Finally at around 2:30 I put on a pair of khaki cargo shorts and a baby blue tube top and climbed downstairs. No one else appeared to be around but when I looked out the window I saw that they were all on the beach. I really was feeling to lazy to go back upstairs and grab my bathing suit so I just sat outside on the porch watching everyone else.
At first no one noticed me. AJ and Amy were off in the ocean swimming, splashing, and all that good stuff while Nick was closer to me making what appeared to be a sand castle. At that moment he looked up and spotted me then made a motioning signal for me to come over to him.
Aww damn! I thought. Another awkward encounter for me to have to try not to act too stupid. When I finally reached him he grinned and said, "Good afternoon, sleepyhead."
"I didn't just get up. I've been up for a while. What are you doing?" I asked. So much for not sounding stupid I thought to myself.
"Nothing really. I got bored so I decided to try to make a sand castle. Would you like to help?" he asked.
"Sure although I'm not very artistic," I told him as I bent down next to him to help.
"That doesn't matter. It's just for fun," Nick said.
We worked in silence for a while and I began to lose track of time and finally begin to relax a little. Before I knew it our creation was done. "Wow! It looks great!" I told him as I stepped back to admire our work.
"Yea, it does," Nick agreed as he stepped beside me to see our sand castle from a distance.
Unfortunately our enjoyment didn't last very long. A huge wave came crashing down on the shore completely destroying our castle. "All that work and look what happened!" I complained.
"Yea, but it wasn't exactly a total waste of time," Nick told me, shooting me that grin again.
OK Lyssa, I told myself. That's not what he meant. He's not interested in you so just forget he even said anything!
Just then Amy and AJ came out of the water cold and shivering and announced that they were going back inside. Me and Nick decided to follow them.
Once we were inside Amy and AJ went upstairs to get changed while I headed into the kitchen to look for some food since I hadn't eaten all day. I was surprised to find Nick right behind me.
"I'm so hungry! I didn't have anything to eat all day," I explained to him.
"Yea, I'm pretty hungry myself," he told me.
"Well, umm I make a pretty good frozen pizza," I told him with a giggle. "That's my specialty since I really can't cook."
"Hey, it sounds good to me," he said with a smile.
Ten minutes later the pizza was ready and we began to dig in. We ate in silence and I wondered if he could tell how much it was killing me! Finally though he broke the silence.
"There's something I've been meaning to ask you Lyssa," he spoke up.
"What?" I answered nervously.
"Do you have a boyfriend?" he asked me. I wanted to laugh! He thought that there was actually a possibility that I had a boyfriend?
"No. Why did you want to know?" I found myself asking.
"No reason," he replied. "Just wondering."
We went back to eating but a few minutes later the question that had been wandering in my head ever since I met him popped out. "Do you have a girlfriend?" I asked.
"No. At least not anymore. I just kind of recently broke up with someone," he answered.
This was almost to good to be true! trying to hold back my excitement I said, "Oh, I'm sorry." I tried to sound as sincere as possible.
"It's okay. So are you done yet?" he asked me.
"Almost," I told him as I finished up my pizza.
"Good. When you finish why don't we go for a walk," he suggested.
"Good idea," I told him as I ran upstairs to grab my baby blue cardigan. "I'm ready now," I said when I got back downstairs.
We stepped outside and started to walk down the beach. It really was a beautiful time of day. The sun was just starting to set and the sky was half orange, half purple. we were walking for a while when Nick stopped and said, "Look, there's something else I've been meaning to ask you and I want you to be honest. Do you like me?"
I felt embarrassed beyond belief and I could feel myself blushing. How had he guessed? How could I be so totally obvious?
"I'm just asking because I'm wondering if you feel the same way I do," Nick continued.
Huh? Had I heard right? The same way he did? What was that supposed to mean?
"Wait, what are you trying to say? That u like me? Plain boring old me?" I asked in disbelief.
"You aren't plain or boring. You're pretty and fun and I really enjoy being with you a lot and I can tell you feel the same," he confessed.
I groaned and asked, "Was I really that obvious?"
"Do you want the truth?" he asked with a laugh.
"Well, actually no, but I'll admit that I do feel the same way you do," I answered shyly.
As I was saying this Nick had stepped towards me. I noticed the fading sunlight shining through his golden blond hair and the little piece that fell into his eyes that I wanted to reach up and brush away but I didn't care move. His hand lingered down to my chin and lifted it slightly then he leaned down and kissed me softly.
I felt myself involuntarily kissing back. This wasn't anything like those stupid kissing games I had been forced to play at Amy's parties where the guys always had really gross breath and tried to practically shove their tongue down my throat. This kiss was meant for me and only me. The kind of kiss that I'd been waiting for ever since I began to realize that kissing guys wasn't as gross as it seemed. I might not have been a kissing expert but kissing Nick felt totally right.
When we finally pulled apart, we were both smiling. Then we both continued walking down the beach hand in hand.