Summer Shorts - Anthology

Summer Love by blocked_way5

Summer Love

by blocked_way5

"Come on, girl! Take a break from your drawing!"

My overly excited best friend yelled after me. She was playing volleyball with the new friends she met at the beach, and when I glanced up at her, I saw two more guys had joined her team.

When she showed up at my house this morning, the last thing I wanted to hear was to come to the beach. I hated the hot sun burning my milky skin, making it a shade of deep red. I always needed to peel the burnt skin the other day. And that hurt like hell.

My neutral face twisted into a deep frown after her "We are going to the beach," which it wasn't a question, but a statement. My dad, out of nowhere, showed at the door greeting Clara and told me to go with her. I didn't have much of a choice than to agree, but I did it on one condition, that being to take my drawing bag with me. Clara hesitated for a moment but agreed.

Luckily, when we got to the beach, we found two sunbeds with an umbrella and a small table in the middle. Although it was the perfect place for me, I couldn't help but groan and slump on it.

"I see you are in a great mood," she rolled her green eyes at me, her voice sarcastic.

I placed my bag on my right, next to my sunbed, and started pulling out my sketchbook and pencil graphites. I glanced over at my best friend, and I saw that she already began stripping her clothes off.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing. I'm going swimming." She glanced at me with her duh look on her face, her straight blond hair waving in process.

She had her orange swimsuit with yellow flowers on her. She didn't care how she looked and why she wasn't perfect. Yes, she was skinny, but far from perfect. I admired how she accepted her body the way it was, with all her flaws.

"You coming?" I shook my head at her, and without a second thought, she sprinted towards the sea.

When she got into the water, I looked at her for a moment longer to examine her. I placed my sketchbook on my knee and started sketching her. She loved everything I've ever drawn, and she was a great supporter. She even told me to take art classes outside of school, but I shrugged it off. I was far from a very talented girl.

When I finished drawing Clara, I went a few pages back. I didn't know why I always stared at him in my sketchbook, but I did. I wanted to give him that sketch for his birthday present, but I changed my mind. This drawing was different from the others, and I knew that because it wasn't the first time drawing him.

His light brown eyes were concentrated somewhere in the distance, but his jaw relaxed. I finished drawing a moment before he caught me staring at him. A small grin made its way onto his lips, and I couldn't help but join it, even though my heart skipped a beat.

I remember that summer night, we were sitting around a fire, along with Clara, Ben, and Mike. They were so engaged in their singing and laughing that they haven't noticed me drawing them.

Clara somehow convinced me of playing into her team on beach volleyball after yelling a lecture on me to live a little. I wasn't an active sports person, but I had strength and reflexes. Our group grew bigger when Ben and Mike showed up, shooing the previous two guys to be on the other team. I rolled my eyes at their playfulness.

After ten more sets and winning the game, Ben suggested to grab a beer and celebrate the victory. Clara agreed almost immediately and went with him to buy the beers.