A Drop In The Lake

a cliché or two

Cameron

I guide Alessa out of the car and down the gradually densening sand path towards the water. I don't want to get into things right away and scare her, so I move towards the deep beige sand line and bend down, letting the tips of my fingers skim the water.

The white, warm, bubbles coast across my fingers and up to the tips of my old Nike running shoes.

"It's still warm." I begin, addressing Alessa's figure approaching behind me.

"It is still summer." She retorts, coming up besides me.

I greet her with a raised brow and slight smile. "I know, it just reminds me so much of home, I guess."

"I bet the water was always warm over there." She responds, dipping her own fingers into the water.

"Yeah." I drag, feeling a sudden burst of homesickness lodge into my throat and cause my eyes to water.

The next few moments are filled with silent agreement as we move towards a lifeguard chair at the bottom of the sand dunes.

I climb up the rickety boards of the lifeguard chair and reach my hand below me to help Alessa up, careful not to throw my weight forwards and topple the chair. When we've both successfully made it to the top, we just sit there staring at the pitch blue sky, littered in stars only visible to the strained eye. The image of Hercules yielding his club takes front stage in a sea of white dots. His reflection on the water is near impossible to make out, but I assure you, the avid astrologists will find it without a hiccup.

As I continue to marvel at the wonders of the night sky, Alessa fidgets beside me.

"What is it?" I ask, after she picks at the fraying seam of her pants for the third time.

"Well. We're here. Didn't you want to talk?" She states hesitantly. I've never seen Alessa so unsure and open before, almost like she doesn't know what to do when faced with admiration and comfort.

"I mean yeah. I was gonna try to ease into it a bit smoother, but I guess this works too." I reply, trying to inject some humor into this stilted conversation.

She returns with a shy smile and appreciative gaze.

"Okay, how about this. Before we get into my interrogation of you, why don't you ask me a question." I suggest light heartedly, shifting in my seat to face her head on.

She looks down again as if contemplating her options. "Okay," she huffs. "What's the one thing you miss most about California?"

I take her question to heart, wading through my life outside of LBI and settle on a boisterous yet serious memory.

"When I was twelve years old my friend Kaya and I went running down to the beach in our underwear. Kaya and I were neighbors so we both met up at the path between our houses, stripped out of our clothes and rushed into the water. We thought we were such daredevils; just trying to be cool. When we got about waist deep my mom called out to us to come back inside because I was meant to be getting ready for crew practice. However, Kaya and I were only in our underwear so if we got out of the water my mom would be able to see everything (I should've thought of that before getting in obviously)." Alessa chuckles, bringing me out of the memory for a moment to marvel at her beauty. "So when I didn't get out right away, my mom came marching over to us, yelling at me to get into the house. Once she crossed the path to the beach she noticed our pile of clothes at the end and finally understood why we weren't getting out. Of course in that same moment, Kaya's mom decided to come out — she must have heard all of my mother's yelling — and when she went over to my mother, she too started freaking out." I pause for a moment, unable to contain my laughter. "It was crazy. You would think they caught us having sex." My silence lingers now as my thoughts settle into a puddle at the bottom of my brain.