Beach Party

Jace closed the door to the bedroom and dug around in his bag. Finally he pulled out a pair of khaki shorts and a shirt. Pulling on his clothes, he walked over to James’s side of the bed and shook his hair out, sending a spray of water at his friends face. James shot up right in the bed, staring at him in horror.

                “What was that for?” James demanded. Jace laughed, shrugged and walked away. “Why are you all wet anyways?”

                “Oh, um, Aaron and I went swimming,” Jace smiled. He rubbed a towel through his hair and brushed it flat against his head.

                “Oh really? Why?”

                “She woke up scared from a nightmare so I took her downstairs to the pool. She seems okay now though. We talked,” Jace said, shrugging. James gave him a look, seeing past the façade.

                “You really like her don’t you?” James chuckled. Jace nodded, looking away and pulling a pair of socks from the bag.

                They heard somebody moving around outside their room and the conversation ended. Aaron woke Bethany up and the group got ready to finish their journey to Maine.

                Aaron and James reloaded their bags into the trunk and the backseat floorboards, and settled into their seats. Jace ended up next to her in the front seat again and read out directions to the resort. Glancing in the rearview mirror she saw James and Bethany leaning towards each other, whispering. She shook her head, laughing silently to herself. Their freshman year Bethany had the biggest crush on her older brother and constantly tried to convince Aaron otherwise.

                “Are we there yet?” Bethany asked from the backseat. Three hours had passed since they’d left the hotel and everybody was getting restless. As Bethany got ready to ask again, the resort emerged from the horizon. Everybody in the car cheered, and Aaron sped up. Jumping out of the car, the group checked in at the front office and grabbed the key to their cabin.

                “Are we all sharing a room again?” James asked, looking at the singular room key.

                “Yeah, you guys coming along was kind of late notice so we couldn’t book another room. We could only get a larger cabin,” Bethany said. “It’s got two beds but only one room. There’s a bathroom, a kitchen, and a porch with a view.”

                “Alright, that’s fine,” Jace laughed.

                “There is a party tonight down on the beach though. My parents throw it every year, it should be fun,” Bethany said, looking out over the ocean.

                “Alright Beth, I believe that means that you and I need to go get ready then,” Aaron laughed, hooking her arm around Bethany’s. The two walked away towards their assigned cabin and shut the door behind them.

                “You and I have some work to do, too,” James said, walking in the opposite direction.

                The two girls examined their room, pulling open one of the small closet doors. Hanging on two thin white plastic hangers were two beautiful dresses. One was yellow with a sparkly gauzy material over several layers of silky material, with a padded front and thin spaghetti straps. The second dress was similar but in red. Aaron picked up the yellow one, holding it to herself.

                “I like it,” Bethany said, and grabbed the red one. Aaron nodded in agreement, setting it on the bed nearest the window and closing the heavy blue curtains. Both girls changed into their dresses, fitting the silky fabric over their heads, tying the gauzy ties behind their backs.

                “Do you want to do anything with your hair?”Bethany asked, grabbing a strand of Aaron’s ginger hair.

                “Nothing elaborate,” Aaron said. She walked into the bathroom, grabbing a hair brush. Brushing her hair out straight it hit the middle of her back. Aaron grabbed a strand of hair, braiding it and pulling it back to the back of her head. She did the same on the other side of her face and secured the two strands with a bright yellow ribbon.

                “That’s so pretty,” Bethany cooed, coming up behind Aaron and taking a strand of hair in her hands. “Can you do my hair? I just want all of it braided.” Aaron led her over to the bed, and stood behind her, elegantly folding piece over piece. When she finished Bethany’s hair, it was tied back with a red ribbon and hung down her back.

                “Perfect,” Aaron smiled. Bethany jumped up and ran to the bathroom, checking her reflection in the mirror. Satisfied, she ran back into the room and looked around.

                “I need my bags,” she realized.

                “Me too,” Aaron said, grabbing the room key and leading the way out to the car. They pulled all their heavy suitcases from the trunk, lugging them slowly up to the room. When they finished they reluctantly decided to get the boy’s luggage too. Back in the room, they flopped gently down on the bed, careful not to mess up their hair. The red lights on the alarm clock next to the bed said it was 7:45.

