To Kiss Kate

1. the girl

Jackson Michaels-

"Jack! Lookout!" Someone yelled from behind me, I ducked without looking back and watched a football land in front of me. "Sorry!" Two people yelled, and I turned. My brother, Harrison, and his friend Parker. I tossed the ball back and smiled, continuing my walk on the beach.

It was getting hot out, and I had spent most of my day on the beach. It was nice, but I wasn't sure how I was supposed to spend the next three months here. My parents said it would be fun, relaxing, and a change of scenery. I knew what they meant was a way for my brother, Harrison, to stay out of trouble in the city for the summer.

Unlike them, I knew that he would find trouble anywhere. Hamilton county would sure as hell not stop him from that. We had only been here a few days, and already Harrison seemed to be making friends with the local teenagers.

For a split second I wished I was too. The girl at the diner. She couldn't have been older than 20. She looked like the diner wasn't her main priority, leading me to believe she was probably still in high school. But damn, was she gorgeous. Her eyes were bright and green, noticeable, but not outrageous. Her hair was brown, almost red, and she smiled like the sunshine. I regretted not saying more, but I hoped I would run into her again.

Hamilton was small, there had to be a pretty high chance of us seeing each other again. Maybe I would just stop into the diner a little more frequently than I had originally planned. The diner was alright, based on the one meal I had gotten there, French Toast. It was nothing special, besides the fact that she worked there.

It was unlike me to be so caught up in a girl, even my ex-girlfriend had not been this exciting in my mind. I was not exactly known for my loyalty or commitment, but for some reason I suddenly wanted to be, with her.

Yesterday had seemed like such a blur after I saw her. She was like an angel. Not to be dramatic or anything, but she was probably the most beautiful person I had ever seen. I felt stupid for saying it, but sometimes you have to turn off the douchebag.

I walked towards the water, thinking about home and when my friends would be joining me in Hamilton in a few days. I was excited to see Brad and Ashton after not seeing them all semester. Christmas was a long time ago. I splashed my feet in the water, it was cold, but the view was pretty. I could barely see our house from where I had walked on the beach, so I turned and headed back, listening to the waves. It was relaxing, and it made Hamilton grow on me a little more.

I dodged a few footballs as I walked up the stairs onto our porch, my sister, Audrey, reading a book on the hammock.

"Hey, Jack." She smiled without looking up at me.

"Hey." I sat down in the chair across from her, letting out a long sigh. "When's dinner ready?" I asked, she shrugged, again without looking at me. I took my phone out of my pocket and opened Instagram. I had the urge to search the diner and see if I could find the girl, but that might be a little weird. I settled on not doing that, and scrolled through my feed instead.

There was a party back home last night. Home was Brooklyn, and it was only an hour and a half drive, so I probably could have went if I really wanted to. But I didn't. I wanted to explore this town more, and I couldn't wait until Brad and Ashton got here tomorrow. That was going to be exciting. For now, I was stuck with Harrison and Aubrey.

Aubrey was boring. She was too smart for her own good. She had a personality, and a steady boyfriend, but she was primarily into reading. She was graduating from UCLA next year, and I was happy for her. She would do big things. Harrison was a a rising junior in High school. He was rebellious, and a bit of a troublemaker. Fortunately for him, my parents had gotten him out of mostly all of his repercussions, something I didn't really agree with. Harrison was smart as well, he just didn't apply himself. At all.