That familiar crushing sound of the wave breaking against the sea was all I heard as my body propelled the board directly into the surf. I wanted one last ride before heading back to shore. Hoisting myself belly down onto the orange foam, I felt the rough surface against my skin, the rubber cord fastened to my ankle by the Velcro strap. The ocean was speaking to me, each little wave rolling underneath, tempting me to push off but waiting for the right one. The salty sea was starting to form a crest and I was ready to take it. Shifting my glance from over my shoulder to in front of me I paddled with long full strokes into the swell. It had just enough height to lift me into the air and feel the cool rush of body boarding down the front side of the beautiful foamy wave. Effortlessly moving the board side to side, feeling my feet getting sprayed by the surf.
When the ride finished I picked up the board and waded up to the edge of the water where the sand was firm beneath my toes. Tossing the board down onto the sand I positioned myself cross legged on top of it. I was catching my breath as I reached down to undo the safety strap. It was just about sunset and after a long afternoon of body boarding there was no better way to end the day than watch the sun sink into the horizon. The sky was painted orange and red, clouds strung about like wispy cotton candy. Closing my eyes I just listened; the surf crashing, the seagulls calling, the laughter behind me.
"Hey, Mary, are you done out there?"
The voice of my best friend Dani always brought a smile to my face. Dani was one of those girls who had a genuine personality and as she ran towards me, I couldn't help but chuckle.
"Dani, tell me when you have seen a more perfect sunset?"
"Geesh, Mary, I don't know. Perhaps on the boob tube when I watched 'From Here to Eternity'." I felt her arms tackle me, knocking me over face first into the sand. Her strong arms wrapped around me and then rolled us both around on the beach, just like in the movie. We were laughing like idiots.
"You are such a dork, Dani, get the hell off me, we are getting too old to roll around in the sand!"
As we stood up, I grabbed my board and we made our way back to the group of friends who were busy getting the barbeque ready and preparing the fire pit. Today there was a big crowd and I wasn't sure who everyone was but any friend of Dani's was a friend of mine. Someone had a music playing, a few people were playing volleyball and others were just enjoying a beer while chatting.
The skewered kabobs were full of juicy flavor and the smell of burning wood as the fire grew higher reminded me of how much I enjoyed living close to the beach. Then they showed up, those bleach blonde, fake tits, airhead girls who were only there to land a surfer. I can't stand phony people let alone ones who pretend to be something they are not. Their incessant talk of how they want to try surfing but are afraid to break a nail made me want to clobber them. Really, who cares about them anyway? No guy looking for a serious conversation, that's for sure.
"Pass me a Coors light, will ya?" I wasn't sure why I said that, I didn't usually drink beer.
He wasn't quite sure who she was here with, but watching the shadow of flames flicker upon her face gave her this particular glow that he couldn't stop staring at. The beach bonfire always proved to bring out the hotties but this was not your average looking surfer girl. In fact she was quite the opposite of the stereotypical beach bums. She wasn't the slender sunbather either. She was thick, but in all the right places and she had this great laugh. Every time Dani said something she would egg her on and the two of them would end up in fits of laughter. Yet he noticed that every time she looked his way and he caught her eyes that she would turn away. She was absolutely intriguing and he wanted to meet her.
"Dani, who is that guy in the Billabong shorts?"
"You mean David? That's Colin's friend, he's visiting from Baton Rouge. Why do you ask, Mary?" She knew me all too well because that last question was dripping in sarcasm.
"Dude, he's hot and check out his six pack, and a southern boy, huh?" I put on my best drawl "Y'all might have to introduce me now, ya hear?"
"Introduce yourself, beotch." Figures she would pull the 'fend for yourself' attitude. She knew that if I didn't break out of my solo shell, I would be single for the next decade.
I grabbed a handful of marshmallows and made my way over to him. Silently I walked up behind him, he was engrossed in his conversation with Colin. He was saying something about moving out here.
"Can I slide my soft, milky white pillows over your stick?" I said softly into his ear. David's face turned as red as the flames in the pit.
"Excuse me?" he said with quite the shocked look on his face.
I held out my hand. "Marshmallows, I'm talking about marshmallows. Don't you like them?"
"Sure but that's the oddest way I have ever had anyone ask me if I wanted to roast them." Then he looked at me, very coyly, and plucked one right from my hand "I wonder if you taste as good as the ones back home?" He stuffed it in his mouth.
I laughed out loud. "Are we still talking about marshmallows?" Hearing his accent was charming and we were being so stupid. "Hi, I'm Mary."
"I'm David"
