A Shore Thing Read online

  "Oh, I see," I said laughing, "And do you have a thing for pirates?"

  He smiled. "Let's just say when I was five years old, I lived in a pirate costume for most of the year. I have also been known to sport the occasional eye patch." He paused. "And I may or may not have seen Pirates of the Caribbean over 20 times."

  "I see," I said laughing. "Should I be afraid? You're not going to make me walk the plank or pull a sword on me, are you?"

  "Nah, not unless you deserve it," he said, grabbing my hand playfully. "So, what's your thing?"

  "My thing? What do you mean?" I asked.

  "What's your weird obsession? You're thing that makes you a freak. Come on everybody has one. At least most interesting people do."

  I thought for a moment. "Well... maybe hedgehogs?"

  He cracked up. "Hedgehogs?"

  "Yeah...I just always liked them and I kind of have a collection of them."

  "A collection? Do you keep them locked in your basement or something? Should I notify the animal control board or the ASPCA?"

  I laughed. "Not real hedgehogs! I just have some stuffed animals and posters. And I have this charm that my parents gave me for my tenth birthday. I held out my charm bracelet to show him the little gold hedgehog. I don't know... I just always thought they were kind of cute."

  He smiled. "Yeah, they are...like you."

  My heart melted, but I tried to stay calm.

  "Gee ... thanks. Are you saying I look like a hedgehog?" I asked, laughing.

  He shook his head. "No, but you're cute ....and you're different. I like that."

  I smiled. "Thanks."

  We jogged across the busy intersection and headed toward the golf course. Ethan paid for my admission before I even got my wallet out. "Thanks," I said.

  We golfed for over an hour, which took a lot longer than usual because there was a big family in front of us with five kids. And the littlest one took a temper tantrum every time he missed the hole. We started taking bets on how long the tantrums would last. Ethan won, with the longest tantrum lasting over seven minutes when the boy couldn't get the ball through the lighthouse door. The boy laid on the floor, kicking and screaming. Ethan looked at me during that last tantrum and we both started cracking up. The mom glared at us, picked up her son, and stormed off the golf course. In spite of all the chaos, I managed to get a hole in one in that hole on hole number seven. The ball rolled through the lighthouse door and sailed right to the hole.

  "Woah...you are pretty good at golf, too. What's your secret?"

  I smiled shyly. "Well…you'll probably think this is dorky, but until last year, I used to go golfing with my Dad every Saturday morning."

  He nodded. "Oh yeah? Well why did you stop?"

  "My friend Becca said it was dumb to spend Saturday golfing, when I could be roaming the mall with her. And for some reason, I believed her." I shook my head at how dumb that sounded and how readily I had believed her.

  "Well, I think you're pretty good. You should keep playing. Your friend is probably just jealous. And plus, your pop probably misses spending time with you."

  I nodded. I never thought about it that way. Maybe I had been acting like a jerk this past year. And though I hate to admit, I was beginning to believe that maybe my parents were right about Becca.

  When we got to the pirate ship, Ethan said, "You can't leave the pirate ship until you take a turn steering." Ethan stood at the wheel and turned it, shouting, "Ahoy there, Matey!"

  I laughed. "You're such a pirate dork."

  "Now it's your turn," he said. He stood behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, as I steered the ship. A warm wind blew as the ocean roared in the distance. It was a perfect night. If only it had ended there.

  Ice Cream

  Well... looks like ice cream's on me," Ethan said grinning.

  The score was close, but I beat him by two points.

  "I didn't know you were a golf pro. Next time I'll have to think before I go promising ice cream so carelessly."

  I smiled. "Well... at least you're good for your word, even if you could use a few golf lessons."

  "Is that, right?" I'd challenge you to a rematch, but last time I tried that it backfired."

  He grabbed my hand, as we ran across the busy intersection to Ocean Dream Ice Cream.

  "So, what's your favorite flavor," he asked, as he held the door open for me.

  "Depends on the day, but tonight I feel like...Cotton Candy."

  "Ooh, good choice," he said, smiling.

