feeling the warmth slip between my fingers. The sun-kissed ground reminded me of the beach. God, how I missed this place. “Alright, sweetie. If you ever want to talk, you know I’m here.” I thanked him and he left it at that. I took out my new Canon camera and started to capture the things that made me happy.
Ben had been teaching me how to use it. He took a photography class one summer and now he was giving me lessons on how to use my own camera and how to edit the photos. He even offered to take me to the darkroom to get them properly developed.
We finally reached the house and Eric took our bags, telling us to head to the beach. My board was in the shed out back. Andy had broken her board a week before coming out here, so she planned to get a new one here. In the meantime, I lent her one of mine. We stripped down to our bikinis and I could see my family in the distance.
We hadn’t told them we were coming today, so it was a surprise. I was wearing an orange criss-cross bikini top and black bottoms, topped with a black SnapBack to keep my hair in check while surfing. Andy was in a pink top and black bottoms. We looked like twins.
“You ready?” She beamed at me. I nodded back.
“You look hot as fuck in that bikini, by the way! I think you’re turning me on, girl!”
I burst out laughing at her and we walked towards my family in the distance.
Nearing them, I saw all the boys engrossed in a game of beach football, with the girls standing around ogling them. At one person in particular.
“Alex!” “Andy!” We heard two little cries in front of us, making everyone snap their heads around to us.
We set our boards down and picked up Adam and Noah, giving them a quick kiss and hug before my mom and Delilah screamed over and hugged us tight, barely letting go of us both.
We laughed, chatted, and caught up for a little while, but the guys still hadn’t noticed us. They were too focused on the game.I heard lots of girls screaming, watching them from the side. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at their squeals.
All I wanted to do was get into the ocean. So we picked our boards back up and jogged past the boys, who now noticed us and started to whistle at us, trying to get our attention.
“Hey! When did you guys get here?” Kyle asked, running over to Andy, picking her up, and kissing her.
“Just now, but I’m still mad at you!” Andy spoke in a hushed tone. I rolled my eyes at them and focused back on the ocean. I took off my hat and put it on Adam’s little head, “Here, hang on to this for me, will you?”
He put both hands on his head to keep it on and nodded, showing his teeth.
“Damn, Alex! You get hotter every time I see you!” Tyler made his way over to me, followed by the other boys.
“I’m going surfing. Catch you guys later,” I said, running in the opposite direction of them. I made eye contact with Knox as I kept running. I could feel a lot of eyes on me as I approached the water.
