Secret Lucidity(96)

At least that’s what it feels like for this girl.

I try not to think about my friends back home as the breeze whips through my long hair, but the mind is a difficult thing to control, so I blast my stereo to try to drown out my thoughts. Before I know it, I’m pulling into the first parking spot I can find at the beach. When I kill the engine, I pep talk myself, similar to the way I did this morning before school.

I step out of the car and shove my cell into the back pocket of my shorts before making my way over the wooden walkway that leads to the sand. Using my hand as a shield against the blazing sun, I look down the beach in both directions, not having a clue as to where Micah might be. Only a few people are scattered about, so I decide to kick off my flip-flops and opt to head left over right.

Water rushes over my feet, carrying away my footprints with every ebb and flow as I wander aimlessly down the shore. I watch the boats in the distance as pelicans dive beak-first into the water. The sound of the gentle waves soothes beyond what I imagine, and I relish in the reprieve as my head clears. Collecting a few random shells, I tuck them into my pocket and then look over my shoulder to see how far I’ve walked. When I turn back, I see a cluster of guys down a ways.

Micah’s sun-bleached hair stands out from the group. With his board tucked under his arm, he watches one of his friends. The guy runs parallel to the water before dropping his board, jumping on, and skimming onto a small wave. He then flips the board beneath his feet and dives into the water.

I’m hesitant to approach but do my best to bury all social apprehensions as I begin to walk over to them. Thank God he spots me.

“Look who decided to come out and play,” he teases with a big smile as he jogs lazily toward me. A few of the other guys look my way.

“I needed to get out of my house for a while.”

“So you came to see me out of boredom?”

“Something like that.”

He punctures the sand with his board, digging it down so that it stands on end before he drops to the ground. I follow suit and sit next to him, squinting against the sun as it starts to hang a little lower in the sky.

“You come out here a lot?”

“Every chance I can.”

“It’s nice,” I murmur softly.

“First time?”

I nod. “I moved here just a few days ago.”

“Where from?”

“Texas. I lived in a suburb of Dallas. But my mom got a job offer that moved us, so here I am.”

“That must suck,” he remarks, and I turn my head to the side to look at him when he adds, “having to move in the middle of the school year.”

“You have no idea.”

“In a way, it could be nice, though. Getting to explore someplace new; meeting different people. I’ve always lived here. I love it, but I’d like to experience other places, ya know?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I guess, but I miss my friends.”

He runs his hand through his hair, slicking it back. “You’ll make new ones, Guppy.”

I shake my head and smile at my new nickname.

“Micah!”

I look over my shoulder and find Kason standing on a wooden bridge that leads out to one of the many small parking lots that weave between beach rentals.

“Be right back.” Micah jumps to his feet and jogs over to him.

Kason wears the same white work polo and khakis as he did when he was at my house a few hours ago, and I can’t deny that I find him extremely attractive. His eyes catch mine, but when I raise my hand in subtle acknowledgement, he turns and walks out of my view with Micah following behind. His shift in demeanor from this morning when we bumped into each other has me conflicted, and I think back through what little interaction we had today, wondering if I said anything that offended him. Nothing comes to mind, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve done something wrong.

“Sorry about that,” Micah says when he returns a few minutes later.

“What was that about?”

“He was dropping something off.”

I pause for a moment and then decide to mention my unease. “I think I might have irritated him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t really know,” I tell him as I push my toes into the sand. “He was really friendly when I met him this morning, but—”

“Just ignore him. He sometimes gets into these . . . funks. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a solid guy and all, he just . . .”

“What?”

Micah hesitates to go on, and as curious as I am about Kason, I feel a twinge of guilt for trying to be intrusive. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t pry.”

“People make a lot of assumptions about him. As popular as the kid is, he’s pretty closed off. He keeps his circle of friends small.”

“Have you two known each other long?”

“Since freshman year when he transferred in from his neighborhood.”

“He doesn’t live in our area?”

“Dude, you coming or what?” a guy shouts from the water.

“They go to our school?” I ask, eyeing the guys who are now looking our way.

He points over to the tall lean one. “Trent does. And those two,” he says pointing to the one who just caught a wave and another who’s standing on the shore, “they graduated last year from Shorecrest Prep And that guy over there, Brandon, he’s a senior at a school in St. Pete.”