The sun is shining, the weather is warm, and the beach is golden. Everything is perfect.
I’m sitting on a beach towel, not far from the edge of the water as Dana runs up and plops down next to me on the towel. His curls are dripping from the ocean and saltwater is beaded up on his smooth skin. “So,” he looks up at me with a lazy expression, “are you gonna go in the water or just sit on the towel all day and get sunburn,” he pauses, “and cancer?”
I take a deep breath and lean back, “Oh, I think I’ll just sit here by myself and let you run along and play by yourself.”
Will walks by, “Ugh,” and continues over to where the other boys have set up their stuff.
“Wow, that sounds like so much fun,” Dana says in a caustic tone.
“I know,” I reply, widening my eyes, “it’s so much better than being at the beach.”
“You two stop that right now!” Gabe yells from approximately two meters away. All the boys except for Dana are having none of my shenanigans right now.
Dana looks at me and I smile at him as we both suppress our laughter. “Come on,” he grabs my hand and drags me up, running to the water, with me trailing along behind him.
As soon as we reach the water, he spins around and splashes me. I tense from the sudden hit of frigid water, “You are gonna get it, Dana Vaughns!”
He steps further into the water, away from me, and opens his arms, “Bring it on!”
For what seems like an eternity of bliss, we stand in the water, splashing each other and getting drenched, having the time of our lives. He runs and picks me up, wrapping me in a tight hug. I put my arms around his neck and hold on as he rolls over and pulls us both underwater. I open my eyes, ignoring the saltwater sting, and grin at him. We resurface, sitting on the sand, the water about two feet high as he hugs me once more, his arms still tight around my waist.
And before I know it, the sun is setting in the near distance.
