One Summer One Direction

Chapter 8

Talia's P.O.V

Trying to pull your swimsuit out of a wedgie discreetly with the hottest shirtless guy right in front of you is much harder than you would think. I believe it's my fourth week in lifeguard training. It's been hard, pushing my body to the limits, much harder than I thought it was going to be, or else I would have trained harder. My instructor and teacher, Gabe, has been so patient with me and such a good teacher. Also, it helps that he's a beach god. Having a very muscular, tall, attractive guy teach you how to properly save someone is just as good as you would think it would be.

But surprisingly, I am learning. Gabe thinks that I might be able to actually be on the job next week! I can't help but smile at my achievements. At the beginning, the training was so tedious, I was sore for weeks. Gabe pushed me to my limits. It is nothing like bay watch, just to let you know.

The beach has been absolute bliss. The sand is so soft and the waves have been perfect. Also, being right next to the board walk isn't that bad. The food is incredible and all the cute colored shops and exciting bustling crowds make the lunch breaks go by so quickly. Everything has been so perfect!

I bike or board every morning to the Pier and check in with Gabe and we start training. In the indoor pool at the club, we swim about five laps to get warmed up then from there, Gabe starts full 300 yard swimming sprints then we begin the hard stuff, including 550-yard non-stop swim, additional surface dives, treading water and completing 30 yards of swimming using just your legs. Then we go through CPR procedures and hauling a dummy out of the water and sometimes having to carry a fake limp Gabe out of the waves. No one said this was easy.

After that, we take a break and usually do lunch at one of the food trucks there at the beach or on the pier. After that, I shadow Gabe and come along with him on lifeguarding duties I would have to do on the job. Like first aid and patrolling the beach. Then around four or five I can either go home or catch some waves on one of the spare surf boards they have around. Then, after a long day I drag my salty, fishy smelling self-home to the girls where they have to put up with my smell and awful sunburns. Then we just catch up and be dumb together, do stupid stuff you know, the usual.

So... yeah, that's been my life for the past few days. Today specifically, it was cloudy and the swimming suit I was wearing particularly irritated the sunburn on my shoulders, even after applying bottle after bottle of aloe Vera chilled in the fridge.

Gabe had just taken me through more laps at the indoor pool because he didn't think I could beat him at a breast stroke sprint down and back. Of course, weeks of doing just that trained me for the thirty second sprint we just did. Gabe walks ahead of me, his broad shoulders slumped in shame. "Two seconds!" he argues with me walking outside and back to the assigned lifeguard tower. "Yes but I still won!" I gloat, walking ahead of him walking backwards to laugh at him and his childish reaction.

"You know Talia, you could start like soon, and I mean really soon."

"Really, that would be awesome!" "Yeah, you are getting good! I mean you beat me, I haven't lost since I was trained!" "What? I beat the big and powerful Gabe?" I gawk, laughing as I run up to my stuff at the base of one of the lifeguard posts. "Oh shut up!" he smirks at me, picking up his towel and shaking it out before drying his face. I'm softly drying off, trying not to irritate my crimson red, peeling skin, careful as I bring it around my shoulders and arms. "We're totally going to get skin cancer" Gabe says, furring his brows and decidedly drying off his tan exposed torso. "Yup" I answer, trying to toss my towel onto the balcony of the small lifeguard post the paint flaking off of the wood as my towel snags before sliding off.

"You know Miss Brooks, it would be easier if I just did it." Gabe comes up behind me and swiftly catches the towel in midair before easily throwing it over the peeling wood a few feet above us. "Yeah but that takes effort," I joke as he does the same to his towel, both of them rustling in the wind next to each other. "Yes, but so does whining" he retaliates. I say nothing, just laugh to myself. "What time is it?" I question as Gabe rifles through his bag. "Umm almost four thirty" he answers, throwing his phone back in his bag after checking for me.