Prologue
Brenna: Seven Years Ago
I squinted looking out at the beach. Red shorts, white t-shirt; where was he?
He was pretty hard to miss, to be honest, but maybe I just always knew where he was because I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
There he was. Lifeguard tower. Red shorts and white t-shirt. Tall and athletic, muscular. Blue eyes that put the water in the bay to shame. Perfect tan that set off that blond hair which had lightened up over the weeks that we’d been here together. Okay, so together was kind of an overstatement. We just happened to be here at the same time. We weren’t together together. Not like that.
The beach was packed. Summer was coming to a close and people were soaking up the last of their vacation. I came out to the front of the shack to restock the ice cream cooler. They went the fastest and today was a scorcher. I felt the sweat start to bead around my hairline and the back of my neck. Inside the shack, at least I was in the shade but it was hot as balls in there. I had a little portable fan that I rigged up to blow cool air in my face. Wages at the Dana Point Beach Snack Shack were nothing to write home about but it was an honest pay and I needed the money. I had worked throughout high school anyway, a job over my last summer before college didn’t scare me. There were worse places I could be and really, stuck here at Dana Point Beach with the world’s most desirable lifeguard had been kind of fun.
“Are you gonna save me one of those?” I heard someone say behind me. Butterflies, instantly. I felt myself smile. That voice was unmistakable. He had an accent. Like East Coast but mixed with British or something. So hot. I asked him one time and he kind of shrugged it off, saying his mother was British and he had spent time both here and there while growing up.
“That depends, are you gonna pay for it?” I asked, turning around.
“Don’t I get a discount for being a fellow beach worker?”
I laughed, going back into the shack. He leaned on the counter. “It’s gotta be hot in there.”
“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I said, plucking my hair off the back of my neck so the air of the fan could hit it.
“When are you going to take a break and have a dip?”
“I’m not a good swimmer,” I said.
“That’s what I’m here for,” he said, grinning. “I can teach you.” Charlie Hampton, shirtless, glistening in the water was something I would never say no to seeing. Too bad I actually had to work today.
“You’ve never seen me in the water. You’d have your work cut out for you,” I said.
He laughed at my lame joke. “Are you going to be at the bonfire tonight?”
I was looking down, messing with the display so I didn’t have to look at him. I wanted to squeal. I had wanted to go to the bonfire but nobody had asked me and I felt awkward about going alone. The crowd here was older than I was by a couple of years, some in college already. It had been a little difficult to make friends, on top of the fact that I was working most of the time anyway. I tried not to look or sound too excited.
“I was thinking about it.” I added a shrug to look like it didn’t really matter to me whether I went or not.
“You should. I hope I see you there. The summer’s basically over. It would be nice to have fun with everyone before we all go our separate ways,” he said. He wasn’t telling me anything I didn’t know but it still hurt a little. We had been flirting the whole time that we were here, with the knowledge that it wouldn’t be anything but a summer fling but it still stung a little that it was going to be over soon. Might as well make the most of it.
“I guess I will then,” I said. He grinned at me and it was exactly what I needed. He was the cutest guy here and he wanted to talk to me. He wanted to spend time with me. He wanted to be at the bonfire with me. We chatted a little more before he had to go back to the beach.
That night, I took my time getting ready. I took a shower and dried my hair so it wouldn’t frizz out.
My motivation from that afternoon had already subsided. I knew that Charlie wanted me there but that meant actually going. What if he wasn’t there yet? I hadn’t managed to get close to anyone else. Maybe I’d just go for a little bit and leave; just see whether he was there or not and if he wasn’t then I’d leave.
It wasn’t cold that night. I had on some shorts and a thin, kind of worn hoodie. I walked down to the beach, scanning the crowd of people that was already gathered around it. Some people were close to the fire, roasting marshmallows. One guy had a guitar out and was plucking a few notes. The buzz of conversation hung in the air. Most everyone was holding a sweating beer can or bottle. Perfect. I didn’t drink.
I couldn’t see Charlie. I was just about to turn around and leave when he appeared, walking right for me. I stopped and smiled.
“Hey,” he said.
“Hi.”
“I was starting to think you decided to ditch me,” he said. He handed me something, a can wrapped in a beer koozie. I raised my eyebrows.
“Thanks but you know I don’t drink,” I said.
“I know.” He popped the tab and handed it to me. I took a sip. It was Coke. He remembered. At least I wouldn’t stand out drinking a soda while everyone else had alcohol. We sat down and watched the fire for a while, chatting. It was nice. I was glad that I came. He asked after about twenty minutes whether I wanted to take a walk.
We took off together down the beach. I don’t know whether he slowed down to match my pace or if I changed mine to match his but we were walking in perfect sync, shoulders bumping once every couple steps, arms brushing once in a while. Hold my hand, I thought. I blushed, thankful that it was dark enough that he couldn’t see it. I was giddy. Walking down the beach with this guy, I couldn’t stop thinking about how close we were. How alone we were.
“You okay?” I heard him ask.
“Huh? Yeah. I’m okay.”
“Cold?”
“No, no,” I said. There was a breeze coming off the ocean but it wasn’t cold. It was him. He made me nervous. We walked a little more in silence.
“Can I tell you something?” he asked.
“Yeah, sure.”
He dug his hands into his pockets. “I like you a lot, Brenna. These weeks we’ve been here together.” he paused and laughed a little.
“What about the weeks that we’ve been here together?” my voice was so quiet, I barely heard myself.
“I’ve been thinking about getting closer to you this entire time. Since we met if I’m being honest.”
My heart started slamming against my ribcage. Yes, be honest. Honest Charlie was my favorite one at this point.
“I” I had to pause to clear my throat. “I feel the same way,” I said.
“Do you?”
“Let’s just say I like the way you look in your swim shorts,” I said. I cringed but he laughed. It didn’t sound quite so pervy in my mind but he didn’t seem to take it the wrong way. I felt his hand on my arm, stopping me. I turned, looking up at his face in the dark. He faced the direction of the bonfire so some of the light was illuminating his face in this ghostly, almost angelic way. The hand that was on my arm came up to my jaw and his other one joined it on the other side of my face.
Our lips met. It was soft and gentle but it was him. Charlie was kissing me. I was stuck for a few seconds; I couldn’t believe what was happening. I felt him pull away. He looked at me, his blue eyes wide and worried like he had done something wrong. I pulled him back in and we kissed again. I felt some of the tension leave his body. The kiss got deeper. One of his hands went to the back of my neck and the other one grabbed my waist, not so gentle anymore.
Thank god we were alone.
He pulled away again. My lips tingled. “What?” I asked him.
“No, nothing,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “I just… you wanna get out of here? Go back to my place?”
“Yes.” He grinned which made me grin too. I wasn’t drunk. This was what I wanted. We were alone but there was only so much that could happen on the beach.