My Sweet Summer Romance

Chapter 5

I do a ponytail and run outside, hoping he waited for me.

There he is, waving at me. God, he is really fast! As I come closer, I can see that I was right, he works out. I mean, look at those abs! I am so glad that we chose to chat in a pool instead of in a cold room. I enter the lukewarm water and join him.

"Hey, the more I look at you, the more I think I know you from somewhere."

Oh, he remembers me. But not really, which is kind of awkward.

"Um, I stay in the condo over there and maybe you saw me by the pool, tanning with my friend..." Why doesn't he recognize me?

"To be honest, you caught my eye yesterday, even though I don't remember you being with a friend. I don't know why, but there's something you do that makes me want to know you better."

Now that's a shock, even though I barely understand a word he's saying because I am hypnotized by the way he talks, the way he moves, the way he looks at me. I've had a crush on a guy before, but nothing like this.

"Um, what's your name?"

He snapped me out of my daydream.

"I-I'm Serena. What's your name?"

"Nick, but my friends call me Nick." I burst out laughing. Actually, it wasn't that funny, but the way he said it made it ten thousand times funnier.

"Nice to meet you, Nick!" We are interrupted by Kate, who enters the pool.

"I see that you met my brother, Serena!" She came to say something in my ear.

"Nick talks a lot about you, he really wanted you to come at the party!" Wow, this is going way better than expected. I'll maybe have those shoes after all! I just realized that if Nick is Kate's brother, it means he is my next door neighbor! Lucky me!

"Is it your first time here at Myrtle Beach? If I ever saw some eyes like yours, I would've remembered them!" Oh, my. Is he flirting with me? Well, it's working and he's making me blush. Then, something special happened. We didn't say a word, we just looked at each other for a while. It's like if someone took a remote and stopped time and muted me. I didn't even notice Kate discreetly getting out of the pool. I wanted to say something, anything, but nothing seemed to come out. We just looked at each other, for god knows how long. His eyes sparkled with genuine joy, and it was beautiful. He was the first to break the silence.

"So, where were we?" he asked nervously. "I think I was asking you if it's your first time here!"

"Well, it's my fifth time here, but I didn't come last year. Are you a newcomer?"

"No, second time for me. I was here last year. Why didn't you come last year?" Oh no, not that question. No, please, not now. Tears well in my eyes, I try to push them back again but like always they stay there. Darn. My breathing speeds up, and there's nothing I can do to stop it. Except crying, but that's definitely not an option. I look up at Nick and I can read the concern in his eyes.

"What's happening, Serena? Did I say something wrong?" He puts his hand on my shoulder, and I can feel the warmth of it. I try to manage a sentence between my sobs, but it doesn't get out like I wanted to.

"I-It's co-complicated. Not you-your fault. M-My f-fault. L-Let's just say I don't want to hear about last year, okay?" I finally succeed at putting myself together, but I can see he really doesn't know what's going on. I try my best not to stutter. "Let's talk about something else, okay? Let me think about something... What's your favorite color?" I ask, grinning.

"Turquoise, I really love this unique combination of blue and green, just like your eyes. What's yours?"

I blush, just to think that he likes my eyes. But I shouldn't get my hopes up too much, because maybe he's just flirty with everyone.

"I like a lot of colors, and I can't narrow my mind to only one. I have to say, I also love turquoise and purple. But I can't choose only one."

He makes a half smile- and he looks so sexy while doing it!

"My turn to ask a question. Do you have a boyfriend? But, of course, a pretty girl like you probably has one already..." What is this question? Are you kidding me?

"W-Well, no, not really... Why?" I try not to look nervous, but his questions are... Kind of special.

"Just asking, you know. Your turn to ask a question!" Well, he is curious! What can I ask him?

"How old are you?" Finally a normal question, thanks to yours truly!

"I'm sixteen! What about you?" He winks at me. Again. Why would he want to close one of those wonderful eyes?

"I'm sixteen too, what a coincidence! We have so much in common! We're both sixteen, we both like the color turquoise, and,... Whoa, I thought we had much more things in common! But still, it's better than nothing!" He bursts out laughing. Did I say something wrong?

"Enough with the questions, Serena. Wait a sec, I'll be right back." He quickly gets out of the pool and runs by the DJ's table and whispered something in his ear, while slipping him some money. The music changes to a slower song- wait, I know this song! I think it's 'I want to know what love is'! I love this song! Nick hurries back, kneels by me and grabs my hand, making me stand in the pool. I get out of the pool but, to my great surprise, I don't feel the slightest bit cold.

"My dear lady, I would be more than honored to dance with you." Oh no. Dancing, are you kidding me? Well, apparently not! He still has his hand waiting for me to grab it.

"I c-can't dance. I'm sorry." I don't want him to think I am not interested or anything-

"I can teach you. Take my hand and follow my lead." I do as told, but my fear of stepping on his foot is growing.

"Relax, let the music guide you. Close your eyes if that can help you." His voice is so melodic, and I am so surprised to see the proximity of our bodies. I manage to control my feet and dance!

"Wow! You are an excellent student, my dear lady!"

"I must say, you are an incredible teacher!" I don't know what else to say so I rest my head on his shoulder, my body glued against his. I can feel his sculpted abs against my torso. Those, my friend, are the perks of being in our swimsuits! I continue to move slowly, to the beat of the beautiful song. It feels like we are alone on the dance floor, just Nick and me. I must admit, this song is really genius. It's like my feet already know where to go, and I move with the music. As the song slowly ends, I lift my head back up and his gaze meets mine. It's like I can read him through his dark eyes, as if I knew him for years even though we just met. Our faces are so close, our noses barely touch. He leans closer and he...