Lights Will Guide You Home

Liam

"Okay, okay here's another one!" Claire jumped excitedly. "What did the fish say when it bumped into a wall?" she looked at me expectantly.

I smiled at her – god, she was adorable. I shrugged, having no clue what the answer was.

"Dam!" she said, bursting into peals of laughter. "Get it?" she choked in between. "Like D-A-M, dam!"

It was even worse than the previous fish joke she'd told me. In fact, it was absolutely terrible. But watching her laugh, I just couldn't hold back. I joined in too.

I don't think I'd ever felt that way for a girl before. She just looked really beautiful in her yellow sundress, walking along the beach with me. It wasn't just her refreshing prettiness that had won me over though. It was her amazing personality. Cheerful and caring, Claire had a way of just lighting up everything around.

"Oh, wanna hear another one? This one's even better!" her big blue eyes were sparkling – she was clearly enjoying herself.

"Haha, sure! But um, before that...I was meaning to ask you something."

She turned to look at me, "oh. Okay, go on."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly feeling dry. "Claire...would you like to join me tomorrow for a well...a little adventure? Just you and me, that is."

She looked a little surprised at first, but then gave me a small shy smile. "I'd love to! Where are we going though?"

"It's a surprise. And I have a feeling you might like it," I smiled at her.

"Awesome! I love surprises! So what's the surprise?" she asked eagerly.

I laughed. "It's a surprise, silly! Just wait!"

Seeing how happy she looked, I couldn't help but bend over and kiss her cheek. A happy blush spread across her face as she smiled at me and slipped her fingers through mine.

"Hey Eclaire!" Michael called out from behind.

We turned around to see Michael, Aiden and Raelynn staring at something in the sand.

"Look! It's a dead starfish!" he shouted, picking it up. He ran up to us, waving it in the air.

"Really?" Claire bent over to examine it when he came close. "Oh look, how cute! It smells gross though," she added, wrinkling her nose.

"But if I wash it, it won't smell anymore and then I can keep it, right?" Michael asked innocently.

"Well actually, the stench isn't going to go away," I told Michael, much to his disappointment. "But you know, you get starfish skeletons in the local market. Much bigger ones too," I said, attempting to make it up to him.

"Really?" his green eyes widened.

"Yep."

"Awesome! Eclaire, could I get one please?"

"Of course you can!" Claire replied.

"Yay!" he shouted in delight, and ran back totell Aiden and Rae.