                “The party should have started already,” Bethany sighed and stood up to help Aaron off the bed. Laughing the two girls kicked off their flip flops and walked out of the large white cabin.

                On the beach below them lights had been set up in a big area near the ocean. Bethany’s parents had set up several tables laden with treats, cookies, brownies, cake, and tons of others. Music was playing loud, surrounding the happy people spinning around each other on the sand. People were dancing together, arms around each other, swaying delicately.  The men were wearing black dress pants with nice shirts tucked in at the waist and a tie. The women were wearing dresses that varied in style but were all very elegant but seemingly informal.

                “Beth!” somebody called from the small crowd. Bethany giggled and ran off, leaving Aaron by herself in the crowd. She spun around the couples dancing together, searching absently for her brother.

                “hey,” somebody said. Aaron spun, facing a random, handsome guy.

                “Hi,” she said, smiling.

                “You’re Beth’s friend, right?” he asked.

                “Yeah, I’m Aaron,” she stuck out her hand, shaking his gently before dropping it back to her side.

                “Stephen,” he smiled, “I’m a friend of a friend of a friend.” Aaron laughed and nodded her head. “Would you like to dance?”

                “Sure,” she said, taking his hand. They spun out into the crowd, swaying along to the music. His hands slid down, resting gingerly on her hips. She smiled at him, hands around his neck. He wasn’t bad looking. He had sandy blonde hair that hung around his face; she thought he looked like he might be a surfer.  He’d rolled up the long sleeves of his blue dress shirt to his elbows, revealing tanned, muscular biceps.

                “You and Bethany come down here on vacation?” he asked.

                “Yeah, we always do, it’s sort of a tradition,” Aaron laughed. He smiled, nodding his head.

                “That’s fun,” he laughed. “Did you guys come here alone?”

                “No, my brother and his roommate came with us.”

                “Are they here?” he asked, looking around.

                “Not that I can see. I mean Bethany told them about the party but I haven’t seen them around,” she sighed, glancing around again. He nodded quietly and continued swinging her around the sandy beach.

                “Maybe they’ll show up, you never know. Are you worried?”

                “Not really. We’re sharing a cabin so they have to show up eventually.” He laughed, tightening his arms around her waist. The song ended and she stepped back, smiling at him.

                “I should probably go find my brother. It was nice talking to you,” she said, turning around and walking back towards where she’d left Bethany.

                “Aaron!” Jace called. She jumped, spinning around towards his voice. Walking towards her was a new person. Jace had shaved his head, revealing more of his square jawed face. He wore a deep scarlet button down dress shirt tucked into pressed clean, black dress pants. He was walking towards her, a smile on his face.

                “Hey,” she laughed, walking forward to meet him. He raised his arms, wrapping her in a hug. “What did you do to your hair?” She ran her hand across the black stubble on his head, shivering at the scratchy feeling.

                “I cut it,” he laughed, keeping his hands around her waist. “You like it?”

                “Yeah, it’s nice.”

                “Good,” he smiled, pulling her gently towards the churning crowd of people. “Dance?”

                “Sure,” she giggled, putting her arms on his shoulders. They swayed against the cool, ocean breeze that blew Aaron’s dress against her legs. He leaned down, resting his forehead against hers. She felt his warm breath against her cheek, it raised goose bumps on her arms.

                “I didn’t think you were here,” she whispered. “I looked for you guys but I didn’t see you.”

                “James and I left, we walked into the small town and got stuff,” he laughed gently. She murmured, lifting her head towards his. Their lips pressed together, but longer than in her dream; and when they pulled away, his look was not one of horror but of pure joy. His hands came up, cradling her face in his palms. They moved away from the party, edging closer to the water.

                Bitter cold waves lapped at their bare feet, chilling them to the bone. Aaron wrapped her arms around Jace’s neck, drawing him closer. Warmth spread between them, cancelling out the frosty water. Just before Jace kissed her again, she glanced over his shoulder. Standing in the middle of the party, Stephen watched them almost sadly, blinking and turning away.