  I was studying all of the flavors listed on the chalk board above the counter, when a worker came in from the back room.

  "Well...well...well...look who's here?

  Ethan sighed. It was Lexie.

  "And who's your flavor of the week?" She looked me up and down. "What's your name again, Cheddar?"

  I laughed. "No, it's Colby."

  "Oh, right. I knew you were named after cheese. Very creative parents," she laughed. "Better watch out for this one," she said, motioning to Ethan. "He's a real Romeo," till he gets bored and moves onto the next tramp." She laughed. "No, offense."

  "Lexie, shut up, alright? We're just here to get ice cream. We don't need your running commentary," Ethan said.

  Lexie scowled at him. Then she turned towards me. “So, what would you like? Some low-fat ice cream?" she said, raising an eyebrow at me. "It's great for people who are watching their figures."

  Wow. Did she just say what I think she said? My mouth dropped open.

  "I mean it, Lexie. Shut up. Just get the ice cream and stop being a jerk, " Ethan shouted.

  I couldn't believe this girl. I was so flabbergasted; I didn't even have time to respond.

  "Just get us two cotton candy cones and we'll be out of here," said Ethan.

  Lexie handed Ethan his cone, but she basically tossed mine over the counter at me and it hit my shirt and then fell to the floor. Lexie laughed. "Oops, sorry about that. I'm just so clumsy," she said, smiling.

  Ethan glared at her. "Are you serious? You need to get over it, Lexie. It's over between us. And if you think we're going to stay friends, while you're acting like this… forget it."

  Lexie shrugged. "I don't know what you're talking about. It was an accident. Lighten up."

  "Yeah, whatever." Ethan put his arm around my shoulder and steered me towards the door. "Let's get out of here."

  I stumbled out the door in disbelief, trying to make sense of what just happened. I had never been one to draw much attention. I always just flew under the radar at school. But this girl who didn't even know me, clearly despised me. I blinked back tears as we walked away from the shop.

  "I'm so sorry. Don't let her get to you," Ethan said.

  We sat on a bench near the sidewalk down the street and safely away from Lexie's line of fire.

  "Why is she so mean? And why does she hate me so much," I asked.

  He shook his head. "She's mad at me and she's bringing it out on you."

  A tear rolled down my cheek, and I tried to swipe it away before he saw, but it was too late. He saw me crying like a baby again.

  He held out his cone and said, "Here, you can have my cone. Ice cream makes everything better."

  I shook my head. "No, thanks. I'm not hungry anymore."

  Ethan reached for my hand. "Colby, please don't let her get to you. I really like you and I don't want her to mess this up."

  I looked at him and nodded slowly. "Okay."

  He leaned over and kissed me, while the ice cream cone melted all over the sidewalk, but we didn't care.

  We walked back to the house along the beach and sat on the dunes for a while, watching the waves roll in.

  Ethan whispered in my ear, "I'm glad that you're here." Then he wrapped his arm around me and we sat under the stars watching the waves. It was almost perfect. But I couldn't help but worry about Lexie and how she said I was Ethan's "flavor of the week". I hoped she was wrong, but I couldn't help but wonder.

  He Loves Me…Not

  I hardly slept that night. I couldn't stop thinking about Ethan and wondering if he was thinking about me, too, or if I was just a "flavor of the week", like Lexie had said. I knew that I was going to drive myself crazy if I kept thinking about it, so the next morning I decided to sit on the beach to clear my head.

  It was Saturday morning and I didn't have work, so I had the whole day to relax. I brought my sketch pad and some pastels down to the beach. I spread out a blanket and gazed at the sun rising over the ocean. It was breathtaking. I started sketching the scene and I was surprised by how I was able to capture the beauty of the sunrise. I was so wrapped up in my drawing, that I didn't notice the time. It must have been ten o'clock because the lifeguards were showing up and families were setting up umbrellas, towels, and beach bags in the sand.

  I was getting ready to gather up my supplies and head back to the house for breakfast, when I heard someone approaching.

  "Hey, fancy meeting you here."

