"Look! There it is!"
"Wow, perfect!"
We could now see the waterfront as we cleared past the treeline. After two and a half hours of driving, mom and I had finally made it to the beach. Crossing onto the white bridge, we saw the crystal blue seafoamed waves toss and splash. Seagulls darted off into the distance towards the sun. Small bright triangles sailed giving the illusion of traveling fast along the water. It felt wonderful to start a beach trip at the very beginning of summer. It was a long tiring baseball season and this proved the perfect break.
As we traveled further onto the bridge peak, being a typical boy I decided to ask the important questions only now.
"Who is all going?"
"So uncle Mark, Aunt Renee and the kids are already there, then your older cousins Ashley, Dan, and Lana are also heading up tonight."
"Okay." I acknowledged. Uncle Mark's kids were younger than I but knowing they were always up for doing fun things made me even more excited. Won't be me getting stuck with the adults this time!
"Oh and the older cousins said they brought some friends"
"Who?" I asked.
"I don't know if you remember Kiara, she had been over once or twice when we had gone upstate to see them. And Jess, I don't think we've met Jess before."
I don't believe I had met them before either. I must've been very young.
"Okay," I replied. Most likely they're just going to be hanging out with the college kids then.
**********
Fifteen minutes later we arrived at the bright tan pastel colored beach house. Instantly I could see my cousins' grey Subaru SUV parked outside. The house was a good size, could probably fit all of us without packing in too tightly, however the chances of having my own room with 10 people in there seemed a tall order. The garden was kept very well along the outside, trimmed hedges lined the walls, some aloe Vera and dragon trees decorated the corners. Upon leaving the vehicle, I could see the nicely placed wide windows lined with white frames. One large arched window sat above the modern front door. Mom knocked on it and pressed the golden handle down easily.
"Hello we're here!" My mom shouted excitedly walking through the beach house door. I felt the cool air conditioning breeze into my face. The arched front door window allowed a generous amount of light to fill the main room and stairs which wrapped up to the 2nd floor's banister-lined hallway.
"Hey! You made it!" Instantly we were showered with greetings from the family, my cousins poured out of the adjacent rooms giving me the warmest hugs.
"Alright! Lets get your things in your rooms and we go to the beach?" Uncle Mark said rubbing his sunburnt hands together.
All the kids clamored with excitement. They showed me to the room containing a bunk bed, mirror closet doors, a bathroom and other usual things.
"This one's yours, Chris." Jonathan pointed to the bottom bunk. "I got here first so I get the top bunk!"
"We got here first so we claimed the bigger bunks before you!" Erika boasted.
"Fine by me." I replied. No way I was climbing up every night to go to bed.
"You have to sleep below Jonathan. He snores!" Complained Mackenzie as if she'd gone through it before.
I placed my things on the bottom bunk and got ready to head to the beach. Before Jonathan and I left the room, we heard our parents greeting people once again. Didn't even hear the front door open.
"Oh the big kids are here." Erika crossed her arms with a bored tone. I could anticipate it now, her bugging them while they played cards and ignored her late at night.
Jonathan and I walked back out the hall to the main room. Instantly I saw my cousins Dan and Ashley hugging the parents. Lana followed, emerging from the bright light outside. Ashley turned to me first.
"Hey, Chris!" She looked directly at me with her green eyes. She was one of the taller ones, about 5'11, with long naturally curly brunette hair. She was slender but not skinny. She had played softball and ran track, hence her strong long toned legs. She wore frayed Jean shorts and a black tank top. She walked over with open arms and embraced me.
"Good to see you!" I said.
Next was Dan. Dan was probably the stud of the family. He stood not too much taller than I, about 6 foot but he had been physically active much longer than I. His swooshy "Justin Bieber" style brown hair flowed behind him. I didn't see him smile a lot but when he did, he exemplified a pleasant and collected attitude with it, the type you'd try to recreate in the mirror. I wouldn't admit that I copied it but my similarly styled and colored hair told otherwise. He wore a black O'Neill shirt and red lifeguard style shorts, not bothering to match.
"Hey boss," He said, giving me a typical bro hug with a touch of family love.
"Hey man." I hugged back.
Lana cheerfully smiled and laughed, welcoming all the overwhelming greetings including mine. Her eyes were bright brown, her nose was more pointed than round, and her lips were wide. She had an infectiously cute smile and personality. She somehow absorbed every bit of Italian in her lineage with darker skin and fuller cheeks. She had no qualms wandering within people's personal space and she talked mostly with her hands. People knew her as the touchy-feely type. She wore straight long black hair, her cutoff black tank top curved along her sides and turned into frayed Jean shorts.
