Escaping Reality

Chapter 19: Basking on the Beach

Now it was my turn to ask "What're we doing next"

Lola looked over at me with a smile flattered that I had used her line. Rather than say anything she motioned for the keys. Oh boy if her personality is a predictor of her driving habits I was in for a ride. She must have a place in mind if she's offering to drive I thought. Alas, I handed over the keys and got in the passenger's seat. I hope she isn't playing the long ball and just planning to drive off with my car and dump me on the side of the street or something I thought jokingly.

The wind felt good on my face as it smoothed over the face indents still lingering on my face from the skydiving goggles. My hair, damp with sweat, got a nice air drive, as well as Lola, sped down the interstate. It was a short drive until we pulled up to a cozy neighborhood. A few quick turns and we pulled up to a cute white house that looked like it belonged in a family TV show.

Lola put the car in park and told me to wait where I was. I didn't have much choice but to oblige, I wasn't about to invite myself into what I presumed was her house. It was hard to wait there, I felt awkward and couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. A parent from the kitchen window or a neighbor from over the backyard fence. This felt like one of those tight-knit communities where everybody knew everybody and the sight of a new car in the neighborhood attracted attention. Ah, you're being paranoid I told myself.

After what felt like half an hour Lola finally returned with a giant basket, a large blanket, and what appeared to be a rolled-up hammock.

"Ever had a picnic on a beach with a cute girl?" she asked

"Does my mom count?" I said with a raised eyebrow, following up with, "are you talking about yourself in the third person?"

We both laughed at my cheesiness and her use of the third person. Before long, we were on our way to the nearest beach. We arrived and I was once again in shock. Living in the midwest my idea of a nice beach was one hundred feet of small pebbles and some murky green water. This beach was huge and seemed to span forever. I immediately ditched my shoes as we got out of the car. The sand was incredibly fine and trickled between my toes as I curled my feet into the warm foreign substance.

The water was unlike anything I had seen too. It glimmered in the sun and I could see the bottom of the ocean as I stepped out into the water. As I looked up and outward I was astonished at the overwhelming size of the Ocean. It was also breathtaking to see just how vast the Ocean was, to not be able to see anything other than Ocean was borderline frightening.It was midday but it was also a weekday so the beach wasn't as busy as I had expected. We set up as far away from everyone as possible. We enjoyed each other's company and preferred not to attract any tagalongs.

"I'm famished after setting up this blanket" I exclaimed, showing off the excellent work I had done. "What'd you pack us?"

"You barely set up the blanket, I had to flatten out all the edges," She responded, "But I packed some deli sandwiches, a fruit bowl, and some sparkling juice to drink."

We stuffed our faces and were left lethargically sprawled out on the giant blanket. After some squirming, I was able to mold the sand to the outline of my body and create the perfect little body nook. As I lay there I bliss I couldn't help but consider my good fortune. I just shared a wonderful meal with a beautiful girl for the second time in a single day. A feat I don't think I had ever accomplished before. To top things off I was laying in the sun sipping a cool sparkling drink and had a nice breeze running over my semi-buried body. This was life. I don't know how anybody in Florida got any productive work done.

A grape pelted the side of my face and snapped me out of my daze, Lola snickered. I picked a grape of my own pile and tossed it back at her face. To my surprise, she caught it in her mouth. Her face was so smug as she chewed up my failed retaliation attempt. Suddenly we were lobbing various fruits into each other's mouths. We had made a game out of it and of course, we had to keep score. The final tally was skewed in Lola's favor, however, there was some foul play that had hindered my chances at winning.

We sat on the beach and talked for a little bit and then out of nowhere Lola got up and screamed.

"LAST ONE IN THE WATER HAS TO EAT MAYONNAISE BY THE SPOONFUL"

I didn't stand a chance, she had a giant head start. I decided to try something I had seen in the movies. I sprinted after her but a few strides into my sprint I purposely fell and went completely limp, screaming out in pain. She turned around just before she reached the water and started back toward me. I waited till she was almost on top of me before leaping up and sprinting toward the ocean full speed. I could hear her hurling insults at me as I sunk into the water, letting it swallow my body.

I emerged from the water proud of myself and my cleverness. Lola, however, wasn't as impressed. She stood there covered in sand and arms crossed.

"You're going to make it up to me" she demanded

"How am I gonna do that?" I taunted, slightly turned on by her change in mood.

"I have a few ideas," she said as she shot me the eyes and did a little lip-bite.

I played innocent like I didn't know what that meant insisting it had simply been payback for her fruit tossing foul play. She wasn't having it. Alright then, highly competitive I noted to myself quietly. She led me back to the picnic basket, handed me the hammock, pointed to a spot a little ways off, and told me to set it up. Setting up a hammock didn't seem like so terrible a punishment. I found two sturdy trees and set the hammock up in a matter of minutes. Once Lola saw I had the hammock set up she rushed over fighting a smile.

We hopped in the hammock and it was surprisingly comfortable, a quiet retreat from the noisy beach around us. She turned to me. She looked me in the eyes, then at my lips, then back at my eyes. Ah, that hadn't taken long. I caught up quickly smiling and then leaning in, gently pressing my lips to hers. The warm touch of her hand on my chest was calming. I held her with one hand and ran the other through her hair as I continued "making it up to her".

Thirty minutes later we peeked our heads out of the hammock finding the beach just as we had left it. Luckily nobody had lifted our stuff. Both wanting to take a final dip in the ocean we decided to have a rematch race. This time with no dirty tricks, a fair race. I let her take the lead before pulling ahead at the last minute and leaping into the water headfirst.

We hung out in the water for a while, just floating around and talking about nothing in particular. It was nice, in the matter of a day almost all anxiousness had gone away. Conversation with her was natural, not premeditated, or tiring. As our bodies began to wrinkle we decided to call it a day. It was nearing six o'clock and she had told her parents she was bringing home a boy for dinner. We packed it up at the beach and headed out for her house.

My shirt felt heavy against my sun-kissed skin as we walked back to the car. I could feel the sand particles shifting around in the little bit of hair I had left. My shorts stuck to my body letting the occasional water droplet fall, marking its territory on my sand dusted feet. Paradoxically, energetic tiredness ran through my body. The sun had soaked a lot out of me but Lola had simultaneously arisen an equal amount of energy.

I felt full.