  My heart jumped. It was Ethan. He was wearing sunglasses and holding his surf board. "Hi," I said, suddenly feeling shy.

  "I was catching some early morning waves," he said. "What are you up to?" he asked, as he sat down in the sand beside me. I tried to close my sketchbook before he saw my picture, but it was too late.

  "Wow... this is great. You're really talented," he said, smiling.

  I looked down. "Thanks, it's nothing. I just started painting recently."

  He shook his head. "Well, it looks really good to me." He paused for a minute. "There's an art show in town tomorrow. You should enter.... you're really talented."

  I shook my head. "Thanks, but I don't think I'm ready for that."

  He smiled. "Well...thanks for coming out with me last night. It was fun. Maybe we ca
n go out again soon."

  "Yeah, that sounds great," I said.

  "Ok, well I have to run. I'm supposed to go out to eat lunch with my family in a little bit. See you soon." He smiled and then turned away. I watched as he jogged down the beach.

  I was totally falling for him, but I had no idea where I stood with him.

  I gathered my supplies and headed back to the house. Gran was sitting at the kitchen table having tea and toast. She smiled, "There you are, Colby. I was wondering where you were. Would you like a cup of tea?"

  I nodded.

  "So, tell me, how was your date last night?" she asked as she poured a cup of tea from the kettle.

  I looked down, embarrassed. I wasn't one to talk about my feelings, but with Gran it was a little easier.

  I smiled. "It was really nice. But..."

  "But what?" she asked.

  "Well ... I just don't know if he feels the same way about me."

  Gran smiled. "I saw the way he looked at you, Colby, and that young man is crazy about you. I could tell the first time he saw you, when we were at the coffee shop. I remember that look. Your grandfather used to look at me that way."

  I shrugged. "I don't know..."

  "Why wouldn't he be crazy about you? You're smart, beautiful, and very talented. You just need to believe in yourself." She glanced at my sketchbook. "In fact, I was hoping that you would share your art work. There's an art show in town tomorrow night and amateurs are welcome. I was thinking about entering and hoping that you'd join me. What do you say?"

  I looked at Gran. I knew that I couldn't disappoint her. I nodded slowly, "Sure, Gran." I dreaded thought of sharing my work publicly, but I didn't want to let her down.

  I went back to the beach and worked on my painting for the rest of the morning. It wasn't a masterpiece, but it came out decent. I decided I would enter it in the art show.

  Unfortunately, someone else I knew would also be entering that same show.

  The Show

  The next day we headed down the street to the art show, which was in the parking lot of the fire department. All of the participants were lining their easels along the perimeter of the parking lot. Food vendors were gathered in the center and a jazz band was playing at the end. Visitors gathered to check out the paintings, strolling through the parking lot and pointing out various works. After we set up our work, Gran and I started to look around.

  The painting across from mine caught my eye. I walked over to take a closer look and gasped. It was a picture of someone surfing, and the person in the picture looked familiar- it looked an awful lot like Ethan. Shaggy brown hair pushed to the side, cute grin, red bathing suit, green surf board.

  It was Ethan.

  I glanced at the name in the corner of the paining- Alexia Armstrong. That's when it dawned on me- Lexie. What were the chances that she would also be in this dumb art show...and have her painting across from mine... a painting of Ethan?

  I felt like I'd been punched in the stomach. Lexie's words from last night echoed in my mind- "flavor of the week" and "he'll move on when he loses interest." I scanned the crowd. I was sure that Lexie would be there. I felt sick and I wanted to leave, but for Gran's sake, I hung in there.

  We bought some pizza and sodas from the vendors and sat at a picnic table near the center of the lot. I felt nauseous and couldn't eat my pizza.

  Gran knew something was wrong. "Colby, what's going on? You're awfully quiet tonight. I hope you aren't having second thoughts about entering the show."

  "No... that's not it, Gran."

  That's when I looked up and saw Ethan and Lexie strolling through the lot. She linked her arm through his and pulled him over to her painting. She was pointing at it and he was smiling and nodding. It sure didn't look like he was mad at her anymore.

  They looked very friendly.