Two more girls stepped in from the blinding light at the doorway. My cousins introduced them to my mom.
"Hi, I'm Kiara," said the first girl with a beaming smile revealing her pearly white teeth and cupid watermelon colored lips, not sure if my mom remembered her from before.
"Oh I remember! Long time ago!" My mom replied. "You and Chris were much younger."
Kiara's long curly auburn hair flowed nearly down to her waist falling onto black jeggings which outlined every feature of her toned thighs and calves. The sunlight fell upon her head painting it into a bright ruby color. She wore a tye-dye T-shirt. Her nose curved upward ever so slightly allowing you to see the full features of her warm bowed lips at all times. Her eyes were noticeably bright and blue.
Jess asserted herself immediately, walked forward and greeted my mom, "I'm Jess," she said wearing a stoic smile. She was more bold, initiative, and unreserved unlike Kiara Her dirty blonde hair was wrapped up in a ponytail by a black scrunchie. Her nose was symmetrically pointed, slightly bigger than Kiara's and complimented her bold characteristics. Her lips were fuller and bubblegum pink, very gifted proportions. She had gazing blue eyes. She reminded me of the typical popular girl that dudes in highschool would swarm after. She wore a grey tank top, showing a little cleavage and cashmere white shorts. So casual but it worked perfectly for her. Her fine details didn't require much scanning as they all came together quickly. I could see she might have stood nearly my height.
I looked back over at Kiara. She stared at me and I could now see her aquamarine eyes clearly. She caught me so I pursed my lips naturally looking away. Not a fan of staring or getting caught staring. As the adults began their typical talking phase, I pretended to be involved with what they were saying, really just staring at the carpet waiting for them to hurry up so we could head out. I couldn't focus on what they were saying and realized too late I was just staring blankly. Naturally I turned back to Kiara. She was still staring, side-eyed at me. I looked down at the ground, my eyes wandering on autopilot. Took a look at my Underarmour shorts and Quiksilver shirt. Did I have a stain or a hole? Was I standing awkwardly? My eyes made their way back towards her. She reverted almost instantly from the parents back to me, catching me again. Quick, have to break eye contact and see what happens.
I looked over at Jonathan.
(Say anything)
"So you wanna go to the beach?"
"Yeah." He one-worded me. He kicked his feet in boredom.
(Come on Jonathan, you're supposed to be my distraction.)
I could feel I was breathing deeper. Obviously he wanted nothing more than to just get on with the beach. I stepped aside toward the hallway to change into my swimshorts.
*****
When she stepped into the house, Kiara noticed the usual suspects. Mark, Renee, Lana, and the kids. Ashley invited Jess who most likely came because of Dan. Lana had invited her personally. She admitted Dan was cute but she wouldn't tell him personally as other girls probably told him that all the time.
But she had not seen Chris in years. He was a nice looking little boy when she'd last seen him. Now he had grown older so fast. After quickly recognizing most faces through the door, she spotted him standing in the hall. He wore athletic Underarmour shorts and a Quiksilver T-shirt that nicely fitted his body. His lean body allowed his biceps to peek out underneath his sleeves. His swooshy brown hair resembled Dan's, almost as if he were his identical little brother. Just under his pant legs you could see clearly defined quad muscles and calves.
Then his brown eyes met hers, lightened by the sun like pools of ripe honey. He had grown into such an attractive older boy. She noticed him look aside showing his concave nose and pursing thin lips that gave his youth away. The evening sunlight shone through the arch window and provided a perfect view. She looked back at the parents, still remaining in deep college discussions amongst the cousins and Jess. She'd rather wait to be asked instead of barging into the conversation. While Jess stole the attention of the conversation, she looked back at Chris to see the bright pools of honey gazing at her again. He turned to ask Jonathan a question, then darted around the hall providing a quick view of his defined calves and tight but generously padded curvy butt. She pursed her lips at the sight, tongue pressed lightly inside of her teeth.
"What about you, Kiara? Are you enjoying college?"
Her concentration broke at precisely the right time. "Yeah! It's going good. I recently just came back from the trip to New Zealand."
"Wow, which part? Did you have fun out there?" Chris's mom asked. Typical adult conversation.
Kiara smiled widely, "We were in Auckland. It was life changing. I definitely recommend going at least once."
She thought of that eye opening experience she took part of at a spirit festival in the middle of the trip. An encounter of a lifetime, harnessing the realization of importance that comes with forming and kindling connections with people on so many different pathways. She learned the significance of establishing a solid bond between the ones she may come to love and respect.
On a beach vacation with her friends and their family, why wouldn't she start here?