  Gran saw me staring at them. "Oh...I see," she said. She paused for a moment. "You know what? I'm awfully tired. What do you say we head home now? We can find out who won the show tomorrow. What do you say?"

  I nodded and we headed back home. I felt like my heart was broken, but what did I expect? We had just one date- if you can call it that. Maybe he did just want a stupid rematch for the volley ball game. And the kiss? He probably kissed a lot of girls. It probably didn't mean a thing to him. I was so dumb to think that he liked me. I should have known better. Guys like him don't like girls like me.

  Later that night, Becca texted me to I ask how things were going.

  Becca: How's the beach? Do u miss me? Did u meet any cute guys?

  Me: Yes & Yeah, I did

  Becca: Awesome! Did you hook up?

  Me: We went out once, but it's nothing serious. Just a shore thing.

  I sighed. I wished that weren't true, but I knew it was.

  Becca: Don't worry about it, Alex was asking about u. We'll have another party when u get back and u guys can hook up, right? Ur house, ok? It's so much better for parties.

  I shook my head. She just didn't get it. I was still being punished for the last party and she was already planning my next one.

  Me: We'll see

  Becca: And don't get caught up on that guy. There's plenty of fish in the ocean. Lol

  But there was only one fish that I wanted. Trouble was, I didn't think I could catch him.

  Buzz

  The next morning, I had to get up early for work. I thought about how Ethan and Lexie were strolling around the art show together the night before and I was filled with a sense of dread. I hoped that Ethan wasn’t working the morning shift, too. I didn’t want to see him.

  I stumbled to the kitchen, rubbing my eyes.

  Gran was already making coffee. "There's my award-winning artist," she said.

  I stretched and yawned. "What are you talking about, Gran?"

  She smiled. "Your painting, honey. You won the first-place prize for your age group. And I won second place in the senior age bracket. I guess talent runs in the family." She laughed. "Can you believe it?"

  I blinked. "Are you serious?"

  "I'm totally serious. They just called this morning." She hugged me. "I'm so proud of you, Colby. I told you were talented! Good for you for taking a chance and showing what you can do. The newspaper is doing a story about the art show and they'd like to get our pictures, along with the other winners."

  "Uhh... that's great news, Gran" I said, biting my lip. My picture in the newspaper? I didn't like that idea. But Gran looked so excited and I didn't want to let her down.

  I grabbed a coffee and headed for the door. "Ok, well… I better get going or I'll be late for work."

  When I got to work, I glanced at the schedule hanging behind the register and saw that Ethan would be coming in at noon, but we were so busy that morning that I didn't have much time to think about it. I had just finished wiping down the tables from the morning rush, when I heard the bell jingle on the door. I looked up and saw a familiar face.

  Buzz. My volleyball partner who had been such a jerk to me after the beach party. At first, I didn't think he recognized me. He headed right past me to the counter.

  "Hey Buzz, what do you want?" Mouse asked.

  "I need some coffee…black. I partied hard last night and I'm paying for it today. Still working on this hangover. "

  Mouse laughed. "Well that's what ‘ya get. You’ve got to know your limits big guy.” She tipped her head and smiled. "Where's the action tonight?"

  "A bunch of us are heading to Beach Haven. We're gonna hit the amusement park and then meet up on the beach after. You want in?"

  "You bet. I need a ride though. My car's at the shop."

  Buzz nodded. "No problem-I've got my dad's SUV. We can all pile in. I’ll pick you up here around eight, ok?

  Mouse smiled. "Yeah, thanks, Buzz. Coffee's on me."

  When he turned to leave, he caught my eye. He nodded and said, "Hey, your friend can come, too."

  Mouse smiled. "What do you say, Colby? I wanted to show you around Beach Haven. Now's our chance."

  I shrugged. "I don't know... we'll see."

  Buzz's eyes narrowed, studying me carefully. "Hey, wait a minute. You're the volleyball chick. The one who doesn't party." He laughed. "So what? Are you like studying to be a nun, or something?

  "Shut up, Buzz." Mouse rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Colby, sometimes Buzz forgets his manners."